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Don't Trust The Zillow Zestimate In Dallas, TX

By
Real Estate Technology with Home Value Leads

If you were looking to sell your home, wouldn't you want to accurately price your home to sell? Of course you would, so don't trust the Zillow Zestimate in Dallas, TX if you are looking to sell your home. 

Zillow uses public records and other data points to generate the Zillow Zestimate in Dallas. The state of Texas is a non-disclosure state, which means that sale prices are not found in public records. This leads to the Zillow Zestimate being far from accurate in Texas, including Dallas. In short, don't trust the Zillow Zestimate in Dallas, TX. 

You don't have to take my word for this. The information is right their on their own website. They were forced to release this information when they were sued a few years back because people thought that this number was set in stone. Oh no, folks, it is not. Here is the information that is listed for the Zillow Zestimate in Dallas, TX as of January 2013:

Zillow Zestimate Dallas TX Accuracy

Zillow Zestimate Dallas 2013

So what does this information about the Zillow Zestimate in Dallas mean? Let's break it down using real numbers. Let's say that you have a $400,000 home that you are thinking about selling. According to these numbers:

  • There is a 22.5% chance (about 1 in 5) that the Zillow Zestimate will be within 5%, or $20,000, of the actual sale price. 
  • There is a 44.5% chance (less than half) that the Zillow Zestimate will be within 10%, or $40,000, of the actual sale price. 
  • There is a 72.8% chance (about 3 our of 4) that the Zillow Zestimate will be within 20%, or $80,000, of the actual sale price.
  • That means that there is a 27.2% chance (about 1 in 4) that the Zillow Zestimate will be MORE than 20% off. 
If you trust the Zillow Zestimate in Dallas, you have the same chance of pricing your home perfectly as you do pricing it over $80,000 off. Do you really want to take that chance? In another article, I shared a story about how innacurate the Zillow Zestimate was on one Dallas home that was sold by our office. Those home sellers might have missed out on almost $50,000. Ouch.
 
The B&B Realty Group would love to have the opportunity to explain what is going on in the real estate market and how exactly that affects your Dallas home values. When it comes to pricing your home for sale, don't trust a website. Go to a professional Dallas real estate agent
Posted by

Brian Rayl

Licensed Dallas Real Estate Agent 

Co-Founder of Home Value Leads

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Erna Neal
The Viking Team, Realty - Winter Park, FL
A Knowledgable Central Florida Realtor
Brian, this is an issue that I see all the time in Florida, but it seems to be even worse where you are in Texas.
Jan 16, 2013 11:57 AM
Tamara Inzunza
Realty One Group Capital - Alexandria, VA
Close-In Alexandria and Arlington Living

Great post and information Brian.  I will have to do this for my area.  I will be glad when the Zillow site is but a distant memory when it comes to real estate.

Jan 16, 2013 12:13 PM
Ralph Janisch ABR CRS Broker
Janisch & Co. - Conroe, TX
Selling Northwest Houston to good people like you!
I would say don't trust a zillow zestimate anywhere or anytime.
Jan 16, 2013 12:30 PM
Brian Rayl
Home Value Leads - Highland Park, TX
Active Agent and Co-founder Of Home Value Leads

Erna: Zillow is horrible in Texas. 

Tamara: Zillow is a plague, but home buyers still use their site all of the time. They don't realize how misled they are by Zillow. 

Jeanne and Ralph: That is a great saying. =) 

Jan 16, 2013 01:26 PM
Lea Deo, REALTOR® - KW Realty Partners
Keller Williams Legacy Partners, Inc. - Shawnee, KS
Johnson County REALTOR®| Shawnee KS Homes for Sale

Great post.  Kansas City is even lower.  This is great information and the public needs to know it.  Perception is everything and we can help dispel some of the myth by getting this kind of information out.  I had never looked at the site close enough to find it.  This kind of information is going into my listing presentation, as well.  Thanks.  We're looking forward to traveling to your area for Family Reunion.  Maybe I'll see you there. 

Jan 17, 2013 02:33 AM
Brian Rayl
Home Value Leads - Highland Park, TX
Active Agent and Co-founder Of Home Value Leads

Lea, I'd love to meet you at Family Reunion! Yes, I face the Zestimate question frequently, so I put it into my listing presentation as well. Dispell the myth before they even get a chance to bring it up. 

 

Jan 17, 2013 03:51 AM
Florida Tolbert Team Keller Williams Advantage
Keller Williams Advantage III Realty in Lake Nona - Orlando, FL
Keller Williams Land Luxury Division Specialist

Brian,

Do tell us how you really feel about Zillow...

Jan 18, 2013 09:59 AM
Brian Rayl
Home Value Leads - Highland Park, TX
Active Agent and Co-founder Of Home Value Leads

Subtlety is my best quality Kevin. ;)

Jan 18, 2013 11:07 PM
Dis En Franchised

If zillow is crapping on your house value, return the favor - box up and anonymously send them some dog poop.  we shouldn't have to tell them everything about our homes to improve our value on their site.  Instead, if they get enough dog poop from a certain area code, they'll get the picture that their is something wrong with their model there...3

Jun 29, 2014 01:44 PM
Inna Ivchenko
Barcode Properties - Encino, CA
Realtor® • GRI • HAFA • PSC Calabasas CA

Information from the sites like Z. is based on a limited set of facts about a house, such as square footage an number of rooms. However, those AVMs may miss important factors, like  a desirable school district, view, noisy street exposure, privacy, etc. You have to compare the subject property to identical or similar and make all proper adjustments since rarely properties are the same( condition, location, layout, sqft, etc.)

Nov 04, 2017 11:02 PM