User:Moneybagsuk/Zoopla

Zoopla (also Zoopla! or Zoopla.co.uk) is a UK property website that offers information such as sold house prices and current value estimates for all 27 million residential properties in the UK.

Product features
The Zoopla site is a searchable directory of UK residential properties, created as a mashup of Royal Mail's database, the UK HM Land Registry's data on property transactions, Google maps, Microsoft Birds eye view, and other data sources. The data is then presented in a read-write format, so that user generated content can "fill in the gaps".

Based on this data, Zoopla has developed an Automated Valuation Model or algorithm that allows the site to provide an instant valuation estimate for any property in the UK, similar to competitors Mouseprice and Hometrack. The site also allows users to claim their home, advertise it for sale or set a TemptMe price (a price at which they could be tempted to sell).

History and company information
Zoopla was founded in 2007 by Alex Chesterman, former founder of ScreenSelect / Lovefilm and Simon Kain, former senior developer at Bookpages / Amazon UK and Lovefilm CTO. In June 2008, they hired Doug Monro, former MD of Gumtree, as Chief Operating Officer.

The website had 300,000 visitors in May 2008, making it one of the top ten property websites in the UK, but well behind established players like Rightmove.

Zoopla have been quoted in the UK press in a number of articles based on their data, such as the UK Property Rich List and comments on the value of various celebrity homes. There has also been some debate over the ethics of property porn and property snooping.

Zoopla is backed by Atlas Venture and other investors.

The site has some similarities to Zillow.com in the US.