Real Estate as a Teaching Tool
This activity uses authentic real estate datasets to teach core statistical concepts. Students select properties from Zillow in the Williamsburg area and enter data via a survey form. The instructor then uses this collected dataset throughout the semester for various statistical analyses.
How It Works
Students pretend to buy a house with an unlimited budget and collect property information from Zillow listings. The class dataset is then used for hands-on statistical learning throughout the semester.
In-Class Exercises
Students calculate deviations and residuals using their selected properties. Results are written on sticky notes (“data dots”) to construct histograms and scatterplots on whiteboards. This tactile approach helps distinguish individual case measures from dataset-wide measures.
Semester-Long Statistical Analyses
Students progress through statistical methods using the same dataset:
Correlation
Examining relationships between property features like price, square footage, and lot size.
ANOVA
Comparing property values across different neighborhoods or property types.
T-tests
Testing hypotheses about differences between groups of properties.
Linear Regression
Building predictive models for property prices based on features.
Logistic Regression
Classifying properties based on categorical outcomes.
Building a Zestimate
The curriculum culminates in building custom “Zestimate” equations (Zillow’s property valuation model). Students make predictions, calculate residuals, and interpret beta coefficients—understanding how additional bedrooms or zipcode changes affect property prices.
Why Real Estate Data?
The approach works because domain knowledge is accessible, variable relationships are strong and predictable, and both categorical and numeric variables allow diverse analytical approaches throughout one semester.
Data Resources
- Survey Form — Google Forms for property data collection
- Analysis Spreadsheet — Google Sheets containing the dataset and week-by-week analyses
- Reference — Zillow Research site explaining the actual Zestimate methodology