How Accurate is Zillow's Zestimates in Lakeland FL?

On a recent listing appointment I was told by a prospective seller that his Lakeland FL home on Zillow's Zestimate is valued at $250,000 and that is the price he wants to sell his home.

Me, the good little Realtor® that I am politely told the seller that although his house looks very nice, it is in fair condition and needs a little updating, the comparables within his community, however, does not warrant a sales price of $229,000.  I explained to him that Zillow's Zestimate is a great starting point to have when thinking about selling your Lakeland FL home, however the accuracy of value given is questionable and here is why:

According to Zillow they are constantly monitoring how accurate the Zestimates by comparing data when the property sells, they are however only an automated valuation model (AVM) or if you will a computer generated valuation model. AVMs base their value estimate without anyone ever physically evaluating the condition of your home or the condition of the comparable sales used to estimate your value. For example, the living space calculation is incorrect because of an enclosed lanai or a bonus room that was recently added and of course location, location, location.... lake front vs. non lake front.

Zillow is transparent about their accuracy rates and on this chart below you will see the percentage rate of times that Zillow Zestimates for Polk County was within 5, 10 or 20% of the sales price, which is also a good indication of how accurate the data is for your Lakeland FL home. You can see from the chart below that Polk County's Zestimate accuracy is rated "Fair" with a median error of 15.1%

As I explained to this seller my detailed comparable market analysis and how to understand absorption rate in great detail, my seller immediately understood why I would not have list his Lakeland FL home for $229,000 and why the accuracy of Zillow's Zestimate in Lakeland FL is only a starting point and not a true valuation. 

Copyright © 2011 By Petra Norris *How Accurate is Zillow's Zestimates in Lakeland FL?*