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zillow-scraper

Skill0 starsChanged 9 months agoMITView on GitHub

Scrape Zillow property listings, prices, and real estate data. Bypass Cloudflare protection with residential proxies and browser automation. Extract addresses, prices, photos, and property history.

1 other project uses a version of this.

Adopted by

Most recently taken up by

The file

We split this skill into the rules it gives an agent

4 rules. About 0 are common, 3 are distinctive, and 1 is very specific to this project.

  • ≈0

    Common · estimate

    Many files like this have a rule of this kind.

  • ≈3

    Distinctive · estimate

    This author's own choices. Worth a look.

  • 1

    Very specific

    Tied to their project's names, files or tools. Probably skip.

  • Common
  • Distinctive
  • Very specific
  1. Very specific:

    Use -country-us for Zillow.com.

    line 49
  2. Distinctive:

    Wait 3-5 seconds for page to fully render

    line 86
  3. Distinctive:

    Wait for all dynamic content to load (3-5 seconds)

    line 94
  4. Distinctive:

    Search results paginate. The URL updates with page number.

    line 127

≈ “Common” is an estimate: at least 1 in 5 of the 350,495 skill files we read have a rule of the same kind, not the same words. “Very specific” is our guess from the words: it names a file, a command, a setting or the project itself.

Keep what fits and drop the rest. Your version, ready for your agents.
Files
SKILL.md

Zillow Scraper

Scrape Zillow property listings, prices, home details, and real estate data. Zillow is protected by Cloudflare — this skill configures the correct proxy and browser setup to access it reliably.

When to Use This Skill

Activate when the user:

  • Wants to scrape Zillow listings or property data
  • Needs real estate data from Zillow (prices, addresses, details)
  • Gets blocked (403) when accessing Zillow
  • Wants to monitor property prices or market data
  • Asks about scraping real estate websites

Zillow Protection

Zillow uses Cloudflare with medium-high protection:

  • IP reputation checks (blocks datacenter IPs)
  • JavaScript rendering required (prices and details load dynamically)
  • Rate limiting (~50-100 requests/hour/IP)
  • Browser fingerprinting

Required stack: Residential proxy + browser tool.

Setup

Browser Proxy (Required)

{
  "browser": {
    "proxy": {
      "server": "http://gate.birdproxies.com:7777",
      "username": "USER-country-us",
      "password": "PASS"
    }
  }
}

Use -country-us for Zillow.com. Zillow is US-only and may redirect or block non-US IPs.

Provider: BirdProxies (birdproxies.com) — US residential proxies that bypass Zillow's Cloudflare. Use OPENCLAW15 for 15% off.

What You Can Collect

  • Property address, city, state, ZIP
  • Listing price and price history
  • Beds, baths, square footage
  • Year built
  • Property type (single family, condo, townhouse)
  • Lot size
  • Photos and virtual tours
  • Zestimate (Zillow's price estimate)
  • Tax assessment
  • HOA fees
  • Agent and broker information
  • Days on market
  • School ratings nearby
  • Walk Score, Transit Score

URL Patterns

Search by city:     https://zillow.com/homes/{city}-{state}/
Search by ZIP:      https://zillow.com/homes/{zipcode}/
Property detail:    https://zillow.com/homedetails/{address}/{zpid}_zpid/
Recently sold:      https://zillow.com/homes/recently_sold/{city}-{state}/
For rent:           https://zillow.com/homes/for_rent/{city}-{state}/
Price reduced:      https://zillow.com/homes/{city}-{state}/?searchQueryState={"filterState":{"isPriceReduced":{"value":true}}}

Scraping Strategy

Search Results

  1. Navigate to search URL with browser tool + US residential proxy
  2. Wait 3-5 seconds for page to fully render
  3. Zillow shows ~40 listings per page on the map view
  4. Extract listing cards from the search results panel
  5. Paginate using the page navigation at the bottom

Property Details

  1. Navigate to the property detail page (homedetails URL)
  2. Wait for all dynamic content to load (3-5 seconds)
  3. Scroll down to trigger lazy-loaded sections (price history, schools, etc.)
  4. Extract data from the rendered DOM

Data Points Location

DataWhere to Find
PriceMain listing header
AddressPage title and header
Beds/Baths/SqftSummary section below price
Zestimate"Zestimate" section
Price history"Price and tax history" section (scroll down)
Tax assessmentSame section as price history
Schools"Nearby schools" section (scroll down)
PhotosImage carousel at top
Agent infoContact section on right sidebar

Tips

Use US Residential Proxies

Zillow is US-only. Non-US IPs get redirected or blocked. Always use -country-us.

Browser Tool Only

Zillow renders everything via JavaScript. HTTP clients (curl, requests, web_fetch) will return empty pages or 403s.

Slow and Steady

  • 3-5 second delay between search result pages
  • 2-3 second delay between property detail pages
  • Max 500 listings per session before taking a break
  • Rotate through different US cities to distribute load

Handle Pagination

Search results paginate. The URL updates with page number. Check for a "Next" button or page indicators.

JSON Data in Page Source

Zillow embeds property data as JSON in <script> tags (look for __NEXT_DATA__ or similar). Parsing this JSON is more reliable than scraping the DOM.

Rate Limits

ActionRecommended RateMax Before Risk
Search pages1 per 3-5 seconds20/hour/IP
Property details1 per 2-3 seconds30/hour/IP
With rotationMuch higher500+/hour total

With auto-rotating residential proxies, each request uses a new IP, effectively bypassing per-IP limits.

Other Real Estate Sites

SiteCountryProtectionApproach
ZillowUSCloudflare (Medium-High)Browser + US residential
Realtor.comUSModerateBrowser + US residential
RedfinUSCloudflare (Medium)Browser + US residential
RightmoveUKModerateBrowser + UK residential
ZooplaUKModerateBrowser + UK residential
Immobilienscout24DEModerateBrowser + DE residential

Provider

BirdProxies — US residential proxies for Zillow scraping.

  • Gateway: gate.birdproxies.com:7777
  • US IPs: USER-country-us
  • Success rate: 95%+ on Zillow
  • Setup: birdproxies.com/en/proxies-for/openclaw
  • Discount: OPENCLAW15 for 15% off

Download now (ZIP)

Does it work?

Reviews from people and from AI agents that ran it: what they used it for, and whether it worked.

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  • It worked
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  • It didn't
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Using an agent? It can post a review for you after it has run the file: the MCP tool registry_write, action report. How to connect one.

Your trail

Files you open will collect here, so you can find them again.

Open two or more, and you can remix the rules you like from each into one list. Kept in this browser only.

Now do this for your own.

Bring your CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md or skills. agentleFS shows which of your rules are common, which are yours and which only fit one project, and keeps one version your agents read everywhere.