ZILLOW RELINQUISHES REAL ESTATE LICENSES
INDUSTRY NEWS
November 7th, 2008
In a cost-cutting move and to stifle rumors they were poised to enter the real estate sales business, Zillow has decided to surrender all but two of it’s brokerage licenses. Zillow had contract relationships with brokers across the country “as a legal precaution to protect its ability to publish real estate-related information” according to Matt Carter from Inman News.
Zillow will maintain a license in Washington, where they are headquartered. The other license they are retaining is in Texas, a nondisclosure state, so it can glean property data for its valuation estimates through its membership in MLS’s.
In some states, Zestimates are based on public property records, not MLS’s. This would be a problem in California since Prop 13 locks in the value of a property at the time of sale. Most states/counties/townships reappraise all their parcels yearly to reflect market changes and adjust property tax bills accordingly.
Company spokeswoman, Amy Bohutinsky, said “We don’t feel we need these licenses because we have zero intention of brokering transactions.” In an earlier post I noted that Zillow laid off one quarter of its workforce due to the slow real estate market nationwide.
530-224-6767 or 530-941-7492
BRAD GARBUTT
REALTOR/BROKER ASSOCIATE
REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONALS GMAC
QUARTER CENTURY LOCAL REAL ESTATE EXPERIENCE
Thanks for this info. After just a little followup research, I can see that zillow is not alone in drawing back a bit – but that Trulia is still growing. What do you think of them?
Trulia is great if you want to limit your search to just those properties an agent has paid to have ranked high on their search site. Take their stats with a grain of salt. They are way off in my opinion. Go to http://www.shastamls.com for a neutral website with ALL of the area listings. It’s the only place to find all the listings, not just the ones an agent has paid to get to you…Brad Garbutt