How to Zillow surf like a pro
The secret is in the date range.
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Last week, I was with my friend Juliana outside Dudley Market—feeling unmistakably frumpy amid the glittering 20-somethings gathered outside the LA hotspot—when Juliana turned to me and said “Do you know about the walk streets in Venice?” Pointing up to a charming lane within view.
I had just finished my wine (get the chenin blanc), and was debating a refill, when my curiosity got the better of me. As we walked up Dudley Avenue—one of the “walk streets” I would come to learn—I instantly became obsessed with the charming houses with front lawns overflowing with palms, succulents, and bougainvillea along the pedestrian-only lanes that ran straight to the beach. These streets seemed refreshingly different from the car-centric LA that this East Coast prepster had experienced.
Developed by tobacco magnate Abbott Kinney around the turn of the 20th century, Venice, CA—”The Venice of the Americas”—was to be a seaside resort with all the charm and distinct walkability of the Venice of Italy, complete with canals and pedestrian-only lanes of densely settled houses, now known as the walk streets, which are located mostly between Pacific Avenue and the beach1. While the original houses were craftsman and revivalist beach cottages, many of the houses have been substantially renovated or entirely rebuilt over the years.
After meandering up and down a few (Thornton and Park Aves were highlights) and with still some time before our reservation at Gjelina, I indulged my real estate obsession. I pulled my phone out, and began to search for walk street houses for sale.
I used my tried and true Zillow hacks to weed out the modern houses and find only the ones with character. And after today, they will also be your Zillow hacks, too, because we don’t gatekeep searching strategies in this (old) house, whether you want to find a 1920s bungalow in LA or an early 19th century home in the Hudson Valley.
My Zillow Secrets
First, a cautionary note
Zillow is a fun way to casually browse inventory and get a general sense of the market. I always say that if they got a comment section, Zillow would be the hottest social media platform. But while it’s a good starting point, it’s not where you should spend your time if you’re actually serious about buying a house. Zillow is often poorly updated and lacks many details and specificity for local markets, especially in places like New York City, where it doesn’t distinguish between condo and co-ops.
The date range is your best friend
I often search for a house built in a particular style. In the case of the walk streets, which were developed around the turn of the 20th century, I want to separate out any original houses (craftsman, revivalist) from the ones that had been fully rebuilt.
The best way to narrow results is to search with a specific date range.
I like searching best on a computer, where you can set a custom lower-bound date (the earliest date the app allows is 1900). You should always put a lower-bound. If you don’t, then any listings without a build date will be included in the results, even if the house is modern. Those listings would be excluded if you list a lower-bound date. I often set dates a few years outside of my target range to account for any error on the listing’s part. For the walk streets (the houses were built between 1900 and 1920/30) I set the boundaries to 1895 to 1935.
However, if I was searching for an antique house in the Hudson Valley, I might do something like 1600 as the lower bound to 1880 for the upper bound, since I like to look for Federal and Greek revival houses. If I was after Victorian homes, I might do something like 1850 - 1915.
Disable location bounds
It’s a natural starting point to search by location (Venice, CA / Hudson, NY / Berkshire County), but I often like to remove the boundary. Sometimes, the Zillow geographic filters will oddly exclude a property that should actually be included, and removing the boundary suddenly reveals houses that should’ve been there all along. It also allows you to freely move the the map to see other listings if you’re curious about a specific area that’s more in between two towns or neighborhoods.
Use keywords—carefully
You might also be wondering about the use of keywords. If I want a house on a walk street, shouldn’t I put “walk street” as the keyword?
Every so often, I’ll search via keyword, but I don’t put much faith in the results since so many listings lack pertinent information. I would hope that a listing for a walk-street house would include those details just as I would hope a listing for a Greek revival farmhouse lists the architectural style, but more often than not, I use the date range to narrow down style, and the map (free of boundaries!) to narrow down location. Sometimes a house will be properly described, but it tends to be the exception and less the rule. These strategies are designed to account for error on the listing’s part.
Here are some of the walk-street houses I found that I think are worth knowing about.
Walk Street Houses
29 23rd Street - $2,547,000
This cute two-bedroom is the best walk-street house currently on the market (that I could find) with original craftsman details. I love those windows.
854 Nowita Pl (sold for $2,951,900)
This house, which sold, is special for its double lot, but I also love that stone fireplace. I also found out in my walk street researching that Julia Roberts used to live on Nowita Place!
807 Superba Ave (sold for $3,525,000)
While technically in a “walk-street district” and not on a walk street, this house, known locally as “The Red Barn” is too good not to share. I love all the original woodwork still intact. It sold and is on a double lot, so I’m sure it will be, uh, “reimagined” - but let’s enjoy it as it was, and hopefully still is.
OTHER THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT
My friend Keith Taillon (who was my first interview for this newsletter!) is coming out with his first book next week. He is wildly knowledgable, and you all must order Walking New York!
This house in Essex, CT is for sale and I need it in my life.
My friend Alexis deBoschnek is coming out with her second cookbook! Pre-order it now.
Up next week: Why I was a Titanic kid, and why I think there are so many Titanic kids out there.
I know there are walk streets located elsewhere in Venice as well as in Manhattan Beach.
I will definitely be scanning Zillow. Thanks for the tips.
PRO