Credit Where Due

May 20, 2007 Michael Wurzer

Bernice Ross posts over at Inman Blog today that Saul Klein explained at the NAR mid-year conference what Greg Swann has been saying for months:

Right under our noses, Zillow.com has effected a similarly radical shift in the way we think about real estate databases. All of the dead-bots-walking I named above — Trulia, PropSmart, Google Base, Realtor.com, and every local MLS system — every one of them treats data in the same way: There is an on-going application that will be effected using temporarily-stored data.The Zillow.com paradigm is exactly the opposite: We are accumulating a database of permanently-stored data that can be deployed for any number of temporary, interchangeable applications.

I’ve previously explained why I think Zillow’s “entered only here’ approach actually is old school, and not revolutionary, but I also think credit should be given where credit is due.  Greg explained Zillow’s approach long ago and anyone who missed it just needs to read more or better.

(Oh, yeah, I almost forgot, also announced at mid-year, Zillow apparently is now trying to work with brokers on listing data feeds.  That’s certainly an interesting development and one on which I’ll be interested to hear Greg’s views.

P.S.  I missed the mid-year convention this year to be with my family, and I was surprised how much I personally missed being at the event.  At first I thought it wouldn’t matter, but the mid-year show is a great place to hook up with our clients and friends, and stay on top of what’s going on in the industry.  I do love this business!)