Two cease-and-desist orders to Zillow from the Arizona Board of Appraisal; Arizona Senate Bill 1291 (notice the strikethroughs and changes) fails to pass on a 32-22 vote earlier this week; Senate Bill 1291 has been temporarily revived by a motion to reconsider the legislation on Monday, April 30...the fight continues. But who's the "bad guy" in all of this?
Though many are not fans of Zillow's "Zestimate" for it's complete lack of accuracy, Arizona may be picking on Zillow a bit too much and with prejudice on this one. Perhaps...just maybe...the Arizona Board of Appraisal is trying to protect itself as well as it's members (appraisers) after viewing Zillow and similar sites as a threat to their livelihood.
The thing that gets some people is why Arizona would view Zillow as a threat in the first place. The Zestimate and other AVMs are totally inaccurate and these sites even come out and say that they are NOT an appraisal (though they sure make them feel that way). If some people actually view the numbers these AVMs randomly spit out as an accurate depiction of their home's worth, that's their problem for not understanding that they're not accurate to begin with. They'll figure it out after their property sits on the market for months and months or after any offer they get is not even close to the number they got from the AVM.
There are mixed reactions to the debate, but it seems that many people including agents (even in Arizona) who are not huge fans of Zillow are siding with them on this one. In the end, Arizona is making Zillow look good and Zillow is trying to fly under the press-radar on this one, which further helps their situation. You think Arizona figured this out as well and that's why they revived the bill?
Related Articles: Dear Arizona: A Zestimate May Be A Dog, But It Is Not A Poodle (Sellsius)
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