Gene MunsterZillow Wouldn’t Kill the Golden GooseWhere do I start? An easy place is that I was wrong. I believed that, long term, Zillow’s outsized brand in the US residential real estate market would be a competitive advantage in winning iBuying customers. My thinking continued that…Read more Opendoor, Zillow
Gene MunsterZestimate Takes Logical Step Into AIZillow recently announced accuracy improvements for off-market Zestimates, which will now utilize neural networks to generate valuations. We believe historically the majority of the Zestimate used algorithms that were designed by data scientists. These algorithms are static in nature and therefore, have…Read more Opendoor, Zillow
Gene MunsterReal Estate Disruption LandscapeA number of companies are going after the opportunity to disrupt residential real estate – Zillow, Opendoor, Redfin, Offerpad, Compass, Homeward, and Porch, to name a few. The reason is that residential real estate is 1) a massive, fragmented market…Read more Opendoor, Zillow
Gene MunsteriBuyer Survey Part 3: Half of Homeowners Trust the ZestimateOver the past two months we’ve published notes exploring the mechanics, importance, and credibility of the Zestimate. For an additional perspective, we surveyed 167 US homeowners to get their perspective. Bottom line: 56% of respondents viewed the Zestimate as credible,…Read more Zillow
Gene MunsterMarch Shows iBuying Theme Is Strong and LumpyZillow’s March results reveal the near-term business is doing better than planned, and the long-term opportunity is intact. That said, the timing of getting the iBuying flywheel up to speed is lumpy. This lumpiness comes in the form of an…Read more Zillow
Gene MunsterHome Sellers Mixed on the ZestimateWe’ve written in the past that Zillow’s success in iBuying is in part dependent on the credibility of the Zestimate. That’s because pricing transparency is core to the iBuying experience, given homeowners initially anchor their decision to sell based on…Read more Zillow
Gene MunsterZillow’s Holy Grail: LiquidityLast month, Zillow CEO Rich Barton commented, “When you’re used to legacy business models it’s hard to imagine how much things will change when liquidity increases by reducing friction and increasing transparency.” We’ve seen liquidity transform other markets like Uber…Read more Opendoor, Zillow
Gene MunsterLoup TV 065: A Realtor’s Take on the ZestimateGene is joined by Minneapolis realtor, Michael Stotesbery, to hear why realtors believe the Zestimate “doesn’t have a backbone.” Loup is an investor in Zillow.Read more Deepwater TV, Zillow
Gene MunsterZestimate Skepticism Will Fade Over TimeOver the past week we’ve received emails from real estate professionals expressing skepticism about Zillow Offers using the Zestimate as a live offer to homeowners. The concern is that the Zestimate, fundamentally an algorithm, is inferior to a human at…Read more Zillow
Gene MunsterStanding Behind the Zestimate Critical to iBuyingZillow has taken a meaningful step toward its ambitious price transparency goal, which is a critical piece of the iBuying adoption puzzle. The company made it official that it will start standing behind the Zestimate as an initial cash offer…Read more Zillow
