When Zillow launched 20 years ago, the home-buying process happened almost entirely offline. The company's digital listings, combined with its innovative "Zestimate"-an estimate of a home's value, based on the kind of data typically only available to real estate professionals-marked a turning point for the housing market. Zestimates weren't exact representations of value, but they put power back in the hands of prospective buyers (to sellers' and agents' chagrin). Their near-instant popularity was an early "do your research" internet moment.
As homebuyers enter the Santa Clara County real estate market, they face numerous challenges in finding a property. Elevated mortgage rates, coupled with rising home prices, have put tremendous pressure on buyers' budgets. In July, the median price of a single-family home in Santa Clara County was $1,880,000, up 1% from a year ago, while the median price for a condo or townhome was $1,008,000, a 6% increase year-over-year.
