Has this ever happened to you......
You go on a listing appointment and the comparables point to a fair market value of $200,000. However, the owner believes their homes is worth $280,000 (40% higher) because that is the "Zestimate" on Zillow.com. It has happened to all of us. How do you overcome this obstacle?
Well, Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff just made this much easier to address with your clients!
According to Zillow.com the Zestimate on the CEO's personal home was 1.75 million. Mr. Rascoff sold the home for 1.05 Million - 40% less than the Zestimate that was shown on the site one day after the sale. The home was also de-listed and re-listed at least three times in an attempted sale but this was not shown on Zillow either.
Zillow indicates that the website cannot take into account "non-quantifiable facts" and the algorithm "can't know" how special features impact the home's value. If the site is 40% off from the value of the CEO's home, how much discrepancy exists nationwide?
This reminds me of when the founder of ForSaleByOwner.com turned to a real estate agent after 6 months of attempting to sell it by owner - http://realtormag.realtor.org/daily-news/2011/08/09/forsalebyownercom-founder-uses-agent-sell-home
I would add these articles to the back of your listing presentation binder so that if the subject of a Zestimate comes up, you can present the homeowner with this information.
It is important to stress, that these influential industry CEO's turn to a real estate professional for assistance for their personal homes. I hope this makes it easier for you to overcome the Zestimate Objection.
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