It’s well known that other Web sites can utilize Zestimates to provide content to their visitors — there are a number of sites (Yahoo! Real Estate, Redfin, ZIPRealty, Southern WInds Realty, Prudential California, etc) in the Zillow API Network that utilize that functionality. What’s less commonly known is that Zillow syndicates a wealth of neighborhood and city demographics, home value, and real estate data via the Zillow API. Banks.com is a great example of a site that has utilized our API to display compelling local content to their audience looking at local real estate information. Below is a screen shot of the Seattle, WA page on Banks.com.

Click on image for larger version

Depending on what region of the country you reside, take a look at some of their other local pages such as San Francisco, San Diego, Phoenix, New York, Orlando and Charleston.

Particularly for those who are in the camp that believes consumers want to research geographic areas prior to looking at specific listings, adding city and neighborhood home value trends and demographics, test scores, and local points of interest is a great way to built content relevant to your home buyers purchase path.

The 112th edition of the Carnival of Real Estate is posted over at Staged4More. There are 3 honorable mentions to go along with the 3 picks of the week — head over and take a look! Our own Drew Meyers received an honorable mention for his GeekEstate post: “Want a job in real estate? Start blogging.” Way to go, Drew!

The carnival will make its next appearance on Monday, October 20 at Minneapolis Luxury Real Estate. Please submit your best post by Sunday October 19, to be considered. Are you a real estate blogger and would you like to host a future edition or take a more active role in administration of the CoRE? If so, get instructions on how to do so here. Please check the complete FAQ list if you have other questions as to how to participate.

We want your vote! Zillow has been nominated in NWjobs People’s Picks awards in four categories:

• Favorite Seattle Area Company
  
• Coolest Office Space
• Favorite High-Tech Company
• Favorite Startup

If you love Zillow, and have 30 free seconds, please cast your ballot. You can come back and vote once a day through Oct. 22. Winners will be announced Nov. 5.

Last week I blogged about Forbes’ recent survey highlighting the best cities for singles. Atlanta (aka Hotlanta) came out on top.

Well, turns out that another source disagrees with that super fly nickname, and is disputing the Southern city’s A grade review. According to Travel and Leisure magazine’s Favorite Cities Survey, Atlantans are not so “hot” after all.  Even though the city is fertile ground for singles, the picking may not be that pretty. The T&L survey found that out of 25 cities, Atlanta came in 23rd for attractiveness. The city was also bottom of the barrel in terms of athleticism and style. Ouch.

This conflicting information really sent me for a loop, so I decided to investigate further. A closer investigation of the Forbes scorecard revealed that Atlanta received an abnormal amount of points in the online dating category. Not to make any judgments about online dating, but … draw your own conclusions.

In defense of all you Atlantans out there, T&L did give you high marks for affordability. Hey, if low cost of living is what turns you on, then Atlanta is still #1.

Watching foreclosure numbers and reading reports each month is like watching a slow-motion train wreck — it’s big, it’s slow, and it’s ugly. In the past year, 14.5% of all U.S. real estate transactions were by people buying foreclosed properties and the highest percentage belonged to those in California, specifically, Stockton, Merced, Salinas, Madera and Modesto, according to the Zillow Q2 Real Estate Market Reports.

No doubt that foreclosure touches all of us in very strange ways. We believe that if you see something weird, it’s probably related to foreclosure. Then we heard that foreclosures are affecting business at legal Web site, Avvo, too (disclosure: Zillow CEO Rich Barton is on the Avvo board). But, their biz is being affected in a good way. Avvo founder and CEO Mark Britton (right) said searches for foreclosure lawyers and info about foreclosure on Avvo spiked by 700% since the first of the year and “…it is clear that a lot of Americans are hurting on the financial front.”

The nice thing about Avvo is that they offer a Q&A section called Avvo Answers in which you can ask any ‘ol embarrassing question you want — anonymously, if desired. Britton said “…most consumers are intimidated by the legal profession and have no idea how to engage.  Too many big words, complex processes and old men in black robes…” so, this anonymous tool is kind of nice to get some rudimentary information up front, for free, without walking into a stodgy lawyer’s office.

Avvo is getting a lot of questions about buying foreclosed property, too. So, it does cut both ways — people are suffering from foreclosure, but there are many people and businesses that are benefiting because of it. Kind of like the “board-up specialists” that have emerged or the uptick in foreclosure bus tours. Or, people who couldn’t previously afford to buy a home are suddenly in the market, buying foreclosed property. Zillow offers foreclosure listings - just type in a location in the search box. Under “Listing Type” on the left-hand side, click the “foreclosure” button to see foreclosed properties for sale.

