Step by Step Guide to Building a Zillow Leads API Integration in Ruby

Aug 11, 2024 • 5 minute read

Introduction

Hey there, fellow developer! Ready to supercharge your real estate app with Zillow's treasure trove of leads? You're in the right place. We're going to walk through building a Zillow Leads API integration in Ruby. It's easier than you might think, and by the end of this guide, you'll be pulling in leads like a pro.

Prerequisites

Before we dive in, make sure you've got:

A Ruby environment (2.7+ recommended)
Zillow API credentials (if you don't have these, hop over to Zillow's developer portal)
Your favorite code editor

Setting Up the Project

Let's kick things off:

mkdir zillow_leads_integration
cd zillow_leads_integration
bundle init

Open up that Gemfile and add:

gem 'httparty'
gem 'dotenv'

Then run:

bundle install

Authentication

First things first, let's keep those API keys safe:

touch .env

Add your credentials to .env:

ZILLOW_API_KEY=your_api_key_here
ZILLOW_API_SECRET=your_api_secret_here

Now, let's set up authentication:

require 'dotenv/load'
require 'httparty'

class ZillowAPI
  include HTTParty
  base_uri 'https://api.zillow.com/v2'

  def initialize
    @options = {
      headers: {
        'Authorization' => "Bearer #{ENV['ZILLOW_API_KEY']}",
        'Content-Type' => 'application/json'
      }
    }
  end
end

Making API Requests

Let's add some methods to our ZillowAPI class:

def get_leads
  self.class.get('/leads', @options)
end

def update_lead(lead_id, data)
  self.class.put("/leads/#{lead_id}", @options.merge(body: data.to_json))
end

def search_leads(query)
  self.class.get('/leads/search', @options.merge(query: query))
end

Error Handling and Rate Limiting

Always be prepared for when things go sideways:

def handle_response(response)
  case response.code
  when 200
    JSON.parse(response.body)
  when 429
    sleep(60)  # Wait a minute if we hit the rate limit
    retry
  else
    raise "API request failed: #{response.code} #{response.message}"
  end
end

Data Parsing and Storage

Let's keep it simple with a basic Lead class:

class Lead
  attr_accessor :id, :name, :email, :phone

  def initialize(data)
    @id = data['id']
    @name = data['name']
    @email = data['email']
    @phone = data['phone']
  end
end

Putting It All Together

Here's how you might use your new Zillow Leads integration:

zillow = ZillowAPI.new

# Get leads
leads = zillow.get_leads
leads.each do |lead_data|
  lead = Lead.new(lead_data)
  puts "New lead: #{lead.name} (#{lead.email})"
end

# Update a lead
zillow.update_lead('123', { name: 'John Doe', email: '[email protected]' })

# Search leads
results = zillow.search_leads({ name: 'Smith' })

Testing

Don't forget to test! Here's a quick example using RSpec:

RSpec.describe ZillowAPI do
  let(:api) { ZillowAPI.new }

  it 'fetches leads successfully' do
    VCR.use_cassette('zillow_leads') do
      response = api.get_leads
      expect(response).to be_success
      expect(response.body).to include('leads')
    end
  end
end

Conclusion

And there you have it! You've just built a Zillow Leads API integration in Ruby. Pretty cool, right? Remember, this is just the beginning. There's a whole world of possibilities with the Zillow API, so don't be afraid to explore and expand on what we've built here.

Keep coding, keep learning, and most importantly, keep having fun with it. Happy lead hunting!