Why Should You Make Use of Zillow Data

Zillow is one of the leading online real estate marketplaces, connecting sellers, buyers, tenants, investors, and others.

Because it is a popular option among stakeholders, Zillow data can be beneficial for the real estate data analysis of a place.

This blog explores the types of Zillow data that can be extracted, its relevance, and how to best extract best.

What Zillow Data Points Can Be Collected

The data that can be scraped from Zillow can be categorized into the following:

• Property Listing Data
• Market Data
• Neighborhood Data

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1. Property Listing Data:

This is the core data associated with individual properties listed on Zillow. It provides details about the property itself and the listing:

• Basic Details: Address, price, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, square footage, property type (house, condo, etc.), year built.
• Description and Features: Amenities (pool, garage, etc.), description of the property, and sometimes photos.
• Agent Information: Contact details for the listing agent.

2. Market Data:

This data provides insights into the broader real estate market in a specific location:

• Historical Prices: Past sale prices of the property.
• Zestimates: Zillow’s automated estimates of a property’s market value.
• Market Value (sometimes available): details such as estimated market value, public tax history, etc.

3. Neighborhood Data (sometimes available):

This data provides details about the area surrounding a property:

• Ratings of nearby schools
• Walkability scores
• Bike scores 

Sample Data For Zillow Scraper

Given above is an example of data that can be extracted from Zillow.

However, your data requirements may not always be the same. You might need a different set of data fields, or a more significant amount of data or would want to customize the extraction process to your needs.

That is why partnering with an experienced web scraping service provider like ScrapeHero would be wise.

How Zillow Data Benefits Real Estate Data Analysis

The benefits of using Zillow for real estate data analysis vary depending on the stakeholders.

• Real Estate Investors
• Real Estate Agents
• Buyers and Sellers

Let us look into some real estate data use cases based on Zillow data for different stakeholders.

Real Estate Investors

Zillow data can be very beneficial for real estate investors.

Identifying Undervalued Properties

Analyzing Zillow data can help investors spot undervalued properties in a neighborhood.

• Historical Sales Data:
  You can see how similar properties in the area have appreciated over time. This helps identify areas where prices seem lower than expected and have growth potential.
• Market Trends:
  Analyzing Zillow data might reveal trends like increasing sales volume or decreasing days on market. This indicates a growing demand in the neighborhood.
• Foreclosure Listings:
  Zillow allows you to filter for foreclosure listings, which can be good starting points for finding undervalued properties.

Rental Market Insights

Investing in rental properties can be a great way to generate income.

• Rental Listings:
  Zillow also lists rental properties. Analyzing this helps you calculate the average rental rates in a specific area and understand the income you can expect from a property.
• Rental Yield:
  Zillow data can help you calculate the rental yield, which is the annual return on your investment property.
  Comparing rental income to the property’s purchase price can help you assess the potential profitability of different investment options.

Real Estate Agents

Market Expertise

Zillow data can aid agents with the knowledge to position themselves as local market specialists.

• Informed Pricing Strategies:
  Analyzing Zestimates and data on recently sold comparable properties allows agents to make data-driven pricing recommendations for sellers.
• Market Trend Analysis:
  By understanding market trends through Zillow data (e.g., days on market, price fluctuations), agents can advise sellers on the optimal time to list a property. They can also suggest adjustments to their listing based on market conditions.
  
  Read our article on data-driven house hunting with Zillow, in which we analyzed over 19,000 Zillow-listed properties in California to understand how market trends can be analyzed with Zillow data.
• Compelling Client Presentations:
  Agents can use Zillow data to create data-rich presentations for clients. This will showcase their understanding of the local market and build trust with potential buyers and sellers.

Targeted Marketing

Agents can try to understand buyer preferences and market trends through Zillow data.

• Highlighting Property Strengths:
  Zillow data can reveal what types of properties are most in demand in a specific area (e.g., single-family homes with pools, condos close to public transportation).
  Agents can use this knowledge to showcase the most attractive features of their listings in marketing materials.

Client Guidance

Zillow data equips agents to guide their clients through buying or selling.

