Customer satisfaction ratings for our agents

In order to help customers make more informed decisions on how to pick a real estate agent, we have started displaying a customer satisfaction scores for each of our agents. Using a third-party vendor to administer the survey, we are showing the scores for agents that have closed at least three transactions with the company. The ratings appear in a one-to-five star ranking (five stars is the best) according to an average score tabulated via a customer satisfaction survey clients complete post-closing and are updated monthly.

Read the official announcement here.

Search for your own Zip Agent.

Here is a sample of what the rating looks like:

Walkscore now available for all homes for sale

One important but often overlooked factor in the home search process can be a home's 'walkability' or its proximity to important amenities such as the grocery store or coffee shop. Buyers are usually very focused on a home's price, size and it's general location, while often ignoring the day-to-day walkability of the home.

In order to make consumers more aware of a home's walkability earlier in their home search process, we have partnered with with Walk Score and have launched a new feature that displays a 'Walk Score' for every home for sale on our website. The Walk Score measures the relative walkability score of a home on a 100-point scale. Scores are calculated by Walk Score according to a formula based on a home's proximity to grocery stores, restaurants, coffee shops, parks, movies, bars, mass transit stations and more.

To use this new feature, all you need to do is visit the 'Neighborhood Info' tab on each home for sale you are viewing.

WSJ: Inventories of Houses Fall Slightly

Here is the latest report on housing inventories from the Wall Street Journal.

"The supply of homes available for sale in 29 major metropolitan areas in September was down 1.6% from a month earlier, according to figures compiled by ZipRealty Inc., a real-estate brokerage firm based in Emeryville, Calif."

Here is the full article.

Housing Report for Q2-2008

$49,900 for a 4bdrm/3bath House: Best Value Home of the Week

Coming out of nowhere, this week’s best value home quickly rose to the #1 spot for our best value homes in the San Francisco Bay area. The ZipRealty user community clearly believes that this $49,900, 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom house in Hercules is one of the better values on the market (no, the price is not a typo – I thought the exact same thing). Clearly, the $23 per square foot offering price is well below anything comparable in the Bay Area.

First, let’s look at the price history of the home:

The home has been on the market for almost 1 year and was originally listed for $579,000. Six months later, the price was dropped to $99,900 and then to its current level a few weeks ago. After confirming that the $49,900 asking price is not a fluke, your next question is probably, “What’s wrong with it?”

In the description of the home, the listing agent clearly states that the home “Needs major work!” and includes two dubious words - “soils engineer”. The pictures of the home also show an imposing hillside looming above the backyard of the house. Furthermore, the listing agent has told all interested parties to request and read the disclosures BEFORE seriously inquiring about the home.

As far as best value homes go, this home is a great deal based on the location and the price ($49K?! this is just unheard of around here). However, there are usually reasons why a home is priced the way it is – just make sure that you and your agent do your research before opening your wallet.

Thanks to the ZipRealty community for finding this value!

Beijing Real Estate

With the Beijing Summer Olympics in full swing, I've had the chance to see the city of Beijing through the eyes of the city-focused profiles on TV. The city's enormous population of 15 Million residents leads me to believe that real estate in Beijing is probably at a premium, like in most other big cities.

I decided to take a quick look to see what kinds of homes were available in Beijing and what they might cost. While Beijing real estate pales in comparison to seeing the USA swim team & Michael Phelps beat France in the 4X100M swim relay, I was curious enough to dig a little deeper. Here is what I found:

1) "Beijing Yosemite" - 8300 to 18,000 sqft new villas
Asking price: units start at $2,000,000 and up
Comments: A new luxury development with villas of gigantic proportions
Source: Beijing RE

2) 3 Bedroom / 3 Bath high rise apartment in Beijing, 2637 sqft
Asking price: $980,000
Comments: Large high rise apartment with a spacious interior
Source: Beijing Ascot Realty

 

3) 2 Bedroom / 1.5 Bath high rise apartment, 1506 sqft
Asking price: $500,000
Comments: Simple and functional apartment with no frills
Source: Beijing Ascot Realty

 

From this very small sampling of available homes for sale, it is clear that there is a wide range of housing available. While the two condo/apartment units in Beijing are priced between $300 to $400 per square foot, a somewhat comparable Manhattan 1 bedroom condo is selling for $1188 per square foot. These certainly aren't direct comparable properties, but I think you get the idea.

It's clear that homes in Beijing may not approach the stratospheric prices of New York or Tokyo, they are certainly not a steal either.

Top 25 Best Value Homes

Have you ever wondered which homes other people think are good deals? Are you looking to discover a hidden gem in the current glut of homes on the market?

If you answered yes to either of these questions, I think you’ll be happy to know that we just launched a new feature on our website which polls our clients on which homes they think are the ‘Best Value’. Using functionality similar to that of other user voting sites, homes that receive the largest number of ‘YES’ votes (in response to “Is this home a good value?”), will be rank ordered, with the overall ‘Best Value’ home receiving the coveted top spot. When homes are taken off the market or when they have their price adjusted, the votes for this home are reset and are removed from the ranking.

I encourage you to vote on each and every home you look at on our site. To vote for a home, all you need to do is to click on the voting box on the top right hand corner on the home details page. You can’t miss it – it literally takes about 1 second to vote for a home.

See the Best Value Homes in your area now!

MarketWatch interview with Pat Lashinksy

Watch the recent MarketWatch interview of Pat Lashinksy (our CEO) from the Real Estate Connect conference in San Francisco. Pat discusses the current Federal housing legislation and market conditions.

 

Tips for Selling Your Home

Are you thinking about selling your home?

Get some great home selling tips from our CEO, Pat Lashinsky, who was just featured on 'Money Matters' from ABC News.

Search for Foreclosure Properties on ZipRealty.com

Interested in searching for foreclosure properties?

Now you can on ZipRealty.com!

 

You get full access to current & updated foreclosure properties (including addresses) using the same home search process you've already been using. Foreclosure properties will be identified with this icon.

To use this new feature, visit the home search form and select the search criteria as shown in this image:
The foreclosure properties shown on ZipRealty.com are properties where the bank or lender that  underwrote the original loan on the property has taken ownership of the property.