My opinion, Zillow's valuation is BOGUS. Your better off doing your own CMA.

Great topic Grant.   I saved an article that was written in Mortgage News Daily.  The article was titled:

Zillow May Not Be Ready For Prime Time

For those interested the article can be found at :

http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/2242006_Zillow_Review.asp

meg,

This is a good article. After wrestling with the Zillow issue for a couple of days, I think it is best used as a tool. It is not the end all be all. I have seen some values that have been dead on and some a little off. I just don't think a database can take the place of full appraisal done by a trained professional. I am just not so sure how I feel about Zillow putting their estimate on homes that are listed by agents.

Absolutley.  Generally right but specifically wrong...

Zillow is a guideline. I think it is a fun tool for consumers. But, it can be a bit behind the times. In the words of my beloved broker "market derives the price, and buyer derive the value." 

I think there are just too many variable that come in to play for Zillow to work.  Does the home back up to a road, what condition is the home in, does the area flood, what's next door etc. etc.? 

Has anyone encountered a Seller who wants you to list with the Zillow evaluation price rather than your own?  How would you counter that?  I was at an association class in Dallas recently and there were many agents downtown who were experiencing this?

- Tina

I believe Zillow is a great tool but that is all.  I have clients call me and say but Zillow says...I just use it to get some sort of a range.

i just say that whether you agree with it or not-know what it is, how to navigate the website, what's in their wiki, and be prepared to answer questions. =)  as professionals, we know how it's inherently flawed but consumers don't know until we share the information with them.

I sometime use zillow.com as a guide. I had my own property appraised and then went on zillow and check out the value of what they said an it was approx. $5,000. off.

Zillow is a jumping off point... and it helps reflect general trends in a neighborhood.  Individual properties and a focus on any one valuation-- destined for disappointment regardless of a high or low number. 

 At this time there is no better way to get a proper valuation then doing it yourself. These companies that offer computerized valuations don't paint a clear picture and create confusion for homeowners turning to the internet,Remember you get what you pay for so call an appraiser or real estate broker and pay for his opinion.

Do your own CMA and use Zillow as an additional search. Zillow is just another tool for the non real estate public.

Michael

Zillow isn't active in my area but I do CMA's for Housevalues in a local zip.  I sometimes see the houses listed at the price I suggested but I am certainly at a disadvantage since I do not see the house and only have the homeowners opinion to go by.  I heard recently that a lot of people are mad with Zillow as the comparables aren't correct and give them the wrong idea.

Zillow has an agenda: To confuse and misinform all parties involved. I did not find any of theirs properties valuation to be realistic or correct.(in my area anyway)

I just ignore them.

Grant,

Zillow appears to be a good site to do marketing with. It has a wide following nowadays and the features and maps are solid. Consumers like it quite a bit. When it comes to using the zestimates, or something like that, be careful. They can vary quite a bit and buyers and sellers can easily get wrong ideas.

From a lender's perspective, Zillow has been off more than 10% both ways.  It's a starting point at the beginning of the client relationship, but nothing more.

I dont believe it's for us in Texas. They are way off.

Zillow can be way off either way and is NOT an accurate gauge of market value.  My own home is a perfect example.  Zillow has its estimated value at over $72K what we actually paid for it. 

But, did you know that there's an area where you can manipulate the z-estimate by adding in improvements that the seller has made to the home and the approximate value of the work, thus driving up the Z-estimate?  Just wanted to throw that out.

I posted all my listings on Zillow after I got a lead from an experimental post. 

When researching properties in my area I found that the values represented by Zillow were off by about 30% or more.  I don't trust their information, even though they do have a good idea.  Their information (at least about Toledo prices) is very misleading.

Ugh!  Unfortunately I didn't do enough research to know that once you put a profile/listing on you can't take it off!  I have sent e-mails to Zillow without any response.  I won't ever use it again and told them so in a survey (which I'm sure they don't care about either).