Announcing Zillow’s iPhone App
By: Rich Barton, CEO | April 28, 2009
The Sunday house-hunting jaunt just got a serious upgrade. Today Zillow is released from the bondage of the desktop computer and can be found in the truly phenomenal Zillow iPhone App. Try it, you’ll like it. I mean it.
My wife and I love to meander around neighborhoods and vacation destinations house-hunting. I know we are not alone, because, as a child, I can remember whining to my parents about these interminable drives from the back seat of the Ford Country Squire wagon (the one with the faux wood paneling).
“That house sold recently, honey, I wonder what the final price was?”
“Look, this one is for sale, but there are no price sheets left in that blasted little box under the sign. Drat!”
“I wonder what Zestimates are like in this neighborhood?”
Answers to these questions and many more are now always in my pocket or riding snugly on my iPhone dashboard mount. That lovely little pulsating blue sphere that indicates my GPS location on the map magically follows me as I walk or drive along (hands free so I’m legal) and information on every house scrolls right along with me on each little rooftop. Zestimates, recent sale prices, for sale prices, and my secret favorite, Make Me Move prices (“Dream on Rebekah, there’s no way anyone would pay $919k for your house… would they?”). Any that catch my fancy I can simply tap to see the historical Zestimate graph, past sales, pictures of the inside of the house if it’s for sale… all of the fantastic information I’m used to getting from Zillow. Additionally, if I want to speak to the listing agent right now, I can, with one touch, click to call that agent to arrange a viewing.
I’m a bit of a real estate nut, mind you, but I’m in the deep lust phase of my relationship with our iPhone app, which I’ve now been using for a few weeks. It wasn’t until Apple introduced its hyper-intuitive touch-based user interface, and then recently combined it with GPS location technology and 3G speed that the dream of a mobile version of Zillow could be fully realized. We thank the folks at Apple for enabling us to create this app, and I want to thank the great work that our team did to set Zillow free to roam in neighborhoods and on house-hunting trips where and when it is most needed and enjoyed.
Check out how it works for yourself…
- Stumble it!
- Categories: Zestimate, Zillow
Comments
20 Comments so far
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Sarah on April 28, 2009 9:50 pm
Cool.
Where did you get that thing that holds your iPhone to the dashboard of your car?
Dorchester Homes Expert on April 28, 2009 9:53 pm
Awesome app, surely better than your competitors! But you had the upper hand.. we’ll see
Andrew Robinson on April 29, 2009 2:34 am
Wow - I love this app, and the site. Is there any chance of you guys setting this app and site up to work in the UK? We have some property sites over here but they’re just for estate agents (realtors?) to list properties on - we don’t have the ability to easily compare properties and especially track what’s sold and at what price. I’d certainly use it if you did.
The Launch of the Zillow iPhone App | My Thoughts on Microfinance, Life, Web 2.0, Blogging, and Business on April 29, 2009 9:40 am
[...] in the works for several months now and I’ve been using a test version for a few weeks, but today is the day we were finally able to unveil it to the world. My friends and I are constantly walking around Queen Anne and wondering what some of the [...]
Rich Barton on April 29, 2009 10:16 am
Sarah,
Re: the dashboard mount. I got it from Ram Mounts. Actually, my son’s 10 year old buddy, Eli, gave it to me as a Christmakah present this year, because he knew how much I’d love it. He was right. It was my favorite present. Anyone can get one here http://www.ram-mount.com/Products/AppleMounts/tabid/1647/Default.aspx
Terry Shaw on April 29, 2009 2:46 pm
Looks like a really good job. nice.
Zillow finally launches GPS-packin' iPhone application for house hunters | GPS Obsessed on April 29, 2009 3:04 pm
[...] Read [...]
Kevin on April 29, 2009 4:05 pm
Hopefully this can be ported to android OS as well!
New iPhone App from zillow.com | Property Portal Watch on April 29, 2009 9:43 pm
[...] real estate marketplace zillow.com has released a free iPhone application that allows users to access property values and other information on the [...]
Dallas Real Estate News, Housing Trends, Home Prices, Home Tours, Candy Evans, DallasDirt Blog D Magazine » Blog Archive » Zillow and I-Phone Real Estate Applications on April 30, 2009 1:02 am
[...] All I wanted was to know the price of the home at that moment. Well, that seller lost me. Pairing Zillow with the I-Phone is a brilliant move, but will it work in [...]
Joyce on April 30, 2009 8:07 am
Also from Dallas Real Estate News:
“Zillow’s ‘zestimates’ continue to be all over the place in Texas, which the company cannot help because we are a non-disclosure state. You can, of course, google DCAD and pull the tax appraisal from your phone — cumbersome, but I do that all the time.”
It can take up to three years for anyone to “pull tax appraisal” in Maricopa County. No matter what kind of “newfangled” tech. gadget you’ve got, it won’y work in highest population region of Arizona, where pairing anything with zillow is like answering the question from a stranger with bad breath: “got a match?”
Ethel on April 30, 2009 5:25 pm
As in “Your breath and a buffalo [moderator deleted]“?
Horace Bryan on April 30, 2009 6:42 pm
I like it, can it work on my Blackberry Storm, or my Xperia x1?
I did not pick up that the software bells me when I am passing a house that is for sale by the owner without a yard-sign. I hope it allows one to book-mark a given property.
Either way, it is a great move.
By the way why does it seem that Zillow never answer any of the questions that fans ask? One question I never got an answer to, was: can you not find a way to tell when a property is on a foot-path rather than a “street that is accessable by vehicles?
realestateadvantage.net on April 30, 2009 10:01 pm
Got a chance to try the app. Very cool.
Everyone is Very Excited about Zillows’ New iPhone App…Auston? — Lenderama on May 1, 2009 7:32 am
[...] I will not debate the quality or the value of the new Zillow iPhone application. Zillow’s CEO Rich Barton announced the launch a few days ago and everyone seems very [...]
Everyone is Very Excited about Zillows’ New iPhone App…Auston? : RMI Atlantic on May 1, 2009 9:05 pm
[...] I will not debate the quality or the value of the new Zillow iPhone application. Zillow’s CEO Rich Barton announced the launch a few days ago and everyone seems very [...]
See The Value of Every Home on Your iPhone Using Zillow App on May 3, 2009 2:04 pm
[...] Now, you can see the guesstimated value of any house in a drive-by using your iPhone and the Zillow IPhone app. Diabolical. And cool, in a Big Brotherish kinda way. (And sure to be on every burglar’s Christmas list.) Read More at the Zillow Blog. [...]
ienie on May 6, 2009 3:01 pm
good for i phone users, but i have a smart phone with windows mobile 6.1….is there any hope that we will get the same for our phones as well?
Popular Zillow iPhone App Creates Huge Exposure for Your Listings | Real Estate Web Site Design by IDXCentral.com - theInsider on May 13, 2009 6:11 am
[...] Zillow’s New iPhone Application [...]
Dan on August 26, 2009 6:23 am
I’d love to see an Android version of this app as well.