This has not been a good news week for homes in the Pacific Northwest. First, there was the Portland, OR house that slid down a hill. Now comes word that a house in Bellingham, WA was destroyed by a runaway garbage truck.

On Wednesday morning, homeowner Doug Henderson was in his garage when he saw a blue blur careening towards his front door. The truck slammed through the front of the house, pushing it off its foundation. Luckily, nobody was hurt. The driver had been outside collecting garbage bins at the time, and neither Henderson nor his dog, who has inside, were injured. The house didn’t fare as well. They’re betting the only thing holding it up is the truck. Sadly, Henderson and his wife built the house only two years ago, calling it their dream home.

See more photos of the house in this slide show.

Photo courtesy the Bellingham Herald

Leona Helmsley’s house
521 Round Hill Rd, Greenwich, CT
For sale: $95 million
See more Greenwich, CT real estate

According to The Real Estate Bloggers (via The (Stamford) Advocate), the former estate of Queen of Mean, Leona Helmsley, just took a price reduction from $125 million to $95 million.  Dunnellen Hall, as the home is called, rests on one of the highest hills in Greenwich and is said to have distant views of Long Island Sound. History shows it was built in 1918 for $1 million by a father as a wedding gift for his daughter and was home to a series of owners who seemed to be affected by misfortune. This includes Helmsley who spent 19 months in prison, starting in 1989, for tax evasion and illegal billing from the remodeling work done on Dunnellen Hall.  Helmsley was a notorious dog-lover, always accompanied by her Maltese “Trouble,” and the settlement of the estate is said to be earmarked for agencies and services dedicated to dogs.

Listing description (by David Ogilvy & Associates): Glorious iron gates open through classic stone walls at the entrance. Ornate light posts line the broad driveway, sweeping through lovely open, rolling lawns past the columned pergola to the spectacular walled courtyard with a magnificent 70-foot marble reflecting pool with a three-tier fountain - it is a sublime approach to this wonderful manor… much more here. For the ultimate in opulence, take a look at these photos of Helmsley’s house.

Gianni Versace’s house
1116 Ocean Dr, Miami Beach, FL, 33139
See more Miami Beach, FL real estate

About the house: Casa Casuarina was built in 1930 and designed after Alcazar de Colon in Santo Domingo, a residence built in 1510 by Diego Columbus, son of Christopher Columbus. Fashion designer Gianni Versace purchased Casa Casuarina in 1992 for $2.9 million.  On the morning of July 15, 1997, Versace was returning home after buying magazines just a few blocks away when he was shot and killed on the steps of his home by Andrew Cunanan. Communications billionaire Peter Loftin purchased Casa Casuarina in September 2000 for $19 million and converted it into a member’s-only club and 5-star hotel.

Samuel Goldwyn Jr’s house
1200 Laurel Ln, Beverly Hills, CA
For sale: $24 million
See more Beverly Hills, CA real estate

Film producer Samuel Goldwyn Jr., whose dad put the “Goldwyn” into “Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM),” who produced such films as “Mystic Pizza” and “The Preacher’s Wife,” and whose son is Tony Goldwyn, the villain “Carl Bruner” in “Ghost,” is selling his two-acre, 10,982 square foot, 6-bedroom, 5-bath home, which is the house his dad built back in 1925. [Source: Real Estalker]

Listing description (by Joyce Rey of Estates Division of Coldwell Banker Previews International) — First time ever on the market. Exquisite classic traditional architecture set on two beautiful Beverly Hills acres, nestled on a quiet cul-de-sac just behind the Beverly Hills Hotel. This superb residence has an ideal floor plan including fabulous patio loggias and wonderful yard, exceptional solar heated pool, patio and pool house. Sunken lighted professional tennis court is adjacent to lush fruit orchard. The main residence greets you with an elegant staircase, lovely galleria, perfectly scaled rooms, 35 MM paneled projection room. Main level also offers 2 room guest suite with private entrance and patio. Grand master suite with veranda, 3 additional bedrooms, upstairs gym, eating area / study, kitchenette, laundry room. Over sized cook’s kitchen which is ideal for extensive entertaining. Generous formal dining room lined with French doors leading out to lovely trellis covered brick patio. Large garage guest apartment. Double over sized motor court. Sparkling city lights. Once in a lifetime opportunity.

Bette Davis’ house
784 N Patencio Rd, Palm Springs, CA
Recently sold: $4.8 million
See more Palm Springs, CA real estate

OK, Bette Davis didn’t actually own the home, according to Big Time Listings, but she did lease the guest house in the 1950s and 60s. The home was recently sold to some “snowbirds from Canada” in February of 2008.

