Seattle Bubble Forum Archive

Remember, RE people don't think that the First Amendment gives you the right to say anything that might depress property values. (Writing puff pieces extolling RE is perfectly proper, of course.)

There was also a great rant at that thread at RCG from a RE agent complaining about Zillow's house price estimates:

"Property is not the same as a stock, book, or car. These are people's homes, businesses, and dreams for the future. The fact you chose to attack those basic principles of the American Way of Life for a few dirty dollars is reprehensible.
Gordon [i.e. Zillow], you are free to pursue your dreams also. That freedom ends when it damages others. I see today you are not above doing damage."

On the other hand, in a different thread, you can see why Ardell might be a little bit touchy:

"I love my house. It is one of the joys of my life. The value could go down and I've considered that, since I haven't owned it long, and bought it in truly peak market times. "

Wow - not only does she work in RE, but she bought a house at the peak of the market. Good luck with that...

Another thing is professional appraisers are paid for the service they provide, they have the obligation to consumers proving accurate information. Zillow provide the "zestimate" as free service. You don't pay them to come up with the number.

An interesting article on this in the Arizona Republic yesterday at:

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepubli ... w0422.html

"Realtor Swann of www. BloodhoundRealty.com, said that the bill is so tightly written that two neighbors talking to each other about a neighbor's property technically would be in violation of the law.

Pearson said exemptions in the law would permit neighbors to talk about property values.

The controversy about appraisals erupted in the wake of the state's efforts to stifle Zillow. The Board of Appraisal, in June and November of 2006, sent cease-and-desist letters to Seattle-based Zillow, ordering it to stop offering its property-value estimates, which have made it one of the most popular real estate Web sites since its launch in February 2006.

The board said that Zillow cannot offer opinions of value without having an appraiser license.

Zillow continues to offer its estimates in Arizona, and nationwide.

"We strongly believe that providing 'zestimates' in Arizona is completely legal, and in fact an important public service, given that (they) are the result of our automated valuation model, and are not a formal appraisal," Zillow President Lloyd Frink said."

Commentary at:

http://www.bloodhoundrealty.com/BloodhoundBlog/?p=1329

Zillow by KO, round 1.