The Zillow Group is rethinking real estate to make it easier to move on to the next chapter of one’s life.
Zillow and its affiliates, are the most-visited real estate website in the United States, provide users with an on-demand experience for selling, buying, renting, and financing, with transparency and almost flawless end-to-end service.
Their affiliate lender, Zillow Home Loans, makes it simple for our consumers to become pre-approved and secure finance for their next home purchase.
What is Zillow?
Zillow Group, Inc. is a well-known online real estate company that was launched in 2006.
It is a real estate search engine that lists over 110 million houses in the United States.
It also provides a Zestimate, which is a value estimate, as well as comparables for each of the homes featured on the site.
Many analysts believe it is a media company that makes money from ad placements.
Important Takeaways
The Zillow Group is the largest online real estate company in the United States, comprising Zillow and Trulia.
- You can use online real estate websites to sell your property or find a new one.
- For their own online portals, several online real estate websites use information from databases of properties shared by agents and brokers.
- Online or in-person housing discrimination is banned.
- Gather information for a new home by visiting several real estate websites.
The Merger of Zillow and Trulia
Trulia, like Zillow, is an online residential real estate website in the United States that connects home sellers with buyers, renters, and real estate professionals.
Trulia, which had a similar business model to it, was acquired by Zillow Group in 2015 for $3.5 billion.
The resulting corporation is widely regarded as the most significant internet real estate company in the United States.
A major corporation like it provides its users with the benefits of scale, but its market dominance means it hasn’t required to implement some of the features that smaller competitors in the field offer.
Many internet real estate websites have sprung up in an attempt to dethrone Zillow Group as market leader. The four options listed below are alternatives to Zillow and its sibling, Trulia.
How do I create a Zillow account?
Create a Free Agent Profile, and here’s how.
1. Register on Zillow
First and foremost, you must register with Zillow by selecting Join in the top-right corner of Zillow.com. Fill up your email address and select a password. Check the I am a landlord or an industry professional box.
After registering, go to the main menu and select Agent Hub, followed by Profile. Your profile will appear sparse at first, but filling it out is quick and easy.
2. Add a profile photo
Begin by adding a photo to your profile.
On the Profile page, click the photo icon and then Edit Photo.
To add your photo, go to the Edit Photo page and select Choose file.
There are two schools of thought among agents concerning what to use for their profile photo: a professional headshot or a company logo.
I prefer headshots because I believe they are more personable — but no selfies, please.
If you’re looking for some pointers, this piece will help you take your profile photo game to the next level.
3. Add your professional information
You can also add your company name, contact information, licenses, and service regions on the Edit Profile page.
Don’t forget to include connections to your website and social media profiles, but avoid linking to inactive social media accounts. A three-year-old Twitter handle with only one post does not help your brand communicate.
Once you’ve completed changing your professional information, go to the bottom of the page and click Submit.
4. Promote your brand in the about me section
The about me area on Zillow is the greatest location to tell your story. You can edit the section by clicking the Edit button on your profile.
Maintain a crisp appearance. Remove the lengthy sales presentation and real estate lingo – this is a certain way to turn off potential clients. Concentrate on your background and why buyers and sellers should choose you.
5. Add your past sales
Updating your sales history demonstrates to buyers and sellers how active you are in their neighborhood. If you have past sales to add, go to the Promote Yourself on Zillow menu and select Add your past sales to your profile, or go to Agent Hub under the Past Sales banner. You’ll need to know the full address of the house, the date it was sold, the amount, and which party you represented in the transaction.
6. Request reviews
Reviews, in addition to providing your sales history, help agents stand out and attract new business on Zillow.
Learning how to obtain reviews via the request form is simple, but getting your clients to submit them for you might be difficult.
If you’re having trouble getting reviews, try some of these suggestions.
Also, keep in mind that reviews can come from anyone you’ve assisted with real estate, not simply concluded transactions.
7. Connect your listings
The next step is to ensure that your active listings are linked to your new profile.
To access the My Listings page, go to Agent Hub and then Listings.
Select one of your listings by clicking it.
Your updated profile (identified as the listing agent) should appear at the top of the contact form.
If that’s not the case, you have a few options: solve the problem, manually claim your listings, or call or SMS Partner Support (previously Agent Care) at 1-888-466-3501.
That’s all!
In seven simple steps, you’ve created a free profile.
You’re not only getting top exposure for your listings, but you’re also promoting your expertise to the millions of home buyers and sellers who use Zillow every day.
However, don’t stop there. Set a monthly reminder in your calendar to continue requesting feedback and to keep your recent sales up to date.
Sell your home with a trusted local agent
When we connect you with a participating Zillow Premier Agent partner, selling your house is simple.
