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Homebuyers have plenty to consider when purchasing homes — the price, the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, nearby amenities and monthly mortgage and maintenance costs.
However, there’s one thing that often gets overlooked: Zoning laws.
Christian Taubman | Redfin
“Zoning is a defining characteristic of real estate in North America,” Redfin Chief Growth Officer Christian Taubman said on Monday. “It impacts everyone, and you shouldn’t need special research skills to find the information you need.”
Taubman said Redfin has added zoning information to more than 70 million listings which will help homebuyers understand what they can and can’t do with a prospective property.
“Redfin users ask us every day whether a property can be rented out on Airbnb or whether building another living unit in the backyard is allowed, and now they can find answers directly on our home detail pages,” he said. “We’re proud to be the first real estate website to make that information clear and easily accessible to consumers.”
Redfin partnered with zoning data firm Zoneomics to provide zone names, types and codes for each listing, alongside land-use permissions for single-family, two-family, multifamily, commercial, accessory dwelling unit (ADU), apartment and industrial structures. Buyers can purchase a full zoning report on the Zoneomics site, which offers four options ranging from $79.95 for a brief to $990 for a full report prepared by a team of zoning analysts.
Matthew Player | Zoneomics
Lastly, Redfin has additional links that enable buyers to learn about their local zoning laws and the history of zoning.
“Zoning data has a unique and crucial position in the U.S. and Canada, where it is essential but also needlessly gate-kept from the homebuyer,” Zoneomics CEO Matthew Player said. “This partnership with Redfin is exciting because it will help us provide important data and zoning reports to consumers without any hassle, effectively democratizing access to zoning data across North America.”
Redfin said the feature is live in more than 3,900 cities across the U.S. and Canada. Currently, buyers can only view zoning and land-use information on their desktops, but mobile access will be available on iOS by Dec. 16 and Android sometime next year.
Redfin also added information about climate risk, school ratings, neighborhood amenities, public transit, internet service and speed and down payment assistance programs this year.
