Pfony1 wrote :
“...Why is Facebook a hazard?
IMHO, selling valuable information that has been STOLEN from others should be a crime.
And, IMHO, so should USING the unearned profits from such thefts to build a monopoly...”
In Texas, Zillow gets its info from the property tax appraisal records, such as
which is free to access by anyone.
Where else is Zillow getting its information?
Do you really think that Zillow would demand information from the NAR that it had ALREADY obtained from “open sources”? I doubt it...
Do you really think that such so-called “open source” information includes the age and condition of a house’s appliances? Or the age and condition of its roof? Or the quality and condition of its landscaping? Or whether the floor plan is “chopped-up” or privacy-free “open”? Or whether its basement floods? Or...? I doubt it...
Zillow may be concerned that its minions slaving away in cube-farms in India to massage the “data” they presently receive from “open sources” in America often produce “Zestimates” that are useless JOKES.
Of course, you are free to prefer alien labor to American labor. And free to trust a easily-obtained “Zestimate” to your own well-considered estimate of value to YOU.
But, IMHO, Zillow makes money the old-fashioned way. It STEALS it.