How to Scrape Real Estate Data from Zillow in 2026 (Step-by-Step Guide)

Data is the oxygen of the modern real estate market. Whether you are an investor looking for the next big opportunity, a realtor analyzing market trends, or a developer building a property aggregator, a student, or a professional, having access to accurate, up-to-date listing data is a game-changer. And when it comes to US real estate, Zillow is the undisputed king of data for the real estate market.

However, extracting bulk data from Zillow is notoriously difficult. The platform relies on complex map-based interfaces and employs sophisticated anti-scraping measures to block automated access. Zillow currently employs several measures to prevent scraping, including IP blocking, CAPTCHA challenges (HUMAN Security), and dynamic content loading.

In this article, we will walk you through how to bypass these challenges and scrape thousands of rental listings, including prices, addresses, and full photo galleries- using the Zillow Rental Data Scraper on the Apify platform.

Why scrape Zillow data?

Web scraping transforms Zillow's vast data into structured datasets (Excel, CSV, JSON) for different downstream applications. It enables professionals to automate the collection of listings, price history, and market stats, unlocking insights that manual searching cannot match.

Key Use Cases

• Market Research: Scraping real estate data allows you to monitor local trends, supply/demand balance, and regional pricing to gauge market health.
• Investment Analysis: Identify undervalued assets, calculate ROI, and track value appreciation to build profitable portfolios.
• Competitor Intelligence: Analyze how similar properties perform, track listings, and understand market positioning.
• Location Analytics: Assess neighborhood demographics, amenities, and property characteristics for development or relocation planning.
• Proptech & App Development: Feed real-time real estate data into new platforms, apps, or AI models for predictive analytics.
• Rental Management: Analyze rental demand, set optimal pricing, and understand tenant preferences.

What Data Is Collected?

The Zillow Rental Data Scraper extracts detailed information for every listing found in your search area:

• Property Identity: Full address, building name, Zillow Property ID (zpid), and precise GPS coordinates.
• Rental Details: Current pricing, available units, bedroom/bathroom counts, and square footage.
• Rich Media: High-resolution image URLs, including the complete photo gallery for each property.
• Listing Metadata: Listing status (e.g., FOR_RENT), availability counts, and the direct URL to the Zillow listing page.

The challenge: Why is Zillow hard to scrape?

Zillow does not offer a public API for bulk listing data. Additionally, it utizes a map-based search interface that loads data dynamically as you pan and zoom the map. Standard web scrapers often fail because:

1. Map-Based Pagination: You can't just page through results; you often need to "move" a virtual map to find all listings in a city.
2. Sophisticated Anti-Scraping Security: Zillow uses PerimeterX (HUMAN Security), an enterprise-grade solution that analyzes browser fingerprints, mouse movements, and keystrokes. It triggers a difficult CAPTCHA or blocks IPs immediately if it detects bot-like behavior.
3. IP Blocking: Standard data center IPs (like AWS or Google Cloud) are flagged and blocked almost instantly.
4. Complex Data Structure: Vital information like high-resolution photos is often hidden behind dynamic user interactions (XHR requests).

The solution: Zillow Rental Data Scraper

The Zillow Rental Data Scraper is a powerful Apify Actor designed specifically to overcome these hurdles. Unlike generic scrapers, the Zillow Scraper mimics the Zillow map-view search behavior. You define a geographic "box" (using latitude and longitude), and the Actor systematically sweeps that area to capture every listing provided by Zillow.

Key capabilities:

• Geographic Precision: Scrape listings within a precise map area using a bounding box.
• Rich Media Extraction: Captures all available photo URLs for each property, not just the thumbnail.
• Granular Filters: Apply min/max price, bedroom/bathroom counts, and property type filters (e.g., houses vs. apartments).
• Bypassing Blocks: Built to work seamlessly with Residential Proxies to avoid detection.

Step-by-step guide: How to use the Zillow Scraper

You don't need to write a single line of Python code to get this data. Follow these steps to start scraping in minutes.

1. Find your target area

First, you need to define the geographic area you want to scrape.

1. Go to Zillow.com.
2. Search for your target city (e.g., "Austin, TX").
3. Zoom the map to cover the exact area you are interested in.
4. You will use the coordinates of this area (North-East and South-West corners) to tell the scraper where to look. You can find these in the URL or use a simple online bounding box tool.

2. Set up the Actor on the Apify platform

1. Log in to your Apify account or create a new one if you don't have one.
2. Navigate to the Zillow Rental Data Scraper page.
3. Click Try for free to open the Actor console.

3. Configure your input

In the Input tab, you will specify exactly what the scarper should look for.

Search Parameters:
Set your filters to match your needs. For example, if you are looking for affordable 1-bedroom apartments:

• Min Price: $1,200
• Max Price: $2,500
• Min Bed: 1
• etc

Geographic Boundary:
Enter the coordinates you found in Step 1. This ensures the scraper focuses only on your target market.

• ne_lat (North East Latitude)
• sw_long (South West Longitude)
• etc.

