Archive for September, 2007

Today’s Wiki Wednesday Feature: Hints on Raising Your Credit Score 
Sometimes the obvious and safe things to do are not always the right things to do. For example, I have about 7 credit cards — a few from many years ago. I just cancelled two that had a zero balance. I didn’t use them anymore for various reasons:  […]

We were very pleased to learn yesterday that Zillow was named Outstanding Website in the Real Estate category for the 2007 Web Marketing Association’s WebAwards.  The awards are in their 11th year — which is pretty impressive if you ask me!   The organization names the best Web sites in over 95 industries, with the goal of these sites […]

With home sales slowing and housing inventory increasing to 4.6 million homes or 9.6 months’ supply, many people are recommending that sellers and their agents think beyond the obvious to gain buyers’ attention. But perhaps you’re not quite ready to start giving away flat screen TVs or a new Harley.
Over the last few weeks I’ve […]

I’ve written before about the mortgage meltdown. I find the topic fascinating and tragic, so I’ve been following it pretty closely even though it hasn’t affected me personally (yet!?). When I recently read about almost 5,000 homeowners who might lose their homes through no fault of their own, I felt compelled to write a post […]

It looks like Miss Teen USA 2007 Miss South Carolina, Lauren Caitlin Upton, was the inspiration behind the 59th edition of the Carnival of Real Estate, which is now live over at EKDAY (Every Kid Deserves a Yard). What does Miss Upton have to do with real estate? Nothing yet, but EKDAY thought it wise to give Lauren a primer […]

You’ve seen the ads – on the Internet, in the newspaper, and cluttering up your mailbox: “No money down – no documentation, we help you buy houses, easy credit!” This type of easy money characterized the lending climate for the last 5 years, and now we’re paying the price.
Well the watchdog of advertising messages is […]

I want to extend a congratulations to Kary Krismer for being added to the team of real estate bloggers at Seattle Real Estate Professionals, a local Seattle blog run by the Seattle PI. Kary is an agent for Keller Williams North Seattle and has been one of the most active contributors in Zillow Discussions. Kary […]

I get asked this question a lot, so I figured I’d answer it here once and for all.
The short answer: no, I don’t think so.
The long answer: like most things, it is good in some ways and bad in other ways.
In times of flat or declining housing prices, looking up the value of your house […]

Today’s Wiki Wednesday Feature: Photographing Your House Checklist
You’ve heard the saying: A picture is worth a thousand words. And indeed, when it comes to selling your home, it rings true.
When I was searching for my first home, I often overlooked homes that didn’t have pictures online, and found myself gravitating towards the ones that had […]

Soon, it will be easier than ever for real estate agents and brokers to put their listings on Zillow. To do that, we’re working on supporting bulk uploads of listings through our new Zillow Listings Feed. Back in June, Jeff Somers wrote about our upcoming support for feeds. Since then, our developers have made massive […]