Comments on: Zillow Accuracy Revealed

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 08:22:59 +0000

wow, just checked it out 2/13/12….seems you’re still getting screwed.

By: Ann

Ann — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 16:26:04 +0000

Zillow – what a joke! Zillow has completely removed our house from our street and gives us constant updates on a house across the lake that happens to be on “our street name circle” instead of “our street name drive”. Hey zillow – still on the tax rolls and still here! We’ve requested a review by Zillow (no response from Zillow). We’ve suggested Zillow update their maps (no response). Zillow also lists a building on our property as belonging to the neighbor (no one else does), so Zillow…get lost;)

By: Scott

Scott — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 15:35:17 +0000

Zillow is way off. I have a condo I bought 10 years ago, there are 16 inthe complex. At the time 6 were being sold for 83k. They are all the same. Now zillow says a couple of the are worth 44k, one is worth 50k 3 or worth 70k, another 96k and another 104k?? WTH?! One is on the market for 44k and can not sell, that is the value of all 16, why the difference?

By: Caro

Caro — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 00:46:39 +0000

Zillow had my house estimated at approx. $1,400,000 last month, which was about the same as their est. of neighboring properties, but lower than recent sales. Today they sent email saying my house has “increased” by $117,000, but shows a new estimate that is almost $500,000 less than last month’s. Their geography is a bit off, too — none of the comparable sales they listed were close, and one is even in a different town. Glad we’re not trying to sell just now — the discrepancy between Zillow’s new estimate and actual prices here could scare off potential buyers.

By: John

John — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 21:27:45 +0000

I find it hard to believe that Zillow has my house listed at $6000 less than my neighbors. Our homes were built by the same builder at exactly the same time (in 2006) with the same upgrades. The only differance in the two homes is the lot size. My lot is bigger. Zillow is way off.

By: Lisa

Lisa — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 13:59:57 +0000

I find it interesting that Zillow’s Zestimate of our home is somewhere in the neighborhood of $17-20 grand less than that of our next door neighbor’s home, even though ours is significantly larger, larger lot, etc. Our county uses drive-by assessments which are rarely accurate. That’s a benefit to us when it comes to the taxes we pay, so I’ve never complained. What’s seems fishy to me is that every time I’ve checked a Zeztimate on a home in our area that’s for sale, the estimate is always the same as the asking price on the house. I’ll always rely on my realtor when I need accurate information. Zillow plays too loose with the facts and couldn’t possibly know the details of the real estate market in every community.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 24 May 2011 01:19:46 +0000

Zillow is a scam – just another Internet game lacking true accountability – and no opt out for homeowners who must deal with the absurdity of off the wall zestimates

By: Homeowner

Homeowner — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 18:55:17 +0000

Zillow is a bad barometer for house values! So undervalue is their zestimate (25%-50%) … Zillow a disservice for seller and buyer alike. Your local experienced agent can best identify a homes value and, even so, if your home has features that put it above the rest — that is additional value to incorporate into pricing. There are no giveaways when a house is priced right and an educated buyer will see where they want to put their money … do they want the run down hut or the home that has been well-maintained with updated features … Zillow’s flat estimation methods can not possibly recognize the differences. A useless tool.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 18:31:07 +0000

There are houses in my neighborhood that Zillow valued at $10k below what they sold for.
Mmmm, that is the real v. the theory, anecdotal as it may be, but as I expand my research I have found Zillow’s theory value is proven inaccurate over and over again in my town, then in randomly selected towns in my state, then in random streets around the country.
It is as simple as finding sold homes and comparing their price and Zillow’s “value” estimation.

By: Tom

Tom — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 17:37:17 +0000

My hous is a two family house with two seperate street addresses 165 and 167. Zillow has my house listed as a single family house with one address……

By: Vivian

Vivian — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 14:28:10 +0000

In my opinion, Zillow is more accurate than many are willing to accept. Before the big crash, everyone said Zillow was wrong. I know this is hard to hear – but maybe they are brutally realistic?

Even when their estimates are reportedly drastically different from formally conducted estimates – the truth is that many of today’s pessimistic buyers are not willing to pay that price. If that is true, how should one defnine ‘value’. A lot of it is about the perception.

Let’s try something. Most homesellers and their agents use “formal” estimates to drive the listed sale price because it is wise to do so. However, once you have that number – take a look at the buying rates in your markets. In other words, search for trends in Listed vs. Sold prices. Redfin is a great site for this information.

They provide the listed price versus the actual sold prices in a graphical representation for a specific neighborhood. In my neighborhood, in 2008 houses sold an average of 3% lower than the asking price. Today, houses are selling 16% lower than the asking price. If you assume that sellers and their agents had already adjusted for the falling market BEFORE listing the property, it means that buyers are pushing boundaries. They perceive the prices to be 16% lower on average than what sellers are asking for. If the seller’s price was based on the “formal” appraisal – then you can connect the dots.

In summary – home values are based on perception. Perception is based on WHO is driving the market’s perception at the time. In this economy it is without a doubt a buyer’s market. Buyers perceive home values much lower than say formal appraisals.

I agree that there is no excuse for bad pricing on bad information (i.e. wrong # of bedrooms, etc.) However – for those where the stats are correct, Zillow may be reflecting some of this in their numbers. It is a hard pill to swallow – yes. The good news – serious buyers who are looking at your home are also logical. If you have upgrades and features that you feel Zillow has NOT accounted for, those buyers will up prices to have those features. Again, it is back to perception.

Thanks.

By: scott

scott — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 04:03:17 +0000

Does anyone know of an address were i can write and voice my concerns. I bought a house where one small house stood on three lots. the builder subdivided the property and built three new homes. Zillow keep the description of the old house for a while. There was a mixup with the home address. It had to be changed twice. i used their new tool and explained it was a new structure. resulting in the price being inflated. They finally got the right picture, right purchase price, but left the old price from the home that was demolished. I just refinanced, had it appraisedby three different appraisers.They all came back with-in 5,000 to 7,000 thousands dollars difference of the purchase price. I just want my information to be accurate.. when you pull up my address it shows open land with the price the builder paid. any information that could help would be greatly appreciated. scott

By: g

Fri, 28 May 2010 14:57:29 +0000

Helpful tool for research (as others say, as long as you understand it’s limitations). I have actually been surprised at its accuracy, considering that it is based on nothing more than database content.

By: Jen

Jen — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 13:44:03 +0000

I just wish they would take my house off their site. It is not accurate at all! They list me as having 3 bedrooms and I have 4 and it was built that way. We have had a new built in library installed and a new outdoor kitchen with added patio and a retaining wall. Outdoor fireplace and all kinds of stuff. The price is way off and really don’t want everyone knowing how much my house is worth- even if it isn’t correct.

By: Albert

Albert — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 19:35:05 +0000

Zillow is at least useful for showing recent sales and the history of houses in your area. Our neighborhood recently took a dive because two fixer-uppers sold for low prices.