Sandy, your graphic is illegible.

Thanks William.  I was trying to make it a little smaller so it didn't take up the entire screen, but it just made it worse.  So it'll have to be big!

Hello Sandy, Actually for zillow was great as far as buyers. They always showed the homes were worth more than the sale price.

In the end nothing can replace a good professional Realtor.

Hi Sandy,

Zillow being accurate, as far as I'm concerned it's about 50/50. Not good enough for me!

Maria unfortuantely in our area that isn't always the case and then the buyer doesn't understand why the home is "overpriced".  Check out all the bottom numbers on the graph in green.  Zillow stated the value to be quite a bit less then the sale price.  On the last entry Zillow valued the home at $910k and it actually sold for $1.1mil.  That seller could have lost $200k if they had just gone with a Zestimate and not used a Realtor.  Thanks for commenting. 

Lynda I'd have to agree.  I cringe when my client tells me they've been to their site.  But now I have info like this to show them and not just sound like an insecure Realtor.  Thanks for commenting.

You've made a great point. IMHO, Zillow should put in much larger print just how they arrive at their zestimates and they should also make it very clear that they are not appraisers.

Sandy - I have never been a fan of Zillow, and I doubt that I will start anytime soon.  It makes our job more difficult, plain and simple.

Maybe in a few years Zillow may get better, but like Maria said it is hard to replace a good Realtor.  People use the Zillow site so they can feel better about their home price, but they are usually setting themselves up for disappointment.

J.

Lanette I totally agree!  Thanks for commenting.

Jason it really does make our job more difficult.  It was so hard to explain to my friend why there was a $30k discrepancy even though I showed him in black and white.  For some reason they think Zillow is right and we have to fight to get them to believe us!

Jeff that's exactly what happened to my friend.  He's just now approaching the Zillow zestimate but really turned off at the prospect of selling his house because of his experience.  I don't think he doubts me he was just really disappointed when it wasn't what Zillow stated back then.

Sandy-

Zestimates are a starting point and we are very transparent about the accuracy of our data -- please see our data coverage table here. Nationwide, our median margin of error is 7.2%.

Maria & Lanette - We agree with you that Zestimates are not a substitute for appraisals, nor are they a substitute for a CMA by a local realtor. Appraisals and CMA's are calculated by local professionals who have been to your home and know the local market.

Hey Sandy!

 I've long debated zillow vs a CMA (kudos to Drew for the input regarding the accuracy) with my clients. As you've stated in the blog, so have I addressed with them- Zillow lacks the ability to look forward, only back, and software is not capable of subjective results. This statement has always worked well with those that will her what is said, unfortunately there are always going to be those that think we serve no greater purpose than to rob them of their hard earned equity, and will not believe any argument we provide (I hated using the word "Argument", but my vocabulary ran out of other options!). Zillow does provide for you to input the cost of the improvements you did to adjust the price, however we all know that $50K remodels do not necessarily equal $50K increases to sales price.

Drew thanks for commenting.  Your comments were exactly how I summed up my post.  Buyers/Sellers should use the site as a place to begin their quest for the value of a home.

Paul thanks for your input!  I did not intend to slam Zillow but rather to educate consumers that the only way to get a true value for their home is to contact a RE professional and let Zillow be a resource that we can work with and make adjustments where needed.  Thanks for reading!

I have a house on zillow right now, they are both over estimated in the Zillow estimate.  No, I don't trust the pricing but I do have one friend who has her house listed as Make Me Move.  Now that price is funny!

Jennifer your friend didn't list a price?  That is an interesting marketing strategy!  Thanks for commenting.