• Realistic Buyer Expectations:
  Zillow data allows agents to show buyers at what cost similar properties are selling in their desired area.
  This helps set realistic expectations about pricing and prevents buyers from getting discouraged by an overly competitive market.
• Informed Negotiation Strategies:
  Analyzing Zillow data on recent sales and market trends can strengthen an agent’s negotiation position.
  They can make use of this data to support their arguments for a better price for their clients, whether buying or selling.

Homebuyers and Sellers

Let’s explore how Zillow data empowers both homebuyers and sellers:

Homebuyers

1. Informed Decisions:
   • Zestimates and Market Trends:
     A zestimate can be a starting point for understanding a property’s potential value.
     This value, together with data on recently sold similar properties can help determine if a property’s listing price is fair enough.
   • Negotiation Potential:
     An analysis of recently sold Zillow properties will enable buyers to negotiate better.
2. Identifying Ideal Properties:
   Zillow data goes beyond just property listings. Even neighborhood information can provide valuable insights into the property itself and the surrounding area.
   Buyers can use this information to shortlist properties with a desirable living environment.

For instance, if a couple looking to buy their first home finds a listing for a two-bedroom bungalow slightly above their budget. An analysis of Zillow data shows similar bungalows in the area recently sold for prices slightly lower than the listing price.

This knowledge allows them to negotiate a lower price with the seller.

Sellers

1. Competitive Pricing Strategies:
   Sellers will be able to set realistic and competitive listing prices to attract buyers, by analyzing Zillow data.
   • If Zestimate helps buyers determine whether listing price is fair, it helps sellers decide on a listing price.
2. Informed Decision-Making:
   Zillow data allows sellers to make informed decisions.
   • Considering Offers:
     By understanding market trends and recent sales data, sellers can evaluate offers more effectively. They can see if an offer is within a reasonable range or if they have room to negotiate for a better price.
   • Understanding Market Conditions:
     Zillow data on days on market, together with other relevant data can inform sellers about the overall market competitiveness.
     This helps them decide if they should accept an offer quickly or wait for potentially better offers.

Imagine you are a seller who wants to list your three-bedroom house but is still determining the pricing strategy.

An analysis of Zillow data would show that similar houses in their neighborhood are selling within two weeks on average and slightly above the initial price they considered.

This understanding will help you realize that you might be able to list your house for a bit higher than initially planned and receive offers above the listing price.

How Do I Extract Data From Zillow: On Your Own vs. With a Partner

With over 135 million+ listings, Zillow is undoubtedly one of the most popular real estate websites. Thus, it is a platform people interested in real estate must take advantage of.

While it would be tempting to extract Zillow real estate market data for analysis on your own, you might face the following difficulties:

• You might have to spend considerable time and resources since web scraping is not your primary business.
• Your lack of awareness about the legalities of web scraping might concern you. 
• The changes in Zillow’s website might pose difficulty in your scraping process.
• You might not have the proper infrastructure or technical expertise required for the process. 
• You might find issues with the quality of real estate data you are extracting. 

You can use the ScrapeHero Zillow Scraper if you want to scrape Zillow data without getting into the technicalities of scraping. It is an easy-to-use and free-to-try real estate scraper on ScrapeHero Cloud.

ScrapeHero Cloud also houses other pre-built real estate scrapers that can be used for the real estate data analysis of a place.

Scraping Zillow Data With ScrapeHero

If you want access to large amounts of Zillow data customized to your requirements, partnering with a large-scale web scraping service provider like ScrapeHero would be the right way to go.

We are a fully managed enterprise-grade web scraping service with over a decade of experience. Real estate and housing data scraping is one of the services we offer.

• We use AI, Natural Language Processing, and Machine Learning to gather and analyze real estate and housing data to fit the exact needs of our customers.
• We provide real-time real estate market data that you can rely on. 
• The data you receive will be unique and in no way similar to your competitor’s data.
• We provide you with customized datasets based on your exact business needs. 

Connect with ScrapeHero if your goal is to scrape Zillow and other real estate data ethically and efficiently.

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