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Zillow.com is a BIG FAT Zero.com

By
Real Estate Agent with Berkshire Hathaway HSCP

Zero accuracy that is. Let me explain...

Three times this week I got calls from clients or prospective clients asking me why Zillow.com gave a particular home value and that it seems out of line. That's because it represents almost nothing!

Zillow.com does base their "Zestimates" on data but it's like going to the doctor and you get a full diagnosis of your health based on only your blood pressure. You can't base a home's value on limited data because very few homes are exactly alike and very few homes have been sold over and over without modifications.

For example, Zillow.com doesn't know that you put in granite counter tops, landscaped the entire backyard into a tropical paradise. They don't even know if you have completed a major home addition if it hasn't caught up with the property assessor's office which can lag behind the building department by months or years. Zillow.com doesn't know that the homeowner's across the street from you painted their house purple and park their cars on their front lawn...mainly Zillow.com isn't a buyer and a property is only worth what a buyer is willing to pay no matter what Zillow.com may say.

One thing I will give Zillow.com tremendous credit for is having a fabulous PR campaign. However, if you want an accurate estimate of what a home is worth ask a real estate agent who will provide a detailed analysis. But only a buyer will provide the actual value.

Comments (1)

Peter Di Eduardo
West End Residential - Morristown, NJ
Here! Here!  I get alot of the same questions and it can be frustrating because its yet another source of potentially misleading information that does not make up for years of experience a local agent possesses.  I tell people that the best means to accurately assess their home's value is to have an experienced agent(s) go through it.
Nov 11, 2007 06:20 AM