Proxy Configuration (CRITICAL):
Zillow has strict security. To ensure your run succeeds:

• Enable Proxy configuration.
• Select Residential proxies.
• Note: Using Datacenter proxies usually results in empty datasets because Zillow blocks them immediately.

4. Run the scraper

Click the Start button. The Actor will spin up, navigate to Zillow using the residential proxies, apply your filters, and start extracting data.

You can watch the logs to see progress in real-time. The scraper will output "Extracted details" for each property it finds.

5. Download your data

Once the run is finished, go to the Storage tab. You can preview your data or download it in your preferred format:

• Excel: Great for manual review and sorting.
• CSV: Ideal for importing into databases or CRMs.
• JSON: Best for developers integrating the data into apps.

Sample Output Data:
You will get a clean, structured dataset for every property:

Example Output

{
  "zpid": "30.46529--97.60529",
  "id": "30.46529--97.60529",
  "providerListingId": "5c5nn5nycnc5q",
  "imgSrc": "https://photos.zillowstatic.com/fp/7d1a61d3b011516c8a5204f1b398e474-p_e.jpg",
  "hasImage": true,
  "detailUrl": "https://www.zillow.com/apartments/pflugerville-tx/the-beacon-at-pfluger-farm/CjjCGn/",
  "statusType": "FOR_RENT",
  "statusText": "The Beacon at Pfluger Farm",
  "address": "1300 Rauscher Rd, Pflugerville, TX",
  "addressStreet": "1300 Rauscher Rd # f52cfdc49",
  "addressCity": "Pflugerville",
  "addressState": "TX",
  "addressZipcode": "78660",
  "units": [
    {
      "price": "$1,214+",
      "beds": "1",
      "roomForRent": false
    },
    {
      "price": "$1,782+",
      "beds": "2",
      "roomForRent": false
    }
  ],
  "lotId": 2748185226,
  "latLong": {
    "latitude": 30.46529,
    "longitude": -97.60529
  },
  "listCardRecommendation": {
    "flexFieldRecommendations": [
      {
        "displayString": "11 available units",
        "contentType": "frUnitsAvailable"
      }
    ],
    "ctaRecommendations": [
      {
        "displayString": "Request a tour",
        "contentType": "REQUEST_A_TOUR"
      }
    ]
  },
  "isSaved": false,
  "buildingName": "The Beacon at Pfluger Farm",
  "isBuilding": true,
  "canSaveBuilding": true,
  "has3DModel": false,
  "isFeaturedListing": true,
  "isShowcaseListing": false,
  "list": true,
  "relaxed": false,
  "carouselPhotosComposable": {
    "baseUrl": "https://photos.zillowstatic.com/fp/{photoKey}-p_e.jpg",
    "communityBaseUrl": null,
    "photoData": [
      "https://photos.zillowstatic.com/fp/7d1a61d3b011516c8a5204f1b398e474-p_e.jpg",
      "https://photos.zillowstatic.com/fp/6ef9281fdb0d7e13b9fb90a3cec20987-p_e.jpg",
      "https://photos.zillowstatic.com/fp/1069c481833fdd6fa45c27fe7296ece7-p_e.jpg",
      "https://photos.zillowstatic.com/fp/3ae52944a1839e27510901aa70f03bb6-p_e.jpg",
      "https://photos.zillowstatic.com/fp/538f0be96c53927b7a1e3f536d05fed0-p_e.jpg",
      "https://photos.zillowstatic.com/fp/ba77a295f04bc79a14d93ed34dcc1e5f-p_e.jpg",
      "https://photos.zillowstatic.com/fp/2f5c50213efb1e57356fc2d9eb332089-p_e.jpg",
      "https://photos.zillowstatic.com/fp/bc2f048dd1d895baabd564e6f733b07c-p_e.jpg",
      "https://photos.zillowstatic.com/fp/90d8a596e849d8a67d3b05dcad9a038c-p_e.jpg",
      "https://photos.zillowstatic.com/fp/c3db6fee321ab87e0aec5574e2b96798-p_e.jpg",
      "https://photos.zillowstatic.com/fp/66f87c6c89345569fa9969bc7752e69c-p_e.jpg",
      "https://photos.zillowstatic.com/fp/9b4d966520512aafe6cc452a9e3c03a2-p_e.jpg",
      "https://photos.zillowstatic.com/fp/b3e544dcadcd50e9909c13cda614409c-p_e.jpg",
      "https://photos.zillowstatic.com/fp/88b022e258a3689392794869bce2c8b5-p_e.jpg",
      "https://photos.zillowstatic.com/fp/04aa9848fd82a6af259b8ee4057ddada-p_e.jpg",
      "https://photos.zillowstatic.com/fp/64f3e72700fa174491609240a2772348-p_e.jpg",
      "https://photos.zillowstatic.com/fp/e2024d6f788006f6f646e908030db1f6-p_e.jpg",
      "https://photos.zillowstatic.com/fp/7b9ec973819dcde5d354fe5fb396fb35-p_e.jpg",
