When Zillow first launched in 2005, it shook the real estate industry for its ability to provide instant appraisals. Zillow’s search engines allows users type in an address and see an estimated value of any home. Over the past few years, more people began to trust Zillow and it grew to become an indispensable tool for homebuyers and sellers. As a real estate agent, my clients often ask me about the accuracy of the Zillow home value estimates, which Zillow calls “Zestimates” – and this is where the problem lies. Most homebuyers begin their search for properties online. So, while Zillow and similar tools can be useful in providing important property information, these sites can also pose a serious problem as it pertains to determining the true value of a home.

1. How Accurate Are Zillow Home Value Estimates?

2. When Zillow first launched in 2005, it shook the real
estate industry for its ability to provide instant appraisals

3. Zillow’s search engines allows users type
in an address and see an estimated value
of any home

4. More people began to trust Zillow and it grew to
become an indispensable tool for homebuyers and
sellers

5. As a REAL ESTATE AGENT, my
clients often ask me about the
accuracy of the Zillow home
value estimates, which Zillow
calls “ZESTIMATES”

6. Why You Can’t Trust Zillow Home Value Estimates

7. Zillow’s estimates come
from an automated system
Doesn’t have the ability to
think for itself

8. This is the reason why
oftentimes its home value
estimates can be wildly off
Sometimes to the tune of
thousands of dollars

9. Because Zillow is a system, it can’t take into consideration variations in the
property that would differentiate an average home to a renovated home full
of upgrades

10. Margin Of Error And Formula Used

11. On its website, Zillow claims that it has a median
error rate of 5%.
They also claim that the “Zestimate” are merely
starting points that can be used to determine the
actual market value of a property

12. The Zillow system uses algorithms that consider
Property tax assessments Recent sales User-submitted data

13. How Zillow Determines The Market Value Of A Home

14. One of the biggest problems about the formula used by Zillow is that it
takes into consideration a home’s assessed value
But the truth of the matter is that a home’s assessed
value rarely has any correlation to market value

15. Why Zillow Estimates Can’t Be Relied On

16. Zillow estimates may actually work
Discrepancies as much as 50% higher than actual market
value

17. Knowing how much nearby
homes sold for is also important
in both buying and selling
These numbers, known as comparable sales,
are a major deciding factor when real estate
professionals price a home

18. Considering comparable sales
needs a human aspect to it
For example, if you are living in an area where all the
homes are similar, same price range, and none have been
renovated, then this is a scenario where you can apply
comparable sales without analyzing other factors

19. Never Rely Solely On Zillow As A Buyer Or Seller

20. Buyers and sellers should never rely on the Zillow tool alone
Even the website itself tells you that the estimates are
only a starting point

21. Why Realtors Are Still Indispensable

22. Despite the popularity and prevalence of online real estate tools such as
Zillow, it’s important to know that these systems can’t replace the work
of realtors
Real estate professionals use different methods to
appraise the value of a home, and can even provide
critical insight on how one comparable sale plays a role
in appraising the next property

23. These figures will come as a shock to the seller, especially when they are
presented with figures that are as much as $50,000 lower than what Zillow
says their home is worth. See what I mean?
Realtors also complete a comparative market
analysis (CMA) when appraising a home
The data used by Zillow is
far too broad

24. You Still Need An Agent For Accuracy

25. Every home seller and buyer needs to understand that Zillow is a system
tasked with estimating hundreds of millions of homes across America
Simply impossible for them to accurately know the exact
value of each of those homes

26. How You Can Make The Most Out Of Zillow

27. The Zillow website is very well built, and all the features can come in
handy to buyers, sellers, and real estate agents EXCEPT the Zillow
estimates
Zillow has excellent
integration with Bing maps
Information about a
property
Bedroom count, lot size,
age, and square footage

28. The Final Word On Zillow

29. Zillow might not be able to provide true market
value of a home, the estimates can serve as a
good starting point

30. Zillow will never be able to replace the job of a
professional realtor in providing good insight
and more accurate values

31. Contact me for a more thorough
evaluation of your home
www.dcrealestateguru.com/sellers