Thursday, January 10, 2008

Zillow.com Announces Expanded Residential Database

Seattle-based real estate Web site Zillow.com reported Thursday that it has expanded and upgraded its database to include nearly every home in the United States. According to Zillow, its residential coverage has grown from 70 million to 80 million U.S. homes in 48 states—a figure that translates to some 88 percent of all homes in the country. Zillow added that its branded appraisals, called "Zestimates," are now available for 67 million U.S. homes, a 68 percent increase from Zillow’s 2006 launch. Zillow also reported that it has revised its Zestimate algorithm. The new formula incorporates 20 times the number of statistical models than before, Zillow noted.