Zillow Launches New Schools Search Tool; Allows Shoppers to Search in Multiple School Areas Simultaneously

SEATTLE, Sept. 12, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Zillow, Inc. (NASDAQ: Z), the largest U.S. real estate and home-related marketplace, today launched a new schools search tool that allows home shoppers to search by boundariesⁱ and quality of schools – elementary through high school, public and private – in their desired area. Zillow® is the first and only home shopping resource where shoppers can combine school types all in one search.

The schools search tool is integrated into the Zillow online and mobile iOS home shopping experience. While most school searches allow home shoppers to look at homes within the boundaries of one school, Zillow's search experience lets families search by multiple boundaries, and filter by school ratings. School ratings and reviews content is provided by GreatSchools, the nation's leading online guide to PreK-12 schools.

"Two of the most important things home buyers tell us they look for in a new home is affordability within their price range, and quality of schools for their children – often with specific schools in mind," said Amy Bohutinsky, Zillow chief marketing officer. "Zillow's new schools search tool has made it tremendously easier to customize a Web or mobile home search based on a family's unique needs. Up until now that search proved to be daunting, especially if they had children in different grades and often, different schools. Now, whether the shopper has one kid in high school and one in junior high, or just wants to ensure their young children will go to the right schools as they grow, Zillow can empower them to find their perfect home." 

To use the tool, Zillow users simply click the graduation cap icon on the map, and elect to search by elementary, middle or high school boundary – or any combination of the three. Users can also narrow their search by GreatSchools rating, and choose to search public schools, private schools and/or charter schools.

The schools search tool is also available on iOS in a simple format, including an auto-fill search bar programmed to show the most popular schools first whenever a user types in a school name.

About Zillow:
Zillow, Inc. (NASDAQ: Z) operates the leading real estate and home-related marketplaces on mobile and the Web, with a complementary portfolio of brands and products that help people find vital information about homes, and connect with the best local professionals. Zillow's brands serve the full life cycle of owning and living in a home: buying, selling, renting, financing, remodeling and more. In addition, Zillow offers a suite of tools and services to help local real estate, mortgage, rental and home improvement professionals manage and market their businesses. Welcoming more than 61 million monthly unique users in July 2013, the Zillow, Inc. portfolio includes Zillow.com®, Zillow Mobile, Zillow Mortgage Marketplace, Zillow Rentals, Zillow Digs™, Postlets®, Diverse Solutions®, Agentfolio™, Mortech®, HotPads™ and StreetEasy®. The company is headquartered in Seattle.

Zillow.com, Zillow, Postlets, Diverse Solutions Mortech, and StreetEasy are registered trademarks of Zillow, Inc. Agentfolio, HotPads and Digs are trademarks of Zillow, Inc.

About GreatSchools

Founded in 1998, GreatSchools is a national nonprofit that helps parents get a great education for their children. The Webby award-winning website, GreatSchools.org, helps families make crucial decisions about where to live and where to send their children to school. GreatSchools.org is the nation's leading guide to PreK-12 schools, with profiles of 200,000 public and private schools and more than one million ratings and reviews by parents, teachers and students. In addition, GreatSchools.org offers thousands of articles, videos and worksheets that give parents practical ways to support their children's learning. Last year GreatSchools.org reached 44 million people, including half of all American families with school-age children. Headquartered in San Francisco, GreatSchools has local programs in Indianapolis, Milwaukee and Washington, DC.

ⁱ Private, charter and other schools without exclusive attendance zones will not have boundary lines. All other new school-related features will apply.

SOURCE Zillow, Inc.