Comments on: NCRC Trying to Shakedown Zillow

By: White African :: where africa and technology collide » Blog Archive » Eppraisal.com Launches: Real Estate Valuations

Tue, 31 Oct 2006 22:19:47 +0000

[...] What We’re Doing: There already are a couple different websites that allow you to get property estimates for free. What I saw at the real estate conferences that I attended was a number of real estate professionals who were uncomfortable with this new technology. Most weren’t against the technology itself, it was more that they weren’t sure how to utilize it to help them in their own business. Sure, there are those who would rather kill any change than learn how to embrace and leverage it, but I don’t think that is the majority. [...]

By: Reed Sawyer

Reed Sawyer — Tue, 31 Oct 2006 17:20:19 +0000

Zillow is a property valuation website. It is NOT an appraisal site. It gives a quick and dirty snapshot of a property value. It will not claim that it can produce a full and comprehensive appraisal.

However, what it does is wonderful. It quickly gathers metrics and sales data and gives a quick glimpse into the values of properties.

The appraisers should not only embrace zillow.com, they should use this as a marketing tool for themselves. Use zillow to get a rough estimate of the value of a property, and use a real appraiser to get the professional estimate.

With this being said, there will always be those people that want to stifle competition. They will want to do an unprofessional job, rather than a complete appraisal and those are the un-professionals that fear zillow.

In the mortgage business, many people were terrified that the online lenders would put mortgage brokers out of business. The opposite was true. Most people need a mortgage broker to help them get a loan for their individual circumstances. Those brokers that thought they were being a professional by quoting rates were not professionals, they were simply order takers.

Innovation is not only needed in real estate it is the salvation of the real estate industry. It will assist appraisers…and buyers, if only appraisers use this in the manner in which it was intended and educate the public as to the value of their services.

By: The Zillow.com shake-down: Bloodhound’s take so far — and a chance to win a BloodhoundRealty.com Tee Shirt . . . | BloodhoundBlog | The weblog of BloodhoundRealty.com in Phoenix, Arizona

Mon, 30 Oct 2006 19:25:37 +0000

[...] The Future of Real Estate Marketing has more today, as does Realty Thoughts. For my own part, I believe the crux of the issue is racial politics and Fair Housing legislation, rather than the plights of starving appraisers or disgruntled Realtors. These groups may have their own axes to grind, but every NCRC shake-down I have been able to uncover has been related to Fair Housing law or the Community Reinvestment Act. [...]