Disclaimer – This article is not sponsored or affiliated with Zillow Group, Inc nor the listing links. This article is for pure entertainment.
Formed by former Microsoft employees in 2016, Zillow is an online platform allowing users to scroll the United States real estate market through previewing listings. Intended for people looking to buy, rent, or sell their real estate, Zillow has inadvertently turned browsing into every American’s new hobby.
This obsession inspired a Saturday Night Live sketch exploiting our shared interest in browsing, with a satirical ad fetishizing the Zillow craze. The skit starred Schitt’s Creek’s Dan Levy as the episode’s guest host, alongside other SNL comedians. The premise of the sketch is to taunt the appeal of Zillow, with some citing daydreaming “flipping” the house for a higher profit, others stating the attraction of the price markets less populated parts of the country.
This inspired me into exploring the depths of the unanimous enchantment of Zillow and categories of users. I have identified five distinct categories of Zillow browsers:
- The Flipping Fred’s
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Flipping houses refers to when a developer purchases a home through a reduced price due to serious repairs needed, or other various reasons. The developer then “flips” the house through renovation, then sells at a much higher price.
Property flipping entices casual Zillow browsers, and HGTV viewers, alike. This is the same source of attraction that built the “Magnolia” empire from HGTV’s hit show “Fixer Upper.” This inspires people to browse the Real Estate market for properties with reduced prices and conceptualize the possibilities (i.e. taking down a wall to create an open floor plan or surface-level changes such as new hardwood flooring). Flipping houses has a harrowing corollary of gentrification as it often increases property tax values and incites a shift in the population demographic, which makes me think maybe this is one reverie that should never materialize…
To all my flipping Fred’s out there, please remember to flip responsibly!
- Polly’s Price Fixation
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As the SNL sketch points out in the line, “I’d never live in North Carolina, but if I did, I could buy a big, gross mansion!”, some people are drawn to browsing Zillow to explore the price market in other regions. The average rent for an apartment in New York City is over three thousand, but with that same amount, in many states, you could own a home or a much more spacious apartment. This inspires city dwellers to muse over what-could-be.
Polly, get your bread up! Or, move to Idaho, I guess. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ - The Window-Shopping Wendy’s
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The window-shopping Zillow-ers may be formed of pure lust or may have plans of realistically purchasing a property. Regardless, the Window-Shopping Wyatt’s are alike in their infatuation of scrolling endlessly for the perfect piece of property. Whether your dream is to live in a waterfront cabin in Tennessee or to find a California getaway home, Zillow has what your heart desires!
To my window-shopping Wyatt’s, remember this quote by the personal financial advisor Dave Ramsey, “Crockpot mentality always defeats microwave mentality.” It takes time to get rich! And when you do, you’ll know exactly what home(s) are for you!
- Zestimator Zach
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Zillow provides users with properties on the market but also can provide a “Zestimate” (price estimate) on homes that may not be currently on the market. Homeowners may utilize this tool to help advise them on a reasonable asking price if they are thinking about selling. However, the tool may be encouraging some Nosey Nancy’s. Picture this…you’ve just been invited to a party at your friend’s new palatial house. Next thing you know you’re searching Zillow for the Zestimate of that home. Invasive, much? Regardless of intent, this tool proves to be beneficial for a multidude of users!
So, zest-it up, Zach!
- The Judge Judy’s of Home Real Estate
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Zillow’s listings have no limitations of style, one can view a Victorian-era home, or perhaps a home from the Modernist era; to each their own. As an aspiring designer, I cannot explain the consternation caused from clicking on a listing of an irresistible Midcentury Modern home, only to find the interior has been renovated without regard to the exterior style. While this feeling is quite gut-wrenching, it is equally gratifying to explore the eccentricity and peculiarity of Zillow’s extensive market.
Come on, even the most impartial person of home design would want to see how a forty-nine million-dollar home is decorated, go ahead, click the link…I’m not judging. ;)
Whether you’re casually browsing, or in it for the long-haul, Zillow’s charisma may prompt a perpetual quest for your tailor-suited residence. Go ahead, ✨manifest✨ that dream home! Not interested in countless hours of browsing and want to skip to the good part? I suggest reading Zillow’s blog that offers imagery of creative and quirky living!
Did I miss a specific category of Zillow users? Let me know your fixation when searching Zillow!!