By The Tim @ 11:

RE: b @ 6 – I’m a little confused. Isn’t that basically what Zillow is giving away for free?

Actually, assuming “b” doesn’t want it automated, it’s what HomeValues does for free.

I think you’re thinking of housevalues.com – which has pretty much tanked while Zillow is still hanging in there.

A much better point, yes you would have to visit the property and the comps.

RE: b @ 6 – I’m a little confused. Isn’t that basically what Zillow is giving away for free?

Actually, assuming “b” doesn’t want it automated, it’s what HomeValues does for free.

The Tim -

The Zestimate z-sucks. A more labor-intensive report, which was aimed at removing bubble pricing from the mix, would be worth real money.

There’s no way you can accurately value a property without physically visiting the property. Zillow is probably just as accurate as any other method of valuing property that doesn’t entail an agent or appraiser actually seeing the property.

If you look at the over all business model of Zillow, in my opinion, the end goal was to do lead generation for mortgages. zestimates are high for a reason, in my opinion, for that purpose.

A Real Estate sales person may be the best person in the world and just be trying to make a car payment so thier judgement may be a little cloudy. A home buyer may be focused on the school district.

$10 is a little cheap, but there is a service in there that would give the buyer an outside perspective on a property purchase. They have three days of neighborhood review. In that time I think a buyer would want a resource like your quarterly report and refine it down to a specific property.

I think if the resources were set up, like tax records, a person could offer a report in about an hour. Pick an hourly rate of say $100 per hour and only take eight orders per day to start. If you farmed out the work to qualified people you could do more.

I think people would pay for the service. If you stayed to the 3 day neighborhood review you would not be interferring with a Real Estate transaction in progress, in my opinion.

If you think about it, you could refine the system so it’s more affordable. You could also get Real Estate professionals to contribute, or sell the service. For good or bad an outside resource is a part of transparency. I have told sellers for years they have to pay attention to all of the online tools, because buyers will use them.

Your report could be the outside perspective a potential buyer would use.

I’ll leave that business for somebody else…

but it may help you understand why “zestimate z-sucks”

The Zestimate z-sucks. A more labor-intensive report, which was aimed at removing bubble pricing from the mix, would be worth real money.

Yeah, it would depend on how much you could automate which would require a lot more resources to initially create. But for $10 a report, which a service like CarFax charges and sells a lot of, you could do part of it manually and still make some money until you built up the information. I know I would pay for such a service, maybe you can get 10 for $50 or something. I find myself trying to do this back of the envelope on properties I like based on past sales of that home, but I dont have access to old comps in the area, neighborhood appreciation rates, etc.

That is a great idea.

That’s a great idea. I do not sell real estate. I wonder what kind of similar service Realtors/agents offer buyers for free?

The Tim, taking b’s suggestion and offering it for far less may likely net you many small purchases similar to a music download for .99 cents and then they might be able to purchase 10 for $4.99

I may be wrong, but I don’t think The Tim wants to get rich doing this. I think he wants to make a living by being a resource for detailed, accurate, thoughtful information. it’s a worthy endeavor.

You’re right. I have other, completely unrelated plans in the “get rich” department :^)

You run a nice site and obviously I enjoy it.

Would I buy?

Based on the information here, or presented, there is a pattern that shows a trend of declining home prices. Buyers may have some interest. sellers may dispute the trend.

Beyond the numbers, like at the redfin site, or Rain City Guide, or Zillow, there is a back end to the content. redfin collects fees, Rain City adverises, the main poster gets clients, and Zillow is selling mortgages.

If you go down the line most sites have hard dollar back ends.

So, in my opinion you have a buyer pool who may be interested in your product. A seven county report doesn’t seem to be a concise picture. A buyer wants a house with a picket fence.

Now you may have some luck with a left brainer who wants to do it themselves, but redfin has already cracked that. So next you would be targeting who? For what? And when?

You’ll need to partner with some one in order to make the whole thing resonate with a buyer pool. Then maybe you can also pick up some income from lead generation.

Talk to Ray Pepper at 500 Realty, see if he has some ideas. Did you join http://www.biznik.com ? There are probably a half dozen people there who would be interested in your project.

That said, when your target audience is tight-wads….

Maybe you should start a sister site reviewing stainless appliances and granite counters! Those wallets are probably a lot looser. ;)