photos, imgSrc, photoCount and virtualTourUrl

photos is the list of the listing's image URLs, imgSrc the main photo, photoCount how many photos there are, and virtualTourUrl a link to a virtual tour when the listing has one.

Field	Type
`data.photos`	array of strings (URLs)
`data.imgSrc`	string or null
`data.photoCount`	integer or null
`data.virtualTourUrl`	string or null

What it means

PropertiesAPI returns photos as the original image URLs on Zillow's image host. It never downloads, stores or re-hosts the images. Each URL in photos is a large version of one photo, in the order the listing shows them.

imgSrc is the main photo, and it can be a different size from the first entry of photos even when it is the same picture. Use imgSrc for a thumbnail or card, and photos for a gallery.

photoCount is the number of photos. In our recorded lookups it matched the length of photos. virtualTourUrl is the third-party tour link from the listing, as given; it can be a plain http link.

Recorded example

Recorded lookup of a home for sale

{
  "imgSrc": "https://photos.zillowstatic.com/fp/43506e4f21a47fe72d72e57c9f9c5b5a-p_f.jpg",
  "photos": [
    "https://photos.zillowstatic.com/fp/43506e4f21a47fe72d72e57c9f9c5b5a-uncropped_scaled_within_1536_1152.jpg",
    "https://photos.zillowstatic.com/fp/318bd6a5d58790cdc6d3449a99c7466c-uncropped_scaled_within_1536_1152.jpg"
  ],
  "photoCount": 37,
  "virtualTourUrl": "http://www.1704shelbourne.com/mls/232163496"
}

Values are copied from recorded lookups of public Zillow pages, with the other fields of data left out; long lists are cut to their first entries and long text to its opening words. They show the shape and typical values, not today's data for these homes.

When it is null

photos is empty, never null, when the listing has no images.
virtualTourUrl is null for most homes: only a few recorded listings had one.
imgSrc is null only when no image could be found at all.

Read it in code

Send a Zillow link, a zpid or an address to GET /v1/zillow/property with your key in the x-api-key header, then read the field from data:

curl and jq

curl -sG "https://api.propertiesapi.com/v1/zillow/property" \
  -H "x-api-key: $PROPERTIESAPI_KEY" \
  --data-urlencode "url=https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1704-Shelbourne-Dr-Austin-TX-78752/29412761_zpid/" \
  | jq '.data | {photos, imgSrc, photoCount, virtualTourUrl}'

Python

import os
import requests

r = requests.get(
    "https://api.propertiesapi.com/v1/zillow/property",
    params={"url": "https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1704-Shelbourne-Dr-Austin-TX-78752/29412761_zpid/"},
    headers={"x-api-key": os.environ["PROPERTIESAPI_KEY"]},
    timeout=120,
)
r.raise_for_status()
home = r.json()["data"]
print("main photo:", home["imgSrc"])
for url in home["photos"][:5]:
    print(url)
print(home["photoCount"], "photos | tour:", home["virtualTourUrl"])

JavaScript (Node)

const url = "https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1704-Shelbourne-Dr-Austin-TX-78752/29412761_zpid/";
const res = await fetch(
  `https://api.propertiesapi.com/v1/zillow/property?url=${encodeURIComponent(url)}`,
  { headers: { "x-api-key": process.env.PROPERTIESAPI_KEY } },
);
if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`HTTP ${res.status}`);
const { data: home } = await res.json();
const gallery = home.photos.slice(0, 5);
console.log(home.imgSrc, gallery, home.photoCount, home.virtualTourUrl);

Common mistakes

Copying the images to your own storage. They belong to their owners; check the terms that apply to your use before you display or keep them.
Embedding an http virtual tour link on an https page, which browsers block as mixed content. Open it in a new tab instead.
Assuming photo URLs never change. Listings change their photos; look the home up again before relying on an old URL.

Zillow is a trademark of Zillow, Inc. PropertiesAPI is an independent service and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Zillow.