What about those Zestimates? Enter: Same Day, Same Listings, Two Feeds, Two Zestimates
When about to sit open house for a listing last week, my client asked me to advertise the open house on Zillow. Unlike primary home markets where buyers often look on Saturdays and Sundays, here, we find that most vacation properties are often only available between guest check out and check in, and it can be any day of the week. Open Houses can be hard to find, as the resorts don't allow signage.
While looking through Zillow together, my clients and I noticed that all of my listings are syndicated twice. While I'm not sure why this is, I am guessing that the listings are being fed through my brokerage firm's network of sites and our MLS. We checked the Zestimates and popularity of their listing and they were shocked by the difference: Zestimate 1: $1,293,865
Zestimate 2: $1,774,332
This is a whopping $480,467 and 45% difference in value for the SAME property on the SAME day at the SAME time. So how accurate can these Zestimates be?
Photo above is a Side by Side Comparison: Same Listing, Same Day, Same Time, Different Zillow Feed. Different Zestimate.
I checked listings in different resort complexes and found the following when comparing the Zestimates two listing feeds. Note: Rank is amongst 20 comparable listings and % Change is the change in the Zestimate over the last 30 days.
| Listing | List Price | Feed 1 | Feed 2 | % Change Feed 2 vs. 1 |
Feed 1 Rank |
Feed 2 |
Feed 1 % Change |
Feed 2 % Change |
Golf 24T1 |
$789,000 | $770,196 | $1,003,815 | 30% | 14 | 1 | -0.03% | +0.50% |
Golf 23V3 |
$929,000 | $965,285 | $944,976 | 2% | 5 | 1 | -300% | NA |
| Ridge 1513 | $1,225,000 | $1,293,865 | $1,774,332 | 45% | 18 | 5 | -3.40% | +1.20% |
| Bay 19G5 | $1,079,000 | $1,112,699 | $1,068,485 | -1% | 6 | 8 | -0.50% | -0.80% |
| Alii 4-1002 | $2,298,000 | $2,224,102 | $2,104,325 | -8% | 1 | 13 | +2.90% | -0.40% |
Fortunately, my clients had a wonderful sense of humor, and took the 45% difference in valuation in stride. We'd gone over the comparables and market at length, and review it periodically. They feel they are priced fairly for the current market conditions and given that their villa is in the original condition as built (1980).
The current market for a 2 Bedroom at their Condominium Community is as follows there:
Active Listings: 6
Price Ranges: $1,225,000 to $1,825,000
Sales Since 2015: 4
Sales Price Ranges: $1,050,000 to $1,480,000
It should be noted that the highest sale on record at this complex was $1,700,000, well below the second Zestimate, in 2005 for an updated villa with more square footage and a more panoramic ocean view.
So How Accurate Can these Zestimates Be?
When receiving calls from Zillow to advertise, I have explained to their sales team that I don't want to advertise as Premier Agent because of the inaccuracies of the Zestimates in my niche market. To my knowledge the Zestimate algorithm is not taking into account view, location, or interior condition, all of which have a large impact on value.
The response has been that this inaccuracy provides an opportunity for me to establish myself as a market expert and to give the consumer the correct information. Providing market information to my clients is a part of my fiduciary responsibility, and I take it seriously. I do have trouble however, trying to understand why I need to pay to correct information that is not accurate.
I hadn't spent much time on Zillow, as it's busy enough working with buyers and sellers in our market and I try to prioritize my focus on those tasks that need immediate attention.
So, I'm asking the Active Rain Professional Community, What Would You Do? How do you explain Zestimates and your market conditions to Clients, both Buyers and Sellers?
It seems it would be a disservice to a listing to not have listings syndicate to the Zillow site as it does provide exposure and is such a largely trafficked site. However, at the same time, it seems to be a disservice to have the information vary so wildly from the current market conditions.
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