The problem at hand:

Zillow has taken away business from local relators by letting future homeowners shop for properties for sale. Zillow has helped more homeowners become FSBO (For Sale Buy Owners). I am a realtor and I embrace the new technology. The only problem with Zillow is that everything is very, very delayed. Some home listings are sold before the property is put on Zillow. Zillow is also unreliable with information. Many square footage numbers are off, and so are the amounts of rooms on the listings. Also they don’t have binding contracts by law.

Interview 1 - with local realtor

• Have you heard of Zillow? Absolutely. They have helped me find some new clients.
• Do you think Zillow is going to make realtors a necessity for clients? As of now Zillow is not the best. Most clients actually use it just as a way to shop around before finding a realtor.
• Do you think they could make Zillow better and how? Absolutely, but it will take a lot of manpower which equals money.
• Are you worried one-day software will take your job? I think real estate is something that will always need a face to interact with clients. Real estate is the largest investment a person will make in their life.
• How would you specifically fix the problems? Find a way to make it more secure and more to date.

Reflection: It looks like this realtor actually likes Zillow and believes it can work hand-in-hand with realtors. I would like to see what the future holds for it.

Interview 2 - with local homeowner

• Have you heard of Zillow? Yes we search on the platform when we looked into buying a home.
• Do you think Zillow is going to make realtors a necessity for clients? Well we still used a realtor and she was a must! All the paperwork and title work would be a pain without her.
• Do you think they could make Zillow better and how? I thought it was fine.
• If Zillow had realtors connected on the site would you still hire a realtor? Maybe, not sure
• How would you specifically fix the problems on Zillow? Increase the selection of listings.

Reflection: I enjoyed getting another perception of Zillow. The homeowner wasn’t aware of as many failures of the company compared to the local realtor.

Interview 3 - with local broker

• Have you heard of Zillow? Yes and I think its is horrible.
• Do you think Zillow is going to make realtors a necessity for clients? Zillow is more of a headache then help. Buying a house is something you need a “person” to help with. Plus Zillow’s listings are all old if you don’t pay for the service.
• Do you think they could make Zillow better and how? By having designated “Zillow Relators” in all locations.
• Are you worried one-day software will take your job? It could happen just because how fast technology is growing.
• How would you specifically fix the problems? Make the contracts law abiding.

Reflection: The broker was the most against Zillow out of all three people I interviewed. We can eventually make it better over time, but until then the old fashion way works. Keep using a realtor so the “Broker” gets paid.

Summary: I think without a doubt Zillow is an asset to the housing industry. Now don’t get me wrong, I also believe Zillow has some problems with how it is setup and running. I think if Zillow implemented a block chain technology platform on its base it would help fix some of those major problems. It could drastically speed up the time it takes for publishing listing, and with smart contracts they can make law-abiding contracts that are enforceable.