Zilpy.com is a site that provides a lot of rental information could hurt RentHomePros even before they launch in a few months.
Even if RentalHomePros generates more accurate data than Zilpy.com, Zilpy appears to have some deep pockets (partnered with Zillow) and can kill them on the shear volume of information of rental info. Even if NARPM can get all 2,000 property managers to particapate it will be less information than what Zilpy already appears to have.
Check out Zilpy’s mapping which is pretty nice - a lot of money has been spent on the development of this site.
Zillow has pretty much become a household name so RentalHomePros is going to have a up hill battle.
NARPM (RentalHomePros) wants the news reporters to come to them for data on rental markets, but think reporters will head to a source that has more volume of data - even if it is not as accurate.
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16 users responded in this post
I trully don’t know what RentalHomePros.com will show, so far nothing but I doubt they have more accurate data as you say.
How can they know all private classifieds that trully drive a lot of rental market. Getting data from Apartments.com or ApartmentGuide.com is an easy job but is in no way “accurate” representation of all local market unless you get all Oodle, Craigs, Rent.com and all.
Jonny,
Thanks for stopping by. I think RentalHomePros will be more accurate because not only will they document the asking price for rent, but also the actual rent price after the tenant signs the lease.
hmm.. as you say 2000 property managers.. it’s very very little data to calculate neighborhoods maps or so. Even if they all cooperate to voluntarily provide that data.
Click on the example in Zilpy presentation pages with the properties on the map they have it for San Francisco as example, look at all comparables in that map with amenities and all, it’s huge.
As far as I can count on Zilpy’s site, for the whole US heatmap, if you take from top snapshot box there’s number of rentals they have.. I can count about 1 mil there give or take even if it’s past 6 months data as they show in the chart underneath, it’s a serious number.
Rentometer is another place that provides rent estimates, but I found comments on the web that they use user entered rent in subsequent rent estimates, heh, I am tempted to verify that.
Rental info was supposed to RentalHomePros strong point, but now with Zilpy their strength has been diminished.
Rental Pro’s will never work in this market….I talk to PM’s all day and when I ask them they say “Who?”
Zilpy will eat there lunch.
Robbie
I guess NARPM is not doing a good job getting the word out about RentalHomePros if PM’s are saying “who”.
I wonder how they get the info they use? I looked up my address and they show rental houses around $1,150 a month. I know that’s not right.
In my area I have never seen a house for rent below $1,500 - $1,800 per month. Show me a house in my area for that and I will rent it myself and sell my house
That is what I was guessing - not that accurate like Zillow.
But you can’t say Zillow is not a household name - even my parents know about it.
That is very true….You hear people talking about it all the time.
Zilpy is using the Zillow API - that is how they are getting the info.
i use http://www.rentomatic.com a lot and love their service but found them to be wrong on the mark too i live in orange park area Robbie and i look at both zilpy and rentomatic and never found any of them to be real close to what the numbers are really for rental’s in this area i truly believe it will never be on the dot
As there is not one place to find homes for lease and what they leased for, Zilpy has to be scraping sites and is only getting what people are asking and then comparing like items. Where Zillow, if they are doing it properly, can actually verify the price sold by visiting the assessor offices online to help make their information more accurate.
We all know some areas of towns where a 3 bedroom home can be found in a million dollar home and where a 3 bedroom home can be found in a $250,000 home. Zilpy, unless they are looking at the home value as well to help determine market “rent”, can only take the estimates from scraping. We all know the owner of the million dollar home won’t lease it for the same rate as the other home and even though the owner of the $250,000 home would like to have the same rate as the million dollar home, no one is going to pay it.
With RentalHomePros, at least they would get data from the property managers of what it actually sold for. Some listing sites already ask that information when you close out a home from being listed. Maybe that information is going to Zilpy as well.
[...] once again a company like RentalHomePros is being trumped by yet other company to have access to some rich data on rental [...]
Dave ,
Wasn’t Rentalhomepro supposed to launch the first Quarter of 2008?
It’s March 20th and no release yet!
Kona
Good question. Perhaps it will never launch.
Dave,
They spent way too much not to launch……but I do not think they know what they are doing on the marketing side!
Kona
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