According to The Industry Standard’s post entitled “10 Net Services that will succeed and 10 that will probably fail“, Trulia is hot and Zillow is not. Is Zillow really going to the dogs (wink)?
In the words of David Gibbons of Zillow: OUCH!
Rich Barton and the gang shouldn’t feel too bad. They are in the same company as Seth Godin’s baby Squidoo.
See the full list of yeahs and nays here. What’s your opinion?
h/t 4realz.net
Bonus Zillow Rant :
The Zillow Albatross
I think the zestimates will continue to be the albatross around Zillow’s neck, especially in a down market when no one wants to be reminded their home value is down– those stock charts pointing south are not incentives to visit the site. The fact that no one can tell, on a house specific basis, whether the zestimate is within acceptable limits or in the outer limits, makes them unreliable and thus, always in need of further inquiry. The first step logic is deceiving, I think, because if I can’t rely on a step it becomes a step I can do without.
But I can point to other reasons Zillow may be irksome to some homeowners: No homeowner right to opt-out of zestimates (despite demand), grossly inaccurate ones that can’t be removed, allowing third parties to list/report homes for sale without homeowner consent, and a Q&A system owners have to babysit.
Toss it and See What Sticks (and what stinks)
But Zillow, to its credit, keeps tossing stuff against the wall, hoping something will stick. (Personally, I like Make Me Move– a good way to know what a house is NOT worth.) The next one to the wall is the mortgage thingee— maybe they are finally going to get in the middle of the real estate transaction somewhere.
Show Us The Money (you’re losing?)
One thing Zillow could do to show they are, or are going to be, successful, is to publish their profit or loss. If they are making money, they ought to say so– it goes along way in marketing circles. HomeGain, for all the doubters, is on record of being profitable for five years running. And they market that information. So can Zillow.
If, on the other hand, the big Z is all Web 2.0 hype, their money numbers would tell the story. But bleeding red ink ( I don’t know if they are) doesn’t look good in public. (PS to David G: parading visitor traffic is not a measure of financial success— money talks and traffic walks) . Zillow, are you feeling transparent today? How about showing us the money? Am I the only one who finds it ironic that a company that purports to tell you what your house is worth, won’t tell what it is worth.
Kudos to David G
The biggest marketing asset Zillow has is David Gibbons, who gallantly shovels the sand of hope against the incoming tide of criticism.
Technorati Tags: trulia, zillow, homegain, web 2.0
