Looks like Zillow secured even more financing, $25 million to be exact. That coupled to the $57 million $32 Million from earlier sources means that they have been bringing in over $4 million $3 million a month in financing according to my rough estimate. Very, very impressive.
Update - Just a little problem with addition
4 responses so far ↓
1
Ken
// Jul 26, 2006 at 4:51 am
I have to admit I am surprised, but Zillow is pretty accurate on appraisals in my neighborhood.
But I don’t understand how they are going to make money, other than paid per click advertising. As of now it’s just a novelty site. And I feel sorry for all the professional appraisers out there who have to deal with the “But Zillow said…..” questions. Now if they had a paid service that mortgage companies would accept as appraisals for financing, that would be interesting.
But those guys who gave them the $57 mill are smarter than little ‘ole me.
2
Brian Flood
// Jul 26, 2006 at 6:39 am
I hope sites like this really take off and decimate the traditional real estate model. I never understood why realtors feel entitled to 6% of the sale when they should really just be getting a fee (like the lawyers).
3
Ryan Arp
// Jul 26, 2006 at 11:21 am
As someone who directs real estate land research for a living, this site is a really nice tool. It’s put together well and is only as good as the data that is inputted into it. Zillow has really put a lot of work into putting their comps together from the spot checks I’ve done…although there are some holes in their data in the Phoenix market that probably has to do with the frequency at which they buy assessor/dor records. One thing Zillow can’t do is hold open houses and smooth talk people into mortgage payments they can’t afford, that is where the real value of a Realtor comes in. A well designed ‘bot’ may be able to take over that function…
6% is worth paying for someone to sell your house in a buyer’s market, which it looks like we are in now. Last year, however, I would totally agree with Brian’s comment.
4
Phillip Holmstrand
// Jul 28, 2006 at 11:36 am
Ken - Don’t understimate pay per click advertising as a business model, especially when it comes to real estate, financing, and insurance. Some of those clicks can be worth 5, 10, 25 dollars or more if the Ad is well targeted. Multiply that by millions of viewers each day… cha’ching!
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