Zillow is Stupid

I was just plugging in addresses for fun to see what Zillow's Zestimate is.  According to the Great Zillow, one property that just sold for $70,000 is worth $176,000.  Another one listed at $159,000 is worth $246,000, and another one that was listed at $242,900 and has sold and closed, is currently listed for $276,000 according to Z.  Not so bright, huh.

Any professional knows that you can't rely on a computer program for an accurate property value.  But not all of the general public knows this, and in fact some otherwise bright young techies think the website is smarter and more trustworthy than us Realtors.

The website is pretty cool, however, and it will continue to improve as it gets more data.  It's in our interest to know what the "Zestimate" is on the properties we're dealing with and to be able to explain why it's close to accurate or way off the mark.  If you haven't heard, "but Zillow says it's worth...", you will soon.  Will your response be intelligent and thoughtful, or will you just say, "Zillow is Stupid"?