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Author: Kaitlyn Short

LAST UPDATED: August 27th, 2021

Zillow is one of the leading real estate and rental marketplaces providing consumers with data, insight and knowledge, connecting them with the local professionals to help them buy, rent or sell their property. Zillow has an active database of more than 110 million U.S. homes - including homes for sale, homes for rent and homes not currently on the market. They operate more than two dozen mobile real estate apps across all major platforms. 

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The Good

  • States
  • Agents
  • Offices
  • Real estate options
  • Filtering options
  • License
  • Commission/selling cost
  • Specialities
  • Experience
States
As an internet-based marketplace, Zillow has real estate listing in all 51/51 states. This gives you an advantage over some real estate sites who cover less. If you want to relocate to another state, this is a good resource.
Agents
Most currently, Zillow's employees have totaled to 1,200+ employees. In terms of real estate agents, affiliate agents who advertise with Zillow are listed on their website.
Offices
The company's main office is located in Seattle, Washington. As an internet-based company, this is typical to have on physical location.
Real Estate Options
Zillow offers a host of services to help you buy, sell, and rent residential homes or apartments. These include blogs, online resource center, real estate apps, calculators (Mortgage, Affordability, Refinance Calculator and rent vs buy calculator), and Rental Advertising and Marketing services for property owners. Zillow also lets apartment seekers create a renter's profile to capture the attention of property managers. They even let you fill out a rental pre-application to pre-qualify for renting an apartment. This can save time when apartment shopping, since their background information and credit check is already saved in one place so you don't have to do the same process with each new prospective landlord.
Filtering Options
With up to 19 filtering options, Zillow lets you narrow your search from State and city to property status (For Sale, For Rent}, to price range, beds, baths, Home Type, Square feet, Lot Size, Year Built, Days on Zillow's website, and keywords. If you want, you can narrow it even further by using the option to show only one of more of the following: pets allowed, on-site parking, in-unit laundry, or income restricted or community pillar. You can save your search without having to sign up for an account.
License
Whether you are looking to rent, buy or sell your home, Zillow has a directory of local, licensed real estate agents and brokers to connect you with professionals to help meet your needs. Zillow does not have agents in-house, only listings. Unlike some real estate marketplaces, Zillow provides access to both real estate agents and Real Estate Brokers. Their directory lets you view and compare real estate agents, read reviews, see an agent's current listings and past sales, and contact agents directly from their profile pages on Zillow.
Commission/Selling Cost
When finding an agent on Zillow's website, the commission rate is typically 6%, the real estate industry standard. Specifics can be discussed upon meeting one on one with an agent.
Specialties
Zillow's directory helps you find real estate professionals who specialize in buying, selling, foreclosures, or relocation - among many other options. You can work with a local agent or real estate broker who provides an entire suite of buying and selling services. They also provide lending services through Zillow Mortgages. Zillow Mortgages is a mortgage marketplace that maintains the largest online network of mortgage lenders with 125,000+ customer reviews. Whether you're a first-time home buyer or a homeowner looking to refinance, their local directory of lending professionals connects you with verified, licensed lenders who can help get you the best mortgage rate in your local area. Because mortgage rates can change quickly, choosing an experienced lender is important. Zillow's database lets you search for a lender who specializes in foreclosures or new construction - among many other options - or you may want to work with a lender who provides an entire suite of services. Additionally, Zillow offers listings for professional home improvement services. Whether you are looking for an interior designer, general contractor or an architect, Zillow's local directory of home improvement experts displays professionals who can help complete your project. Their directory lets you view and compare professionals, read reviews, see completed projects, sort by specialty and contact the experts directly from their profile pages. Another specialty Zillow deals in is Property Management. Their property management directory connects you with real estate professionals who can help meet your rental needs. You may need a property management professional who specializes in long-distance landlords, tenant and landlord law, or property marketing - among many other options. Or, you may want to work with a local property manager who provides an entire suite of property management services. Finding a tenant for your apartment for rent can be a challenge, so choosing a property manager who has the local expertise to guide you through the renting and management process is important.
Experience
Zillow has been operating for 10 years. The company launched in 2006 and is headquartered in Seattle.
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The Bad

  • International
International
Zillow is based in the United States. Although it is an internet-based site, which can reach anywhere on the planet where there is internet service, Zillow's listings are limited to the United States.
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The Bottom Line

Zillow is the place to be for renters seeking apartments. It also is good for owners seeking to find property managers for their rental properties. If you're a home owner selling your home or buying a home, Zillow's services and real estate home and agent listings may prove a good match, too (Although there is plenty of competition out there offering the same thing). With a B+ rating, Zillow needs to resolve their complaints.
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6 Reviews

Review Breakdown

5 grade

17%

4 grade

17%

3 grade

0%

2 grade

0%

1 grade

67%

Sentiment Criteria

Value

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Quality

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Service

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Trustworthiness

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Eddie Rios Ogden, UT

Zillow Group is a fantastic organization offering us many real estate buying options. They seemed to get to properties faster for our greater selection. Their organization has a team of experts that are excellent service and information sources. They will win our business everytime!

