Dewayne:
Do you understand what Zillow’s business model actually is?
Welcome back to another episode in our series 60 Lessons That We’ve Learned In 60 Years, and today we’re going to discuss the lessons on and go in-depth on what is Zillow’s business model, really.
Kirk:
There are many websites out there that offer data, they offer information. Zillow’s a great one, we use Zillow a lot. The reality is Zillow’s here to make money. So when they capture your information, they’re capturing it for a reason. They want to know who you are, what you’re looking for, where you’re looking to buy. And then they’re selling that data to people like us.
Dewayne:
Yeah. Yeah. Their sole purpose is to capture your data and sell it to a real estate agent that pays for their advertising. Their goal isn’t to be as accurate as possible with listing properties. I mean, that’s why they show foreclosures on there. These properties never, most of the time, hit the market. However, they show them, so that they can capture your information.
Kirk:
Yeah. And they also want to give you a valuation on your house. So everybody does that. I mean, my dad, everybody does the valuation, but typically the evaluation’s high and I believe…
Dewayne:
Our sellers might not agree, but typically, yeah, you’re 100% correct.
Kirk:
And the only reason we say they’re high is because if they put low evaluations, nobody would ever use them.
Dewayne:
No one fill out the form where they could capture the information, sell it, and then make a profit.
Kirk:
Exactly. Talk about the algorithms.
Dewayne:
Yeah, so I mean they use those algorithms. In some areas, they’re going to be more accurate than others. Whenever you have a cluster of homes that are all the same, going to tend to be more accurate. But waterfront and more beachside, where it’s a little bit more eclectic, they’re going to not be accurate.
Kirk:
The numbers are going to be not as accurate, correct.
Dewayne:
Yeah. And typically high, like we said. But again, Zillow’s a great resource, however, you just have to understand what their business model is.
Kirk:
Thanks for watching. You can always comment with any questions. Next week, we’re going to talk about faking it till you making it, and why it doesn’t really work.
Dewayne:
Nope, not in this business.
Kirk:
See you next week.
Dewayne:
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