---
title: "Build a Zillow Property Shortlist and Export It to Excel"
description: "Select Zillow properties across searches, add local research notes and tags, and export a shortlist to CSV or Excel with its source and capture time."
canonical: "https://www.propertydatalabs.com/blog/zillow-property-shortlist-to-excel"
publishedAt: "2026-11-09"
lastModified: "2026-11-09"
---

# Build a Zillow Property Shortlist and Export It to Excel

When you want a few properties from several searches, a shortlist saves you from downloading every
search and sorting through the files afterward. Zillow Data Exporter lets you preview a supported
results page, keep selected properties, add research notes and tags, and export the list.

The shortlist lives in the extension in this browser. It is separate from Zillow Saved Homes, and
it does not sync to another computer. You can keep up to **200 properties total across listing types**,
subject to a **2 MB** storage limit. These limits and the storage behavior are documented in the
[property research reference](/docs/extension/property-research#save-properties-across-searches).

## Choose between a search export and a shortlist

| Your task                                           | Use                                                                         |
| --------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Keep the current results page                       | **Export page**                                                             |
| Collect available search pages on a paid plan       | **Export pages**                                                            |
| Pick a few properties from the current page         | **Preview**, then **Export selected** or **Copy rows**                      |
| Keep selected properties across searches with notes | **Save to shortlist**, then open **My shortlist**                           |
| Download Zillow's own saved-property collection     | [Saved Homes export](/docs/guides/extension-guides/export-saved-properties) |

If you arrived here looking for “Zillow leads to Excel,” this workflow creates a property research
list. It does not export a Premier Agent CRM, private inquiries, or a complete contact database.
For an entire search, use the [Zillow-to-Excel guide](/blog/how-to-pull-data-from-zillow-to-excel).

## 1. Preview a supported page

Install [Zillow Data Exporter](/browser-extension) and sign in with your PropertyDataLabs account.
The research workspace is available in version 3.0.8; [update the extension](/blog/how-to-update-zillow-data-exporter)
and refresh Zillow if its controls are missing.

1. Open a **For sale**, **For rent**, **Sold**, or **Saved Homes** results page and apply your filters.
2. Select **Preview** in the dock, or **Settings → Export workflow → Property research**.
3. Under **Fields to include**, keep **My export settings** or choose a task preset available on your plan.
4. Select **Preview current page** and review the captured rows and capture time.
5. Sort a column or expand **Field coverage** to see where values are present.

Preview captures the current results page only. It does not visit other search pages or retrieve
Advanced property details. Use **Refresh preview** after changing filters or moving to another page.
An individual property-detail page uses the separate
[single-listing export workflow](/docs/guides/extension-guides/export-single-listing).

## 2. Save properties across searches

Check the rows you want, then select **Save to shortlist**. Repeat on other supported pages as needed.
Open **My shortlist** and select **For sale**, **For rent**, **Sold**, or **Saved Homes** to review a list.
These are views of the same ongoing local collection; each export uses one listing type at a time.

Re-saving the same property within the same listing type refreshes its captured data and preserves
your notes and tags. It does not preserve the previous capture as a historical snapshot. If you need
a record of an earlier version, export it before refreshing the saved property.

Changing the visible fields can reveal values that were already captured. It does not fetch values
that were missing from the source. The [property research reference](/docs/extension/property-research)
explains field presets and coverage in more detail.

## 3. Add useful notes and tags

Choose **View property** to open a shortlisted property, edit the research note and comma-separated
tags, then select **Save notes & tags**. Each note supports up to 2,000 characters, and the tags field
supports up to 200 characters.

Use notes for information you want to verify, and tags for a few consistent categories. For example,
a fictional research list might contain:

| Property        | Research note                                              | Tags               |
| --------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------ |
| Example house A | Check whether the stated living area includes the addition | review, area-check |
| Example house B | Compare the next export with this source listing           | follow-up          |
| Example house C | Keep for the neighborhood comparison                       | neighborhood-east  |

These are notes you enter yourself, not conclusions generated by the extension. Decide on tag
spelling before building a long list so the resulting spreadsheet is easier to filter.

## 4. Export or copy the selected rows

Open the relevant shortlist, check the rows you want, and select **Export selected** to download a
file. Use **Copy rows** to paste tab-separated data with a header into your spreadsheet.

Shortlist output adds **Research note**, **Tags**, **Source URL**, and **Captured at** beside the
property fields. Keep those columns when you need to trace a row back to its captured source.
For an Excel download, choose Excel in the applicable export settings on a paid plan; Free downloads
CSV, which Excel can import.

| Action                                 | Free                                    | Basic and higher, including Solo Lifetime             |
| -------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------- |
| Preview, save, edit notes and tags     | Available; uses no export               | Available; uses no export                             |
| Download or copy selected rows         | Up to 40 selected rows with Free fields | Configured fields; up to 800 selected rows per action |
| Download format                        | CSV                                     | CSV or Excel                                          |
| Task presets beyond My export settings | Unavailable                             | Available                                             |

The 800-row paid selection limit does not increase the shortlist's 200-property capacity or make a
preview collect multiple pages. Each download or clipboard copy uses one extension export and
follows the account's monthly allowance. [Plan access](/docs/extension/plan-access) has the full limits.

Research downloads are local files, and copies go to your clipboard. They do not use automatic
Google Sheets delivery or the extension export history in your web account, as explained in the
[research delivery reference](/docs/extension/property-research#plans-export-allowance-and-delivery). To deliver a direct page
export automatically, follow the [Google Sheets guide](/blog/how-to-export-zillow-listings-to-google-sheets).

## Why did fewer selected properties reach the file?

Your [duplicate-prevention settings](/blog/remove-duplicate-listings-from-your-property-listings-export)
also apply to research output. Recently exported properties can be skipped even when you select
them. If you intentionally want another capture, review that setting before exporting again.

Check the download receipt and a few source rows. A missing field stays missing; adding it to your
column selection does not retrieve new data. Use the [CSV cleanup guide](/blog/clean-real-estate-csv)
when combining your shortlist with other files.

## Keep your research and continue when needed

Export a copy before uninstalling the extension or clearing its local storage. The shortlist is
account-specific in this browser, and its notes and tags are not backed up as a shared web list.
Remove individual properties when you reach the capacity limit.

**Continue in Cloud** can open an appropriate setup form for supported sources or selected property
URLs. For example, supported home-detail URLs can prepare a Cloud Monitoring job. The handoff itself
creates no job and starts no run. Review the source URLs, schedule, delivery, plan access, and Cloud
credits in the web app before creating or running anything. The
[Cloud handoff reference](/docs/extension/property-research#continue-in-cloud) lists the supported
property types and URL requirements.