A Tale of Two Startups

Stealth(ish)-mode startup Zillow is getting a lot of buzz in Seattle these days. This real estate startup, founded by Richard Barton, the founder of Expedia, promises a "little revolution" and many seem to think he can deliver. (Not everyone is convinced, though; David Chase makes an interesting comparision between cracking the real estate establishment and cracking healthcare -- and remember the promise that Healtheon once held?)

But I've heard very little about another Seattle real-estate startup, Redfin, other than from satisfied users. Their site ties together MLS listings, FSOBs, satellite imagery, previous home sales, tax records databases smart searching and a slick interface to create a one-stop shop for buyers. I found it invaluable in my own search, as have many of my friends. So why is this company getting no press despite having street cred?

One indicator might be this: Redfin feels more like a service than a full product. Their technology is wonderful, but I don't know if they can parlay it into a viable company. I can easily see established brokerages (first and foremost, Windermere) benefitting from Redfin's technology -- perhaps their future lies in licensing, rather than end users. Will they play to their strengths?

Comments

[Dustin]

I'm definitely one of the bloggers who has been following both zillow and redfin. I can't really speak much to zillow because of their stealth nature. But I can say that I've been very disappointed in the implementation of Redfin. When I first saw the site, I was tremendously impressed. However, now that the google maps API is out, one of their strongest feature (aerial photos) seems antiquated and overly complex to navigate.

By the way, I approached redfin about licensing their technology for my wife's real estate site about 6 months ago, and was politely told that they were not interested. That was right before they came out with their first service that directly competes with agents. That's definitely their prerogative, but, as you note, it doesn't play up to their strengths.

[Rob]

Two months later and the landscape is the same but different. Zillow is still a cloak and dagger operation and House Values launched their knock off of Redfin yesterday. It is pretty clear the Redfin search model is by far the best implementation for real estate search. The google maps API is cute, but not specific enough for the real estate vertical. Specifically the google maps do not have the same resolution as the Redfin maps nor is there any way to tie external data into the map such as tax data. The winner in this space will have to offer the most data, but be the easiest to navigate. Right now the House Values knock-off is offering too much data in a clunky interface, where Redfin has a perfect balance between usability and data.

[homepricemaps]

HomePriceMaps.com combines Google Maps with Home Sale Prices and has expanded its features to include zipcode search and is accepting bids from real estate companies for internet traffic redirection.

HomePriceMaps.com has udpated its "Info Windows" to include localized redirection links listing homes for sale, mortgage quotes and realtor listings in the area.

HomePriceMaps.com is now accepting bids for internet traffic redirection from the following real estate companies:

Realtor.com
Coldwell Banker
Century21
Remax

What is to come next?
*ability to sort listings by distance, price, date sold, and other attributes
*expansion of sampling data to include all of metropolitan NY, LA, Chicago

Home price records have always been freely available however in the past it has been very difficult to find them. HomePriceMaps.com is dedicated to being the easiest place to obtain sale price data for homes in your neighborhood. Users can look forward to an aggressive expansion of the service into other major metropolitan areas in the months to come, and everyone can look forward to more informed home buying decisions.

http://www.HomePriceMaps.com

Contact Email: homepricemaps@gmail.com
Company: HomePriceMaps.com
url: http://www.HomePriceMaps.com

[Gresham Real Estate]

Zillow is just a tool. I thinks its a great value research tool for sellers when their just thinking about selling. But in the end a Pro is probable going to give the best current market value.