Comments on: Why Zillow Needs More Money

By: Round Rock Realtors - Jacci

Round Rock Realtors - Jacci — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 22:33:59 +0000

James,
The sad part is that I think your right, I think that for now they need the realtors to provide the listings. But as soon as they can afford to cut us out they will. I really hope that it’s not true but who knows.

By: James Wheelock

James Wheelock — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 20:02:07 +0000

I don’t think they have changed their end goals for the company. I personally think they still hope to side step the agent. And the only way they can do this is to have just huge numbers of buyers trolling the site. To appease the VC guys they have to bring in short term revenue, hence the move to selling add space and promoting their mortgage service.

I feel that once they have enough eye balls from the buyer group they will try to offer a seller listing service. Where home sellers can pay a few to list on the site in a feature format to try and obtain a buyer and ultimate transaction.

By: Zillow In San Mateo | San Mateo Real Estate - Call Vicki!

Zillow In San Mateo | San Mateo Real Estate - Call Vicki! — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 22:48:01 +0000

[...] Directory is just as accurate (cough) as their Zestimates. So how do they stay in operation? $87 million – that’s how. Give me $87 million – heck, give me 1 million. I know what to do with [...]

By: Ron Asteak

Ron Asteak — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 04:26:11 +0000

Zillow “Guess-Idiots” appear to rely on public tax records that in some cases haven’t been updated in twenty-five years. The zestimator is a sketchy tool to rely on. I believe it’s best to use a Professional Realtor when appraising property.

By: Debra Parker

Debra Parker — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 09:08:35 +0000

I think its quite obvious what Zillow is trying to accomplish. Think about what Expedia did to travel agents. The Internet has changed the Real Estate industry and there is no stopping it. People want information fast and efficiently. Zillow is not about home valuation.

By: Joseph Ferrara.sellsius

Joseph Ferrara.sellsius — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 06:25:36 +0000

I agree Zillow is losing focus (away from a valuation site). And rightfully so. A site based on home valuation via public data was doomed to failure and would never attract sufficient ad dollars, or support, from the real estate industry. They finally realized that & went to a listing site to get ad money. A good move. Now they are building out from that in the hopes of creating a one stop real estate shop— but it’s happening too fast, creating confusion (they may have no choice). In my opinion, the one-stop-shop is the hardest thing to pull off— especially by people who have zero real estate experience.

Interestingly, David G commented on our latest Zillow post (link below) that Zillow is still pushing the Kelley Blue Book analogy, indicating to me that they are still under the belief that their home valuations can reach industry or public acceptance. The clinging to the zestimate will either be their undoing or greatest coup— for if the zestimate ever reaches KBB status, they will be indispensable to the real estate transaction.

http://tinyurl.com/23aazj

By: Z Insider

Z Insider — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 05:42:49 +0000

Zillow is steathliy acquiring broker’s licenses in multiple states. Recall that the founderst tried an auction-based brokerage model at first before giving up and doing the AVM thing. Their long term vision is a suped-up FSBO or limited service brokerage offering. Selling ads only gets you so far. At some point, they’re going to have to make the transition to get a cut of the commission. Check with your state’s office if you don’t believe me.

By: Voting for The People Choice Award: The long and short of short-listing Odysseus Medal nominations | BloodhoundBlog: Real estate marketing and technology blog | Realtors and real estate, mortgages, lending, investments

Mon, 24 Sep 2007 04:21:40 +0000

[...] Technology, New Technology Will Make, and Break, Real Estate CareersJoel Burslem — Zillow, Why Zillow Needs More MoneyDaniel Rothamel — Judo Economics, Judo Economics – Well Done, Dr. BernankeRobert Ashby [...]

By: Ron

Ron — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 03:56:14 +0000

You are thinking like realtors, not VCs.

I worked for one VC-backed startup that raised $35 million and never really got anywhere. I spent time with the investors/board members and asked them why they put in the money – what was the compelling plan. One guy said “I figured there must be a pony in there somewhere” and the main board member said “if they figure out how to get users to install another spinning icon on their status bar, we’ll figure out later how to make money from it.”

Both of these guys are considered extremely smart and successful VCs, by the way.

Most likely, VCs look at real estate as a huge, multi-billion dollar market with fragmented players, information problems, and customers who don’t see innovation and value for their large amounts they pay out. I.e. Ripe for upheaval. The VCs are spending amounts that seem large to you but are small to them, in order to consolidate this market. There are at least 30 VC firms currently sitting on billion-dollar+ funds that need to get invested. And there are another 50 sitting on half-billion dollar funds. So, that’s something like $55 BILLION in current funds just in the 80 largest VCs. Spending a couple hundred million on Zillow plus Redfin is a drop in the bucket.

Agents can make fun of Redfin and Zillow all day long, and these firms may indeed fail. But, some startup is going to crack the code and make a truckload of money and change the industry. I am sure that is how the VCs look at this market, having been in quite a few startup board meetings.

By: The Feed Bag - Refried and Served Again

The Feed Bag - Refried and Served Again — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 03:02:07 +0000

[...] Zillow collected $30 million in venture capital. Actual analysis took until today with Joel Burslem and Brian [...]