Begin by entering your zip code to discover if they are available in your area.
They’ll be appearing in additional places very soon!
Why sell through a Zillow Premier Agent partner?
- Local market experience
- Reduced listing fees in select markets
- Assistance with negotiating and analyzing bids
- Priority placement on Zillow due to features such as 3D Home tours
How do I search for homes?
You may search for properties and bookmark searches to receive updates on your search preferences.
1. Begin your Zillow.com house search by entering a neighborhood, city, county, or zip code and clicking the magnifying glass icon to load the search result page.
2. The search result page includes a map view and filters for further refining your search.
3. Narrow down your search results by utilizing the options for Listing Type, Price, Beds & Baths, Home Type, and Other Filters under More.
4. On the right side of the map, you may use the zoom in and out capabilities to narrow the search location and change your search results.
- You can also draw your own custom search area by searching in the region of interest with the Draw tool.
Your results will then be restricted to the specified boundary.
- Select Schools to view local schools in the region.
5. Once you’ve chosen your parameters and the area of interest, you can save your search by selecting Save Search in the top right corner.
6. You’ll be requested to sign in, name your search, and select the frequency with which you want to be notified of new properties that hit the market.
How to post a rental listing
To list and manage your rental listings on your mobile device, go to zillow.com/rental-manager or download the Zillow Rental Manager app for Android.
For Android, go to https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.zillow.postlet.
Zillow Alternatives
Redfin
Redfin is a huge online real estate company that is attempting to reinvent the way consumers buy homes.
It has a number of advantages that make it a viable alternative to Zillow and Trulia.
Homesnap
Homesnap is an online real estate platform with features such as an easy-to-use map-based search function and a wealth of property information.
Its real estate browsing function, like those of Zillow and Trulia, is simple to use.
NeighborhoodScout
NeighborhoodScout is a website that offers users with information about neighborhoods in the United States.
Users can access the company’s neighborhood information by putting a city or specific address into the search function.
Realtor.com
News Corp owns the online real estate website Realtor.com.
(It obtains a license from the National Association of Realtors to use the term Realtor.)
Though the information is up to date, the site is more simple and lacks the sophisticated features seen on Zillow, Trulia, and the other organizations on this list.
Foreclosure.com
This website’s name is self-explanatory.
Foreclosure.com specializes in foreclosures and allows visitors to search by a variety of criteria.
In addition to other websites’ famous city and price search choices, Foreclosure.com includes options to search for “affordable homes” nationwide, a feature that is sure to be popular with real estate investors.
FSBO.com
FSBO is for for sale by owner, and FSBO.com is a website that focuses on homes for sale by owners rather than real estate agencies. The website generates revenue by providing listing services to house sellers. It offers two house listing packages.
Other Alternatives include:
- Home Bay
- Homes for Heroes
- Eppraisal
- Xome
- Your State’s MLS
- Rental Housing Alternatives
- Apartments.com
- Zumper.com
- FurnishedFinder.com
- Rentler.com
Do Zillow and Trulia have a fee?
It is free to look at properties on Zillow. There is a cost for listing properties for rent on Zillow.
How Do Zillow and Trulia Make Money?
They make money through charging for rental listings, offering real estate agent adverts, and selling the Premier Agent branding designation on their websites.
In 2021, it sought to generate money by flipping houses but notably failed to make a profit.
Zillow Stock?
The investment thesis has shifted, but instead of being a moonshot with iBuying, this is now a respectable growth tech stock, which may be a safer bet for long-term investors.
Travis Hoium is the owner of Zillow Group (C shares).
- In 2015, Zillow completed a stock split, creating two share classes, and currently trades under the tickers Z and ZG.
- Z represents the new class of non-voting stock, C shares, while A shares are denoted by the sign ZG.
- Stock splits are frequently related to financial engineering rather than corporate fundamentals.
- Many technology businesses, including Google, are creating new share classes to help fund stock-based acquisitions without eroding voting rights.
- As a result of the failure of its house buying services, the price of Z and ZG shares decreased by 36% and 37%, respectively, in the week commencing Nov. 1, 2021.
How do I sign a lease online?
To e-sign your lease, your landlord or property management must first prepare the lease from their account for e-signing.
When the lease is ready to sign, you will receive an email with a link to sign it.
When you receive the email notification, click the link to login in to your Zillow account.
To sign, you must sign in with the same email address that received the notification.
If you do not already have a Zillow account at that email address, please establish one before clicking on the link in the notification email.
To view and sign your lease, follow the directions.
Before signing, please read the complete lease document.
After reviewing the full paperwork, click the Start signing button in the upper-right corner of the lease.
Click Start signing, and then sign or initial in each signing location.
Your Leases Hub allows you to track the status of your lease signing.
