Zillow Estimated Payoff Age

It’s almost Christmas, which means many things. People are shopping for presents, many of us are traveling, and the market for purchasing homes historically slows down a lot. This makes sense. No one wants to move on top of everything else they’re doing during the holidays.

On the other hand… if you’re hunting for a bargain, December is a great time to buy a house. Yes, moving sucks, but you’re going up against less competition than when every family in America tries to move during the summer.

Thinking about the home-buying process made me consider how expensive mortgages are. The word mortgage literally translates to “death pledge”, and we end up having to pay these monthly fees for a large chunk of our lives.

This made me wonder… what if Zillow and other real estate apps could use generative AI to show you what you’d look like when you finally pay off your home? You could even estimate a “payoff age” for when you’ll be the full owner of your property.

My gut says this would scare away a lot of people and be generally disheartening, and while that would be bad for the real estate market, it might be good for the individual.

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