zipRealty Inc. (ZIPR)

All Comments on ZIPR

  • commenter
    Malkiel
    Apr 03 11:06 AM
    Zillow Aims to Disrupt Lending Market With Its Mortgage Marketplace [view article]
    Anyone who's taken out a mortgage or refinanced in the last few years has been treated to an avalanche of offers from unscrupulous mortgage and insurance brokers flooding their mailbox. It's likely that these predators and scam artists will be the pool of interested parties on the other end, not legitimate mortgage companies. Zillow has a great concept web site that still doesn't work right for the home listing end, so they should concentrate on fixing that part of what they do. They also need to explain to the growing unhappy portion of their users just how their "zestimates" of home values are calculated, because it's patently unfair to the homeowners to have to negotiate with buyers over an estimate made in black-box fashion that they can't argue against. Reply
  • commenter
    dectra
    Apr 03 08:56 AM
    Zillow Aims to Disrupt Lending Market With Its Mortgage Marketplace [view article]
    Putting personal info out for ANYONE to see.......hmmm......I'... pass. It's one thing to input the value of your home, but quite another to start putting out income and other related info you'd need to get loan offers.

    Sorry, I'll stick with lending tree. I've used them 3 times and NEVER had a problem, even when one of my closing dates happened to be 9/11. Simply called the broker and rescheduled for the next day.     Reply
  • commenter
    tcornelison
    Apr 03 08:26 AM
    Zillow Aims to Disrupt Lending Market With Its Mortgage Marketplace [view article]
    There will be lots of dissapointed potential borrowers. On-line mortgage lending leads to lots of frustrated consumers. This has been proven time and time again over the last several years. On-line lenders are known in the real estate community for delaying real estate closings. Borrowers in today's market place, if they have half a brain, will rely on personal referrals from people who have prior experience with a lender or the guidance of a professional.

    The current crisis has lead to the implementation of tons of new laws and agency regulations, rate add ons and restrictions. It is impossible to give an accurate rate quote without the benefit of a credit report and full application. Sketchy basic information will lead to surprise after surprise and the consumer will lose confidence quickly.     Reply
  • commenter
    surfer
    Mar 14 12:07 PM
    Redfin Continues To Shrink The Real Estate Market [view article]
    Redfin will go the way of all discount brokers and continue losing money until they are out of business. I worked for a "discount" broker and we did okay when the market was hot, but as soon as the market cooled, most of our agents went back to full service brokerages. The industry is simply too expensive for a company to give away 2/3's of their revenue and survive. It sounds great, but it doesn't work in the long run. Reply
  • commenter
    Realtosh
    Jan 30 07:47 AM
    My Website
    ZipRealty: Challenging Times, But [view article]
    You mention Murdock, but overlook Diller, Zip would be a good target for IAC and their realestate.com division that is building out a brokerage business. Reply
  • commenter
    Realtosh
    Jan 29 04:42 PM
    My Website
    ZipRealty: Challenging Times, But [view article]
    I guess you're recommending the management team, because Zip has NO PROFITS. Most supposed so-called full-service-but-reduc... real estate companies are bleeding cash. In fact they were bleeding cash during the housing boom. Right now during a housing bust, I wouldn't expect them to do any better. In fact, most are doing quite badly.

    On the East Coast, Foxtons just went bankrupt and shut down all operations recently when they were unable to find any suitors for another round of financing to the tune of tens of millions of dollars. They had burned through maybe $50million dollars to try to earn less money per transaction than other non-internet brokerage companies. Guess no one wanted to provide more money for the camp fire.

    We gave up on most unprofitable internet companies nearly a decade ago, when the internet stock bubble burst. This housing bust will shake out a lot of poorly thought through business plans in the real estate industry. Do you think ZipRealty has what it takes to become profitable?

    I see no reason to own a company without profits and without any reasonable means of reaching profitability. I agree that ZipRealty is undervalued. If there were any reasonable hope of them ever reaching profitability than now would be a great to buy them. Right now would be the time to be buying any good realty company, since they are all undervalued. However, I would want to know that the company would become profitable at some point. As far as I know neither ZipRealty nor RedFin has ever shown profitability, nor do I foresee profitability on the horizon. And at the most basic calculus, what we are buying in a company are its profits. Zip doesn't have any; never did. If they won’t be profitable, then there is no reason to own them, nor is there any reason for anyone else to. So to hope for an acquisition of a company without profits is like hoping to not get stuck with the hot potato.

    I do think that the real estate industry is ripe for a metamorphosis. However, I have not yet seen a widespread or highly visible alternative model that can have staying power and sustainable profitability. I have some ideas, but you won’t read about them in a comment on a blog. Ideas for profitability in a $3B marketplace, where others have tried but not achieved, would be discussed in meeting for angel funds or possibly in a second round of financing. The financing for an internally profitable business model would be by definition totally unnecessary and would be considered to grow the model geographically. But internally in each geography the model would have to be profitable to be worth its’ salt. I can’t believe that we are still funding unprofitable internet companies without a plan to reach profitability, in any industry.

