Search by school on Zillow makes house hunting as easy as ABC

Find homes in specific school districts when searching for homes to buy or rent

SEATTLE, Oct. 11, 2023 -- Today, Zillow is launching search by school, a new feature on the Zillow app that makes it easy for home shoppers to discover homes for sale or rent within specific school attendance zones or school districts just by using the search bar.

"Nearly one-third of home shoppers have children younger than 18, making 'search by school' an important feature on the Zillow app," said Nicholas Stevens, vice president of product at Zillow. "We understand the perfect home often extends beyond the property itself, and this feature makes it easy for shoppers to explore homes for sale or for rent in their desired school districts."

The search-by-school feature is accessed through the Zillow search bar and offers auto-complete suggestions for relevant schools and school districts based on the user's search history. Searching by school is currently available on Zillow's iOS mobile app and will launch on Android platforms by the end of the year; it will be on the web in 2024. Additionally, Zillow is introducing the ability for home shoppers to receive instant or daily alerts about new for-sale or for-rent homes within their preferred school attendance zone or school district.

How to search by school on the Zillow app

Using the Zillow mobile app, searching for homes within a particular school attendance zone or school district is as simple as typing the name into the search bar. The feature helps home shoppers by auto-completing their search, offering relevant suggestions for schools and school districts based on their previous searches. Once a school or school district is selected, the app will automatically display the attendance zone boundaries on the map. Users will then see which homes are available for sale or rent within that attendance zone. Searches for open enrollment, or charter or private schools without assigned boundaries will display homes within a 5-mile radius surrounding the school.

Zillow aims to unlock information and empower home shoppers to make better decisions. The search-by-school feature gives people the ability to effortlessly locate homes within a specific school attendance zone or school district, making their home search process as smooth as possible.

School districts: A key priority for home buyers

According to Zillow's Consumer Housing Trends Report, a significant share of home buyers value living in their preferred school district.

The importance of school district selection was particularly evident among buyers in their 30s, with 75% of them emphasizing its significance. In addition, 67% of buyers in their 40s and 61% of first-time buyers considered it a highly important factor in their home search.

Statistics from 2021 revealed that 68% of buyers with kids younger than 18 emphasized the importance of school districts, compared to 20% of buyers without children. Year over year, the percentage of buyers who considered school districts highly important remained steady at 43% from 2018 to 2021. However, in 2023, there has been a notable increase to 52% of buyers, indicating a growing preference among home buyers for locating homes within specific school districts.

About Zillow Group

Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: Z and ZG) is reimagining real estate to make home a reality for more and more people. As the most visited real estate website in the United States, Zillow and its affiliates help people find and get the home they want by connecting them with digital solutions, great partners, and easier buying, selling, financing and renting experiences.

Zillow Group's affiliates, subsidiaries and brands include Zillow®; Zillow Premier Agent®; Zillow Home Loans℠; Trulia®; Out East®; StreetEasy®; HotPads®; and ShowingTime+℠, which includes ShowingTime®, Bridge Interactive®, and dotloop®.