David,

It is possible in some communities and states.  There is snob factor in living in certain zip codes like Beverly Hills 90210, as opposed to Beverly Hills Post Office area.  A

In my market they do. There are specific zips that are very exclusive or waterfront mostly, so yes.

Zip code trends give data this I know...No use for it after that

I find my investors search by zip and then narrow down the search by street.

In some cities buyers search by zip codes.  In Oceanside, CA there are 3 zip codes.  It was easy to define the area with the zip code.

Sometimes, yes.  My GA would support this.  It tends to happen more often in cities that have multiple zip codes.

Some buyers may search by zip code but I think more will search by community names.

It probably depends on density. In my market, it's not uncommon to have subdivisions with over 5000 homes. In a situation like this there are lots of areas that are defined within a zip code. I would guess  in more rural areas a zip code provides a more manageable number of homes.

Not on our MLS .

They search by zip code, the LOOK by community.

In Miami even GPS is by zip code, but in CT it's by town.

Funny and insightful at he same time 

In our area it's not zipcodes but municipality or county.

I would guess that in a major city such as Los Angeles or New York it would be the way to go.  Locally people search by area.  The Santa Clarita Valley consists of six areas so it is quite different than the big city.

David,
In our market zip codes are a good way to search. Our zip codes match certain large parts of the market.

They do in my market as well as searches for particular schools. 

I don't think buyers search by zip code per say...however, they do search by area, neighborhood. So yes...if you are an agent and no if you are a buyer. I would think map search is a better tool for buyers.

Not that I'm aware of for my market.  My areas have multiple zip codes per city and with the exception of one area, "Westlake Village", none have that "I have to live here" factor.  Westlake gets that because they have the best schools in the area (all the schools are great though) and we have some celebrities living there.  Even there, people search by city and refine by schools.

I don't think so. The problem with that is many areas have several different zip codes. Another problem is that many people don't even know what the zip codes are. Arlington VA has 27 different zip codes. 9 of them are commonly used, the rest are considered general or unique. If you're not familiar with Arlington, how would you know which zip you want?

I think it depends on the market area, the density of the zip code, and whether it is locals or out-of-towners doing the searching.  

I don't think many search by zip code.  But yes, it still does happen.  When people know what part of town they want to buy in, it's often easier to use zip code because neighborhood term isn't available in public search engines, and those neighborhood searches may be incorrect.  Some cities can have 3+ zip codes, and buyers know that there are areas they definitely AREN'T intersted in, so zip codes help to weed that stuff out for them.

David - I am sure in certain areas (like Beverly Hills 90210), living in a popular zip code is essential for some buyers. However, where I live and work, I don't think anyone buying a home would find it beneficial to search by zip code.

Buyers do search by zip code in the Denver metro area, but have never, and will never buy leads. 

Some areas in our market are very popular. Instead of people saying they live in XX community they refer to the zip code.  Other areas are search by schools. 

Many of mine do as we are so rural

David Barr When I first moved into this area, there were three or four zip codes that defined specific geographic area within the town. I would think not so much now because the area has really been built up.  Z and T would probably sell by City or State, if they could get away with it.

Some search by zip but it really doesn't matter.

The buyer can search by city but once they inquire about information on a specific property, the lead is fed to the person (s) paying for ads in the zip in which the property is located. 

Some buyers do based on the scattering of search terms that show up for our IDX searches, but more critical in my area is school districts.  Some cases, one zip aligns with the school district.  Other zips may have 3-4 different school districts dipping into the same zip.