In the presidential debate last night, John McCain referenced his new plan to help alleviate problems in the real estate sector (that have since cascaded into the mortgage market and now the wider credit market). Essentially, McCain’s plan means that the government would purchase qualifying loans from the banks (at the cost of the current mortgage), re-issue new FHA-backed loans to homeowners (at the current market value of the home), and absorb the difference between the current mortgage and the current value (i.e., the amount of negative equity in the home).

McCain estimates that his plan may cost as much as $300 billion, which actually seems quite low given the amount of negative equity out there right now. According to Zillow estimates, at the end of Q2 2008, there was approximately $676 billion of negative equity across all U.S. single-family homes (of which there are about 84.5 million in the U.S.). This cumulative amount is composed of about 11.7 million single-family homes that are underwater and an average of about $58,000 in negative equity for each of these homes (median negative equity for homes underwater was about $33,000).

Here’s some more information about the plan itself:

To be eligible, homeowners must be delinquent in their payments already (or be likely to fall behind in the near future), must be living in the home (and it must be their primary residence) and they must prove their creditworthiness at the time of the original loan (which apparently translates into no falsifications on the original mortgage application and a substantial down payment at purchase time).

McCain’s current plan differs from the Hope for Homeowners program signed into law back in July which allowed for new FHA-backed loans to be given to homeowners who were underwater on their mortgages (loans at 90% of the current value of the home) and required lenders to absorb the difference between the current mortgage and current home value. In his current proposal, McCain apparently envisions taxpayers eating this difference.

It also differs from the Paulson plan signed into law last week, which allows for the purchase of mortgage-backed securities. Under the Paulson plan, lenders would get to unload the assets (via auctions) at prices far below their original value, but at prices greater than the markets are currently valuing them. But homeowners with underwater mortgages don’t get any direct relief. Instead, these homeowners, under this plan, benefit from the inflow of capital into the market which allows lenders to start to make loans again which, in turn, will allow some homeowners in trouble to refinance into a more sustainable mortgage.

While details of the McCain plan are still scarce, a few obvious issues with it are:

• It benefits those homeowners who assumed the most debt closest to the height of the real estate bubble.
• It could create an incentive for more homeowners to default since they could then qualify for a reduced mortgage versus having to continue paying on an underwater mortgage.
• It places the full burden of relief on taxpayers, but taxpayers get no potential upside benefit. The individual homeowners and lenders would be the ones to see benefits under this plan, and the government (and taxpayers) would take an immediate write-off. But under the Paulson plan, the government will hold onto those mortgages, and those assets will likely regain their value over the long-term, thus ultimately providing some benefit to taxpayers.

What are your thoughts?  Lots of debate happening today in the Economic Watch category of Zillow Discussions on this plan, the Fed rate cut, Obama’s tax plan and other topics…

Photo courtesy NY Times

Now here’s an interesting concept I came across in this New York Times article: If you’re thinking about forgoing your home improvement projects due to the economic downturn, consider thinking less like a homeowner and more like a college student.

No, I’m not talking about decorating your house with empty pizza boxes. But how about taking some of the fundamentals of the fine art of dorm decorating and repurposing them in your own home? With a bit of creativity (and some elbow grease), you can spend a lot less on your project and end up with a room that doesn’t look cookie-cutter. Be fearless, as the article says:

First and foremost is fearlessness. You’d be embarrassed if your friends knew you’d gotten a piece of furniture off the street. College kids call up their friends to get their help carrying furniture home from the street, and brag about it. Many are genuinely concerned about recycling and the environment, and delighted when they can turn construction cast-offs into the trappings of home.

Sure, some of the projects featured in the article are a bit avant-garde (such as the chandelier made of plastic garbage bags), but some of them are pretty ingenious. Styrofoam trays transformed into wall art. Kitchen counters made of wood and galvanized pipes. Recycled lightbulbs as candleholders. A castoff nighstand goes glam with a coat of paint and shellac. Okay, maybe the bed frame made of honeycomb cardboard is best left to the students.

The main messages here aren’t actually that new — many lists of budget remodeling tips focus on salvaging and do-it-yourself. But it’s a good reminder to think outside the box and be open to new ideas (Dueling Digs is a great place to look for home remodeling inspiration). Think creatively. And sometimes, it pays off to think like a student.

Homeowners in a hilly southwest area of Portland woke up this morning to the sights and sounds of their neighbors’ home sliding down toward them, forcing them to evacuate during a weird, slow-motion landslide. The home on 6438 SW Burlingame Place, Portland, OR, is said to be on a 45-degree hillside and recent rains may have caused the slide. This CNN video of the landslide scene (the audio starts at 0:24) shows part of the driveway still intact, but the scene of devastation down the hill involves the house, concrete slabs and a car.