ZipRealty opens online listings to consumer comments

Emeryville, Calif.-based ZipRealty announced today the release of a new comments and ratings feature at the real estate brokerage company's Web site, enabling home shoppers to see what others have said about a particular property listing.

The company displays about 900,000 home listings on its Web site from markets including San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Boston, Miami, Houston and Seattle, among others.

Registered users can rate each property on a scale of one to five, with five being an excellent rating, based on four criteria: overall rating, curb appeal, interior appeal and quality of neighborhood. Users can post additional comments about a home or community in a free-form section.

User feedback has been the latest trend on the Internet, following the lead of sites like Amazon.com, TripAdvisor.com and Judy's Book, where people can post comments about local service providers.

In addition, as part of a site relaunch this week, Reply.com announced it would add a similar user-feedback function to its Web site where users can leave comments about properties.

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