Did Zillow Manipulate The Housing Market?

February 27, 2023

Introduction

The housing market is a complex and ever-changing landscape, and it can be difficult to keep up with the latest trends and developments. One of the most talked-about companies in the industry is Zillow, a real estate technology company that provides home valuations, rental listings, and other services. Recently, there have been allegations that Zillow has manipulated the housing market in order to benefit its own interests. In this blog post, we'll take a look at these allegations and explore whether or not they are true.

What Is Zillow?

Zillow is an online real estate marketplace that provides home valuations, rental listings, mortgage information, and other services. It was founded in 2006 by two former Microsoft executives and has since become one of the most popular real estate websites in the United States. The company's mission is to make real estate transactions easier for buyers and sellers by providing them with accurate information about homes on the market.

How Does Zillow Work?

Zillow uses a proprietary algorithm to generate home valuations based on data from public records, user-submitted information, and other sources. This algorithm takes into account factors such as location, size of the property, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, recent sales prices of similar properties in the area, and more. The algorithm then generates an estimated value for each property listed on its website.

Allegations of Manipulation

Recently there have been allegations that Zillow has manipulated its algorithm in order to benefit its own interests. Critics claim that Zillow has artificially inflated home values in certain areas in order to increase its profits from advertising fees or commissions from sales transactions. They also allege that Zillow has used its algorithm to target certain neighborhoods or demographics with higher home values than they would otherwise receive on the open market.

Is There Any Evidence To Support These Allegations?

At this point there is no concrete evidence to support these allegations against Zillow. However, some experts have argued that it is possible for algorithms like those used by Zillow to be manipulated by companies looking to increase their profits or target certain markets with higher home values than they would otherwise receive on the open market.

Additionally, some studies have found discrepancies between estimated values generated by algorithms like those used by Zillow compared to actual sale prices for properties listed on their website.

This suggests that there may be some truth behind these allegations but further research needs to be done before any definitive conclusions can be made about whether or not Zillow has manipulated the housing market for its own gain.

Conclusion

In conclusion, while there are some allegations that suggest that Zillow may have manipulated the housing market for its own gain there is currently no concrete evidence to support these claims at this time. However it is important for consumers to remain vigilant when using online tools like those provided by Zillow as they may not always provide accurate information about homes on the market or their estimated values compared to what they would actually sell for on the open market.