I actually started noticing this information on Zillow before I even saw this story when I was recently running up some data on houses.
There's been quite a few stories on the news about this since. Some people think this information could provide valuable leads on sellers who might be willing to sell to avoid foreclosure. And with listed inventory as tight as it is, I can see how this would be a good thing. Others, however, feel Zillow is posting too much information and it's an invasion of privacy.
Offering public information in a quick and easy way only allows less motivated and/or less educated people the same access.
Maybe. But that's like saying we should get rid of the online MLS system because those who are motivated can just drive all over and look for the "for sale" signs and essentially get the same info.
It's funny, I was listening to the Norris Group real estate radio show recently and Bruce Norris had Sean O'Toole (founder of the ForeclosureRadar website) as a guest on the show. Anyway, Sean said when he came out with his website service, people loved it because it made getting the information so much easier. However, these same people were also mad because other people now had access to the same info.
I guess there are pros and cons to everything. The internet has given us so much information right at our fingertips. It can be very powerful, but also results in less privacy for sure!
If there is one group that this will anger, it will be those who have interest in sites like www.foreclosure.com that charge a hefty premium for foreclosure information. I'm not sure how much zillow will ultimately post, but their information was able to help me put in an offer on a house that had hit the market the same day. This information was free and just required a walk down the street to check it out.