Long before the web existed, I was a math teacher… the first job I ever loved. Sometimes I wish I could return to that now that there are so many cool new things to inflict math on. The latest case in point: Zillow.com.
Try it out. Type in your home address and see how much it says that your house is worth. What about your neighbors? Your old boy friend? The house you grew up in?
Clearly, since most homes are not actually on the market, there is some math going on in the background to estimate these prices. Wouldn’t it be a terrific inquiry exercise to try to figure out what the underlying equations are? Zillow gives you the lot size, house size, number of bathrooms and bedrooms and year built. For a given neighborhood, could you hold everything constant except for one of these and plot that against the price? Could you develop equations that show the value of adding a bedroom? If there are outliers, is there an explanation based on location within the neighborhood?
Could be fun.