Constitutional to ban Zillow from estimating homes' value?
Volokh, Eugene
VOLOKH at law.ucla.edu
Mon Apr 16 12:17:21 PDT 2007
Any thoughts on this story?
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/business/articles/0414biz-zillo
w0414.html
An Arizona regulatory board has ordered Zillow.com to stop offering its
online estimates of home values.
The Arizona Board of Appraisal has issued two cease-and-desist letters
to the popular real estate Web site, claiming Zillow needs an appraiser
license to offer its "zestimates" in Arizona.
"It is the board's feeling that (Zillow) is providing an appraisal,"
said Deborah Pearson, Board of Appraisal executive director.
Seattle-based Zillow cautions users that its information is a starting
point for consumers, not a definitive value. It has been popular since
its launch in February 2006. It claims 4 million users a month,
including those curious about their home's value, and the value of
friends' and neighbors' residences.
It has drawn criticism from real estate professionals and others about
accuracy. The non-profit National Community Reinvestment Coalition filed
a complaint in October with the Federal Trade Commission alleging Zillow
was misleading consumers and real estate professionals with its
estimates....
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