Zillow, Inc., a real estate information and home-related marketplace, will host a weekend hackathon whereby developers will be asked to come up with creative solutions to make it easier for first-time homebuyers, low-income renters and senior citizens to find a home that meets their needs Feb. 6-8 in Seattle. The winning team will receive a $10,000 prize.
Although Zillow provides an abundance of real estate data to consumers to help them through the process of finding a home, information about government programs and data about accessibility of homes that qualify under these programs has remained fragmented or unavailable.
As part of the event, participants will have access to newly released government data sets on topics such as federal housing programs, apartment buildings with accessible apartments and transit information. In addition, Zillow will make available its data on home values and rents.
The event is hosted in partnership with the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Washington, and with the participation of the federal government.