You’ve got to visit Zillow.com if you have any interest in residential real estate. If you don’t care about real estate, jump down and read the end of this post.Launched by the guy who founded expedia, zillow it gives you price estimates and other details of any home in the country.
I’ve checked out properties I know around New Haven, Connecticut and the estimates were on the high side (25-50%). But ones I know in McKinney, Texas were priced right.
Andrew Tobias said “When I tried it on some Florida homes I know, the estimate was low but the level of detail was remarkable, and the ability to edit for corrections / improvements – well, knock yourself out.”
Your mileage may vary. But if I were a real estate agent, I’d prepare to go the way of the travel agent. You won’t be able to charge for access to information anymore. Sure some will pay for service, but (a) most won’t and (b) your service level better be in the top half of the top 1% if you expect to charge for it.
If you’re not in real estate but you charge for access to information in your field you’re not safe either. Zillow won’t hurt you but something else will. An accountant I know told me he thinks in a few years the IRS will be doing the taxes for most people.
Think about it – they already know what you make (your employer told them when they sent in the taxes they witheld). Your bank told them what you paid in interest deductions. For most people that’s about it. You could log on to their site, and after proving your identity, they would tell you what they think your tax return should say. You’d have the chance to approve or amend it and be done. So much for H&R Block and Turbo Tax.
So if I was an accountant, I’d be figuring out how to provide some value that can’t be so easily replicated as filling out a tax form.