4 years ago

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JOHN M CAMPBELL ,

ZILLOW CLOSING SERVICES LLC_TEXAS COPPELL TX The ABSOLUTE WORST COMPANY I HAVE EVER HAD THE MISFORTUNE OF HAVING TO DO BUSINESS. If I could rate them "negative 5-star, I absolutely would do so. 1. They rope you in by telling you that you can save $2000 on closing, if you use their company to perform the Title work. That in itself is false, because it ends up only being a percentage of the total amount of the property you are purchasing. My HUGE discount was $900. 2. Don't bother calling the number listed above - which is the phone number for my Sr. Escrow Officer, Kelli Jackson - because you will never get a return phone call. Between my RE Agent & myself & the LENDER, we left over 40 voicemail messages between her & her Escrow Assistant Hannah Fanning, which were never returned. The same goes for emails. 3. Unlike REAL Title Companies that are able to work within a Revocable Trust (which was fine with the Lender as well), apparently that was an entirely new process for Zillow Closing, because after the contract was signed between me & the lender, Academy Mortgage Corp, it all needed to be revised, because of Zillow Closing Services (ZCS) inability to understand Trust documents. BTW, the closing company I used prior to this transaction (North American Title) had NO trouble closing in the name of the Trust, so I know it is possible. 4. After refusing to work within the parameters of the Trust, then they wanted a copy of my entire Trust. My Trust is 3" thick and I finally had to get my lawyer involved to explain that by law they could only have documentation in the section pertaining to real estate, but they did not have the right to see my Living Trust Agreement (other than what was needed to put the Deed into the name of the Trust), Pour-Over Will, Funding Instructions, Power of Attorney, a list of all my assets (which includes jewelry & artwork, which is hardly easily converted into cash), Health Care Directives, Memorial Instructions, etc. The lawyer left two voicemails - again, never returned - and finally sent an email with the attachments - which, of course, was never acknowledged. 5. By far, the single most EGREGIOUS error on their part happened two days before closing. Suddenly THEY realized that they had forgotten to order the Survey. Never mind that I paid for it the first week we started this process, somehow they seemed to have forgotten it was a necessary document to close. INCOMPETENTS! They had to push the closing out 7-days further out to correct their mistake, without even an apology or monetary compensation for their error (I certainly would have been charged if I was the one to hold up closing). I had to make calls to the insurance company, the home warranty company and the tenants I had lined up to rent the place, causing me to sacrifice income, due to their ineptitude. 6. It's now six days after closing, and I am still waiting on the combination to get in the front door, which was supposed to be provided at closing. More incompetence. In all fairness I will acknowledge the things they did well............ They were very good at letting the Lender know when they needed extra documentation, even if unreasonable. This was an investment property which I could EASILY have paid cash for (which the Lender had already approved in order for me to qualify in the first place), but I wanted an income tax deduction.........OK, sarcasm. And they were great in making sure I could wire funds to their Escrow account........again, sarcasm. If you want to avoid a great deal of frustration and you would like to deal with a competent Title Co., in my opinion, DO NOT use Zillow Closing Services LLC. Use companies that actually know how to close a loan, give quality customer service, know how to return phone calls & emails, or just about anything a successful business does well: in that case use Chicago Title, North American Title or just about any other Title Co. in the USA.

3 years ago

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Erin O'Brien Pittsfield, MA

This group is terrible. Someone at our company mistakenly opted for advertising with Zillow Group when our leasing software already automatically posts to Zillow so months after she left, I find out we have racked up 3 months of unpaid bills. I don't know who they were sending the bills to but they kept running the ads. So I cancelled in writing on 9.13.17 and I'm still getting bills from them. They are now sending the bills to someone else in the company, (even though I established myself as the person to address bills to). They are terrible to deal with. The people who send the bills said they aren't the people to cancel the advertising with and did nothing to cancel my account. Today is 11-28 and they're still saying we have to pay. Ripoff.

7 years ago

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Mark Wink New York, NY

Any negative reviews are rejected for not meeting policy guidelines. It’s a sham. Practically bought reviews Zillow is also notoriously full of inaccurate data and often updates incorrectly (with price and property status changes, for example). Sometimes it shows properties that appear to be for sale, but are not. It also won't show “coming soon” listings in most cases

3 years ago

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Megan D Columbus, OH

Take it from me, Zillow Group is just awful customer service to Brokers, client, and public. It took 10+ days to solve a New Listing I personally loaded that Zillow.com personnel screwed up. Reviews, orlistings, Zillow Group is just incompetent. The Zestimates are a joke and a dangerous misrepresentation to the public at large. They even changed the process for Buyer leads in the middle of the contract term. If you want accurate, real time information, then use Realtor.com

7 years ago

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Lindsey American Fork, UT

I've used Zillow for apartment and house hunting. It had a ton of options, and I thought the website was very user-friendly.

6 years ago