You may also return to your Leases Hub after all renters and landlords have signed the lease to download and print it.
How do I delete or edit a saved search?
To delete or manage a saved search, follow these steps:
- Access your Zillow profile.
- In the upper right corner of the screen, click on your profile symbol.
- From the drop-down box, select Saved searches.
- To the right of each of the Saved Searches you want to alter, click Edit.
- A light box will open, allowing you to update the Saved Search Name, your Subscription options, or delete the saved search.
Zillow Premier Agent
Zillow Premier Agent quickly connects you with buyers on our leading real estate websites, providing you with the tools and knowledge to assist your customers in finding the best real estate solution for them.
How to Get A Zillow Home Value?
It is quite simple if you have never looked up your Zillow house worth. You may discover Zillow home values by entering your address. Simply enter your home address in the search bar.
You may also find Zillow home values by zip code. When you dive deeper into the site, you’ll find a Zillow home value map that shows the estimated values of properties in a certain geographical area. So, if you want to look up Zillow house values near your home, you can do so.
How Zillow is Useful
They have an amazing platform for looking at properties when you are ready to buy a property.
In my perspective, the information offered is second to none.
There is little doubt that many people appreciate the integrated Bing maps that come with each item.
These are quite useful when attempting to determine what is in the vicinity of a specific property.
They offer all of the information you’d expect to find when buying a property, such as square footage, bedroom and bath count, age, lot size, taxes, and so on.
Where they really shine is in their data on previous house ownership and what the owner paid.
These facts are difficult to acquire elsewhere, and Zillow does an excellent job of placing them at the buyer’s fingertips.
From the standpoint of a seller, the site is ideal because the better a house seems online, the more likely buyers would pick up the phone to make an appointment with their real estate agent.
Zillow App
For those who own a smartphone, Zillow also has an excellent app.
While house looking, you can swiftly and simply pull up details while standing in front of a house!
This, of course, comes in useful when you’re out on your own and don’t have a real estate agent around to ask a question that you might not get an answer to right away.
There’s a reason it is the most popular real estate website on the internet. Despite the fact that many Realtors despise them because to their rudimentary estimation approach, they provide excellent data that is useful to both buyers and sellers.
However, you should NEVER believe that a Zillow house value represents the true value of your property.
FAQs
Does Zillow tell you who looks at your house?
The Owner Dashboard is a personalized view of your property that displays statistics such as how many people are visiting your listing, allows you to easily change your home information, and much more.
Can you keep your house off Zillow?
Yes, as the owner, you can remove your home from the market at any moment.
If you’re selling for sale by owner (FSBO), you can simply delete your listing from all of your advertising, but you won’t be able to recuperate any marketing costs.
Is selling through Zillow worth it?
Although the charge paid is higher than the standard commission paid to real estate agents, it may be worthwhile for this category of house sellers.
NO: It may be worthwhile to avoid the stress and headaches of selling, but profits will most likely be 10-15% lower than if you sold on the market.
Does Zillow take a percentage?
And, before you ask, no, Zillow does not charge you a commission, however they will do their best to connect you with a buyer who is working with one of their buyer broker partners, who will expect to be compensated.
Is it safe to disclose Zillow my Social Security Number?
You can utilize our tools to obtain a credit report and a criminal background check to include with your application, but it does not save your Social Security number and does not collect or view the credit or background check reports.
Can I remove price history from Zillow?
According to my understanding, you cannot clear the sales price history on Zillow. It is the genuine data from MLS. If the MLS is wrong, you may need to take steps to remedy it.
How do I increase views on Zillow?
Agents can advertise on Zillow by signing up, filling out listing details, or claiming listings, and then promoting their own listings for unique visibility. To make the most of these efforts, each listing page should include high-quality images, videos, and tours.
Can I post on Zillow for free?
It helps you stay competitive and fulfill your marketing objectives by posting your listings for free on both desktop and mobile. You are visible to consumers on our website and applications regardless of whether you advertise with us.
Why do real estate agents hate Zillow?
It has long been reviled by real estate agents.
In the opinion of agents, Zillow “steals” listing information from MLS agreements, repackages it on their snazzy website, and then sells it back to the agents who owned it in the first place while charging the agents exorbitant advertising fees.
Why isn’t my listing on Zillow showing up?
Why is my listing still showing off market after my agency posted it?
Your listing must be syndicated to it if it is active through an agent or the MLS.
Once activated at the listing source, a syndicated listing can take 24-48 hours to appear on ZillWhich is better Zillow or realtor?
But which is the best? In general, Zillow outperforms Realtor.com. As the platform grows in popularity, you will automatically gain greater visibility and engagement. Furthermore, Zillow has a larger selection of listings than Realtor.com.