     Reply
  • commenter
    Rocktex
    Jan 22 09:47 PM
    ZipRealty: Challenging Times, But [view article]
    How come, in the article, there is nothing mentioning about "net profit," PE or EPS? Let alone balance sheet.

    I am not challenging your position in favor of Ziprealty. But your observation seems not so accurate. By comparison, I will say you are using so-called "gross multifier," in real estate jargon, to evaluate an income property purchase. I believe it would be much safer to use “net multifier”

    Agent growth means growth of quantity or market share. It is good to be able to cover more territories. It maybe able to have more utilization of facilities to reduce unit costs. In this perspective, it will be safe for me to say Ziprealty is in a better position than Redfi. Redfi's San Diego operation can NOT even find a local agent in San Gabriel valley, CA to process a "make an offer" submission to get more revenue. However, it keeps sending its update to a prospect as a Santa, while there is nothing for Redfi to gain in the immediate future, except a good public image.

    Ziprealty has better coverage, but that does not guarantee better quality service will be given. Certainly, I have no idea to know the connection between its growth and profit growth. Generally both move to the same direction, but it is not always the case. Starbuck gave us a good example showing that both can go different directions in its Q32007.

    I won't buy Zip realty if I were Warren Buffet.
    Reply
  • commenter
    Jimmy Crack
    Corn
    Jan 21 07:17 PM
    ZipRealty: Challenging Times, But [view article]
    I agree that ZIPR may be undervalued but it is a broker, not an ad/content play, so I doubt a newspaper would acquire them and compete in the brokerage market with their own advertisers (ie agents). You should understand a company's business model before writing about it. Reply
  • commenter
    1999webinves
    tor
    Dec 27 10:57 AM
    The Online Real Estate Sector Is Struggling [view article]
    Is it true that MOVE is being courted by Yahoo as a purchase? Reply
  • commenter
    Malkiel
    Dec 21 11:43 AM
    The Online Real Estate Sector Is Struggling [view article]
    I've had the misfortune of having to search real estate online this Fall and the sites and the search engines are surprisingly unwieldy and primitive; the move.com owned sites are quite good as these go. Whoever puts together the best real estate search site will be the next eBay or Google, so this might be a penny stock worth speculating on... Reply
  • commenter
    Ed Harder
    Nov 19 05:35 PM
    Google Real Estate in Secret Beta; Threat to Cendant, Move.com, HouseValues, ZipRealty (CD, GOOG, HOMS, SOLD, ZIPR) [view article]
    Great response. I am a Broker in a very rural market. You are absolutley correct about the level of serices and competence customers receive regardless whether they are from a large franchise or a small mom and pop business such as ours. We live and work in our market area and in my opinion, the most knowledgable about our market. Reply
  • commenter
    Lee Carlson
    Jul 21 03:16 PM
    ZipRealty + Zillow Could Be a Winner [view article]
    The problem with those great sites like Zillow is that the information is so far from factual and the aerial photos and street names and addresses are so old, in many cases,..some of the photos in my particular area are over 10 years old or more ! The aerial photos in my particular subdivision show huge areas that are vacant land and I know for a fact that some of the homes in those areas are more than 10 years old,...so how does that affect credability ??? Even some of the current sales prices are off by $20-$30,000 . ..so how can one see any value in visiting that site or similar ones. Unless those companies get up to date info. they are simply dead ducks !
    I am a Realtor,..25 years in the practice and my own subdivision as presented by Zilllow ,..is so out of touch it is simply amazing. The values they place on homes are 5 years ago values !! LC     Reply
  • commenter
    txphil
    Jun 27 06:17 PM
    Web 3.0 and Real Estate: An Overview [view article]
    Real Estate advertising on the internet is going to reduce a buyer/or sellers search-time for their desired piece of Real Estate!----It will also greatly reduce the cost agents incur in/during the process of assisting a buyer or seller! (Money spent on gas erode an agents bottom-line)

    In the very near future, I think we will see a tremendous growth/consolidation in the internet Real Estate Advertising Business!---In within the next two or three years, the Freemoney Family Organization plans to enter the Internet Real Estate Advertising Business!!

    Also,the Freemoney Family Organization, thru Freemoney Family Real Estate Specialists, hopes to reduce/eliminate foreclosure within its official membership ranks(Freemoney Family Real Estate Clients)by guaranteeing each Real Estate TWO THINGS:
    ---Free Membership in the Freemoney Family Organization!--
    ----Which will give each client-(1)-one--$50,00... Freemoney Family Lifetime Membership Guarantee Certificate!---Lifetim... monthly payment!
    -----FREE Membership in the Freemoney Family Real Estate Investment Club!!

    Please Visit:
    freemoneyfamilyrealty....
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    Have a blessed/Freemoney Day!---1-866-730-6293
    -----     Reply
  • commenter
    filmiki
    May 29 04:18 PM
    My Website
    Google Real Estate in Secret Beta; Threat to Cendant, Move.com, HouseValues, ZipRealty (CD, GOOG, HOMS, SOLD, ZIPR) [view article]
    I am still a firm believe in the Rent.com model, which is far more robust for apartment searched, has more inventory than anyone and is obsessively focued on this Reply
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