By Tom Butala

Zillow.com on Wednesday rolled out a new feature, allowing users across the country to review and rate local real estate agents.

With 12.5 million visitors each month, Zillow hopes the insight of former clients can provide new users with the best possible experience when selecting a Realtor for their real estate needs. For agents, the reviews and ratings serve as a powerful tool of recommendation to grow their success in the industry.

“If it can be known, it will be known; if it can be rated, it will be rated,” said Zillow co-founder Rich Barton during his lecture ‘Barton’s Laws of the Web’ at the Foster School of Business in November. “When you give people tools, and you allow that tool to plug-in to a marketplace of information that was not available to them before, magic revolutionary things happen.”

Clients can provide general insight in a free-form review box, as well as rate agents on specific criteria such as ‘process expertise,’ ‘responsiveness,’ ‘ local knowledge,’ and ‘negotiation skills.’ However, not all agents are eligible for review, only those who have profiles on Zillow.com can be rated. Users may only file a review after working directly with an agent and must first sign up with Zillow.com as well.

“Zillow’s goal has always been to help people make smarter real estate decisions by providing access to as much information as possible – be it home listings, home value information, comparable home sales or tools to find the best agent or mortgage lender,” Zillow spokeswoman Katie Curnutte told TechFlash.com. “Access to reviews of local agents can be an incredibly useful tool for consumers.”

For more information on ‘Agent Reviews and Ratings,’ visit www.Zillow.com.