RegWatch vs. Zillow

Zillow is the most widely used consumer real estate platform in the US, providing property listings, Zestimates (automated value estimates), basic property information, and neighborhood data. It is designed for homebuyers and renters, not real estate professionals conducting due diligence.

For NYC specifically, Zillow provides basic property descriptions and Zestimates, but it does not cover the regulatory and compliance data that professional NYC property research requires.

Purpose: Zillow = consumer listings and estimates. RegWatch = professional property intelligence.
Listings: Zillow shows active listings. RegWatch does not.
Regulatory data: RegWatch provides violations, permits, liens, C of O, zoning. Zillow provides none of these.
Valuation: Zillow offers Zestimates (often inaccurate for NYC co-ops and multi-family). RegWatch provides tax assessment data.
Cost: Zillow is free. RegWatch reports start at $5.
NYC accuracy: Zillow Zestimates are notoriously unreliable in NYC's complex market. RegWatch provides actual city agency data.

Zillow and RegWatch serve completely different audiences. If you are casually browsing homes, Zillow is fine. If you are making investment, legal, or management decisions about NYC property, you need the regulatory data that Zillow simply does not provide. They are not competitors — they are different tools for different purposes.