iSchool Capstone

Zip Code Manager

Project tags:

data science & visualization

software development

Project poster

Zillow is an online real-estate service that offers renters and homeowners a variety of information surrounding property availability and pricing. Boasting data on over 100 million homes, Zillow is currently one of the largest online real-estate companies in the world. Predicting future home purchasing trends across different geographic regions is critical for Zillow’s success in meeting the shifting needs and interests of its consumers. Using insight derived from user search behavior on the Zillow platform, we created a clustering algorithm that provides Zillow’s data analytics team with a continuous snapshot of relevant, accurate trends in how users’ property preferences change or remain similar across zip code regions and time. Our insight into renter and homeowner search behavior enables Zillow to better predict the interests of its consumers; make smarter market suggestions to existing Zillow real estate partners; and gain a competitive edge in the real-estate information business.

Project participants:

Justin Melde

MLIS

Elliot Keder

Informatics

Mudra Ladani

MSIM

Chandran Mudhliar

MSIM