Never underestimate Zillow’s propensity for marketing.
The real estate juggernaut has put a price on a house at the North Pole it says belongs to Santa Claus: “With a Zestimate® home value of $656,957, Santa’s home is one of the most valuable residential properties in the Arctic.”
Zillow was able to calculate a special Zestimate value for Santa’s house using comparable homes in remote locations and applying a Santa premium of 78%, meaning it would be worth that much more than a house owned by an everyman in a remote location. The home has never been sold and is not on the market. And there is no street address.
This marketing effort is a result of Zillow’s partnership with NORAD Tracks Santa, which for 61 years has been reporting on the whereabouts of the famous sled on Christmas Eve. The hook is that now kids can go to Zillow.com, which presumably they would not ordinarily visit, to track the sled in real time. It also was designed to promote Zillow’s “claim your house” feature, which allows home owners to claim and provide and update photos and information on their domiciles even though they are not for sale, thereby pumping up their Zestimates.
Zillow says Santa Claus’ log cabin has three bedrooms and two bathrooms and measures 2,500 square feet — about 1,000 square feet larger than the average U.S. home. It sits on a unique, 25-acre lot in the North Pole and features a river rock fireplace, a gourmet kitchen and a wood-burning stove in one of the guest suites. The property also boasts a sleigh parking garage, stables and a world-class toy workshop.
“Santa’s home in the North Pole is one of the most famous homes in the world, so we’re thrilled it’s now on Zillow,” said Zillow Chief Marketing Officer Jeremy Wacksman. “Millions of kids are looking forward to a visit from Santa this year, and now they have the opportunity to virtually visit Santa’s house themselves.”
Zillow forecasts that Santa’s home will appreciate 2.2 percent over the next year, in line with its forecast of home value growth in the United States.
BUILDER has dispatched an AI-certified appraiser and a Realtor® via Snow Cat to verify the Zestimate.
