Real Estate Marketing & Beyond
Zillow, Inc, a national leader in real estate information and home search tools, recently announced the launch of a brand new Android™ application called Zillow® Rentals, which marks the first time the company has developed an app dedicated solely to the rental market.
Zillow Rentals Android™ App
Although Zillow has released nine mobile apps before Zillow® Rentals, the struggling housing market continues to boost rentals in nearly every major market, ultimately sparking the need for a new and innovative way for renters to find the perfect new apartment.
According to the Zillow blog, the features of the new Zillow Rentals app allow users to access Rent Zestimates®, a resource that estimates rent prices on more than 100 million U.S. homes and apartment units, as well as take advantage of the following options:
1) Organize your favorite rental listings in a side-by-side presentation, allowing for easy comparing and contrasting of potential apartment options.
2) Create a polygon search of the neighborhood boundaries you’re interested in renting, ultimately narrowing your apartment search by geography.
3) Use your Android’s voice activation to easily search apartments in a touch-free manner.
4) Contact landlords and property owners by phone and email right away. In addition, Zillow Rentals will also automatically classify your top apartment choices in a list of favorites and “time-stamp” each landlord you’ve already contacted.
5) Receive an instant notification on when new rentals fitting your search criteria come onto the market, all without the need to login or sign-up.
There’s no doubt the rental market all over the United States has been as hot as ever. Many would-be first-time home buyers are waiting longer to purchase a home for a variety of reasons, and along with lenders continuing to heighten the approval process, the need to find a home or apartment is undoubtedly much more urgent than before. The goal of Zillow’s 10th mobile app is to ultimately make an often overwhelming and time-sensitive process into an easier, more enjoyable apartment search.
Joe Heath is a graduate of Indiana University and possesses a Graduate Certificate in Real Estate Development from Drexel University. After working in the market research sector and authoring published Market Snapshots for Hanley Wood Market Intelligence, Joe now works as a Web Marketing Specialist and co-owns Real Estate Web Creation with his partner, Ted Guarnero, a 25+ year real estate veteran.
