When you have data on over 70 million homes, how do you get through all the clutter and display for-sale homes in a way that makes sense to those in the market? As Zillow continues to display more for-sale listings on the site (we now have almost 500,000) it’s a question we asked ourselves, and are excited to have an answer.
Through the recently launched Zillow® Smart Search, regions – and their visible boundaries – now adapt to help you find the specific types of homes you’re looking for. What does this look like exactly?
A map that shows state, county, city, ZIP code and, in many cases, neighborhood boundaries will all update automatically, according to your search criteria. For example, let’s say you’re looking for a 3-bedroom home, can spend between $800-900k, and want homes that have been on Zillow less than 14 days. By inputting these specific criteria, you can now see – instantly — how many homes fit these search parameters from the national level to a given neighborhood.
Let’s say you zoom into a city that shows it has 2,000 homes for sale that fit your criteria – you can quickly see how many of these homes fall into each neighborhood. In some areas there may be only a handful of homes, where in others you’ll see many that match what you’re looking for. And of course, from the map view, you can quickly identify which neighborhoods are most similar in price range by looking at the Zindex and median sale price in each location.
Once you narrow down to the right neighborhood, you’ll find yourself in the familiar street-level world of Zestimates on virtually every home, and can check out how the value of the homes of any potential neighbors may compare— perhaps you want to have the nicest home on the block. And if you happen to be looking for a condo, once you’re at this level you’ll now find building markers for multi-unit buildings that you allow you scroll through the various units without ever leaving the map.
The search is on!