Zillow® Labs

Zillow's Desktop Zestimate® Widget

Author: Jessan Hutchison-Quillian, Software Design Engineer Intern

Start your computer and get a Zestimate® home valuation instantly. By installing the Yahoo! Widget Engine, you can add the Zestimate widget to your desktop. Just enter an address and you'll get a Zestimate, plus the home's one-week value change. You can even hear the Zestimate through an audio option.

How does it work?

First you need to go to the Yahoo! Widgets section to download the Yahoo! Widget Engine (Yes, it's compatible with Windows and Mac OS X.)

  1. Go to http://widgets.yahoo.com/ and begin the Yahoo! Widget Engine download for Windows or Mac.

    Note: Be aware that optional downloads such as Yahoo! Toolbar, Yahoo! Central, Yahoo! as your homepage, Yahoo! as your default search engine will be pre-selected throughout the process. Uncheck the boxes if you do not want to add these items.

  2. Once you've installed the Yahoo Widget Engine, you will be informed that:

    1. A "folder full of Widgets" was added to the "My Documents" folder on your computer.

    2. A new icon was added to your system tray (Figure 1). You can set preferences for Yahoo! Widgets or edit settings for a particular widget.

      View of sytem tray icon

      Figure 1: Yahoo Widget icon
      in system tray showing preferences

    3. You can use a shortcut key (F8) as a toggle to bring widgets to the front of your screen and temporarily hide any other items. Hit F8 again to send the widget to the back.

  3. To add the Desktop Zestimates widget to your computer, go to the Widgets Gallery page http://widgets.yahoo.com/gallery/, and do a search for "Zillow" or "Zestimate."

  4. Once you have the Desktop Zestimate installed (Fig. 2), you can make any address as your default. To do this, enter an address in the widget, then right-click on the widget and select "Make this my default home."

  5. To get an audio Zestimate, right-click on the Desktop Widget and click "Widget Preferences." Make sure the "Say Zestimate" box is checked.

View of Desktop Zestimate Widget

Figure 2: A sample of a Desktop Zestimate

Once you download the Desktop Zestimate, you will see:

  • Zestimate® home valuation
  • One-week value change
  • Snapshot of home's market value for past year
  • Link to home details page
  • Link to home's graphs and data

That's it! Have fun playing with the Desktop Zestimate and if you think it's interesting, tell your friends. Thanks!

Note: The home data we have compiled to generate a Zestimate varies by location.

If you have any questions, please e-mail .
Use of the Zillow Labs applications is subject to Zillow.com's Terms of Use.

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