      "https://photos.zillowstatic.com/fp/c2f38c90c4628d1a472a445b1b79b87f-p_e.jpg",
      "https://photos.zillowstatic.com/fp/010b8274d97cb58d03f43f33511e1c16-p_e.jpg",
      "https://photos.zillowstatic.com/fp/c83aab0ab0194622a262e019044b40eb-p_e.jpg",
      "https://photos.zillowstatic.com/fp/8488b9de4f2ac78b1ab8d661495205e1-p_e.jpg",
      "https://photos.zillowstatic.com/fp/3758a24dc4ff6f2df99d24a10b948499-p_e.jpg",
      "https://photos.zillowstatic.com/fp/0198c3f273d9369db18ccb371870397d-p_e.jpg",
      "https://photos.zillowstatic.com/fp/6245e857a3d8f784f3cf8d7e85b8b037-p_e.jpg",
      "https://photos.zillowstatic.com/fp/340b5363f062cc09a7876d1d6772fa96-p_e.jpg",
      "https://photos.zillowstatic.com/fp/ddd360f0f1db438298ea438c35afdc16-p_e.jpg",
      "https://photos.zillowstatic.com/fp/8b2392852d76970f4e38bb444dde9118-p_e.jpg",
      "https://photos.zillowstatic.com/fp/7c93c4adaeff5e718db6a1878515300a-p_e.jpg",
      "https://photos.zillowstatic.com/fp/402ff64e1592cff104968d216228fd15-p_e.jpg",
      "https://photos.zillowstatic.com/fp/41fc7e98b78f44a1b098479003c15c0f-p_e.jpg",
      "https://photos.zillowstatic.com/fp/1e96a1b3214f06e3352aa6e9267f9a7a-p_e.jpg",
      "https://photos.zillowstatic.com/fp/729f2ba54acab8ef7454af2fa4435239-p_e.jpg",
      "https://photos.zillowstatic.com/fp/f17991597d432633505cd1bc16b19017-p_e.jpg",
      "https://photos.zillowstatic.com/fp/c9e726647b8d47aa0afe17b5e88e1cd1-p_e.jpg",
      "https://photos.zillowstatic.com/fp/214b658c9de15f14982974d07663111d-p_e.jpg",
      "https://photos.zillowstatic.com/fp/e7f14898a3770034f6a713bcea34f4c7-p_e.jpg",
      "https://photos.zillowstatic.com/fp/4819e0d2edc6d2d32badeba4fdea044b-p_e.jpg",
      "https://photos.zillowstatic.com/fp/68406fbf2c016fd38fdec02e411b155d-p_e.jpg",
      "https://photos.zillowstatic.com/fp/2111ff9c000d2d5f3c37b1d838f902d6-p_e.jpg",
      "https://photos.zillowstatic.com/fp/e12b2a8952536f45e55c6716de2ef273-p_e.jpg",
      "https://photos.zillowstatic.com/fp/a0e7c07753f64ebbdf9e2b186e3f368f-p_e.jpg",
      "https://photos.zillowstatic.com/fp/f8168301283fe4477153eac9c1320fc8-p_e.jpg",
      "https://photos.zillowstatic.com/fp/1971944837586c1bca34fa72f088ef85-p_e.jpg",
      "https://photos.zillowstatic.com/fp/7f0cd466eb612c36955aabd3346020ae-p_e.jpg",
      "https://photos.zillowstatic.com/fp/f2159903758d257c046e8c4db8b9630e-p_e.jpg",
      "https://photos.zillowstatic.com/fp/eb3f16643202f129ec81c8997138f392-p_e.jpg",
      "https://photos.zillowstatic.com/fp/87fbce9721b2c588e3d27080e3deacfa-p_e.jpg"
    ],
    "communityPhotoData": null,
    "isStaticUrls": false
  },
  "availabilityCount": 11,
  "marketingTreatments": [
    "trustedListing",
    "paid",
    "zillowRentalManager",
    "multiFamilySalesListing",
    "paidOrUnpaidMultifamily",
    "paidMultifamily",
    "multifamilyPremium"
  ],
  "listPriceIncludesRequiredMonthlyFees": false,
  "isInstantTourEnabled": false,
  "isContactable": true,
  "isPaidBuilderNewConstruction": false
}

Is scraping Zillow legal?

Scraping publicly available factual data (like addresses, prices, and facts about a property) is generally considered legal in the US, provided you do not breach login barriers or copyright protections (like re-publishing creative descriptions or photos without permission).

However, you must always respect Zillow's Terms of Service and specific laws like GDPR or CCPA if personal data is involved. If you plan to use the data commercially or at scale, we recommend consulting with a legal professional.

Wrapping Up

We've covered why Zillow data is a goldmine for real estate professionals and the significant technical hurdles—like map-based pagination and sophisticated anti-scraping defenses (PerimeterX), that make extracting it so difficult.

The Zillow Rental Data Scraper on Apify offers a robust, no-code solution to bypass these barriers. By leveraging residential proxies and mimicking real user behavior, you can reliably harvest rich datasets, including listings, high-resolution photos, and pricing history.

Ready to start scraping? Get the Zillow Rental Data Scraper!