Zillow...How accurate ?

[fat rat]

We put our house up for sale, the listing agent wanted us to list for $50k less than the Zillow estimate. We went for $5k below Zillow, I figure they can talk me down some. Has anyone sold near to Zillows estimate?

 

[fmo24]

When we sold our house all the sights were all over the map. You can only really go by comps as that is what the appraiser will use. Ours did not appraise for sale price so buyer paid difference

 

[fat rat]

When we sold our house all the sights were all over the map. You can only really go by comps as that is what the appraiser will use. Ours did not appraise for sale price so buyer paid difference

My problem nothing comps to what we have, we over built! Appraisers will only go 1.5 miles radius.

 

[beertruck]

zillow not very accurate, best to go by comp sales

 

[boat527]

We put our house up for sale, the listing agent wanted us to list for $50k less than the Zillow estimate. We went for $5k below Zillow, I figure they can talk me down some. Has anyone sold near to Zillows estimate?

Zillow is usually about 2 months behind ( give or take) due to the " recent sales" coming from public reporting. That said, depending on your market ( most have " cooled") its within percentage points to actual value. Get comps for recent sales off of the MLS and go from there. Agent sounds like they just want a quick sale at 50 under though.

 

[fmo24]

My neighborhood was like that. 200 thou to 850. Our third bedroom was set up as an office/tv room so appraiser called it 2 bed with den. A bunch of dumpy 3 bed 2 bath houses sold for cheap to flippers so drove all the comps down.

 

[Bigbore500r]

Zillow is most accurate where there are alot of comps and recent sales. If you're in an area with diverse home values and limited sales data, it is way off.

 

[dribble]

Zillow is about as accurate as the pitot tube speedometer in my boat.

 

[PlumLoco]

We have an unusual house and comps aren't always easy to come by, but Zillow seems much closer to accurate than Realtor.com. Last time I checked they we're $50k apart on a $550k property.

 

[JM21]

Do NOT go by Zillow! Have an agent run comps for you! Where are you selling?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[fat rat]

Do NOT go by Zillow! Have an agent run comps for you! Where are you selling?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

DC Metro, Maryland side. DC proper is hopping so peeps are moving out some. We are 20-25 minutes to downtown.

 

[sirbob]

Zillow is WAY off (low) on my houses value - that's all I have to judge by. I'm comparing their value to the one I got when we did a heloc appraisal.

You need somebody that knows your neighborhood.

 

[guest hs]

I sold my house in Henderson for more then Zillow had it estimated at

 

[DLow]

I had my house fully appraised last year. The appraisal came back 270k above Zillow. If my realtor said anything about Zillow, I’d take my business down the road.

 

[Bowtiepower00]

Zillow is way low in my neighborhood here in Peoria (West Valley Phoenix) Arizona...

 

[Halvecto]

Seems Zillow goes primarily by $ per Sq Ft. and some discount/premiuim for lot size. In our area, if the house is in one of the more recent large tracts, where there are about 3 or 4 basic floor plans with a few different elevations, the numbers come in pretty close (not taking into account upgrades, etc.).

In the areas with older custom homes, large lots, various unique features, it is rarely even close.

Like @JM21 said, even for a Refi or Heloc, a full appraisal is what will give you the most important number; the one banks and/or buyers take. If you are selling, ask what you think you can get knowing, unless it is a cash buyer or buyer with excess funds, the number will be what it is and what lenders think they can cover themselves with.

 

[DLC]

Oh boy that’s super good news! Zillow shows my Hava home at $146,000 more than what we paid 3 years ago. So maybe it’s closer to 200!!!!

It’s only good if your selling or refining

 

[boatsntoys]

Zillow had my house in bullhead at $179,000. I listed at $326 and sold for $305.

They didn't take my 360 degree hilltop view or any thing else for that matter. In my zip code there are a lot of sales of shitty mobile homes ( zip code areas are big here) that sold for $25 a square foot. They based my 2900 foot immaculate upgraded home the same as a run down house on wheels

 

[Bobby V]

My Yorba Linda house came in at 935K and Havasu at 385K. YL is a little high. Havasu is close.

 

[MSum661]

I sold my house in Henderson for more then Zillow had it estimated at

Henderson is on Fire right now.
Really dig what they're doing on the high end residential styles there lately.
Inspired by the new engineering and design talent going on in the Vegas area in general.

 

[HB2Havasu]

I find Zillow is only fairly accurate in areas of track homes with similar designs, square footage, lot sizes, etc...

In area with new custom homes mixed in with 50 year old shacks like Havasu it’s a Crap Shoot! I would have a couple of realtors run comps, or pay for an appraisal if you want to get close to the real numbers.

 

[2FORCEFULL]

Zillow is a joke, and using $ per sq ft is even a bigger joke... price per sq ft worked when people had car ports... now you have to go on sq ft under roof... number of buildings

 

[lbhsbz]

What Zillow doesn't take into account is the quality of the house. I've found Zillow to be almost spot on in Long Beach...within 10K of selling prices most often.

 

[Classic Daycruiser]

Zillow has a lot of information. The "Value" is having all that data on one website.

Zillow is within 10% of a homes selling price in the Phoenix area.

I'd get more than one realtor to look at the home before deciding on a value. Both might have good reasons to list it differently.

 

[WhatExit?]

You got to do your due diligence and go by the comps and even then look at them carefully as to what the house really was, WHEN it sold and how it compares to yours.

Zillow, Redfin, Realtor, they're all tools. Don't be fooled by relying solely on them

 

[Faceaz]

Zillow shows our place was short saled 2 years ago for about 200k under value, we've been here 10 years..lol. Won't lie, I go on Zillow to look at estimates of our rentals - knowing they may be pretty far off the mark.

You can use Zillow for comps though by selecting recent sales.

 

[Deja_Vu]

If you get lots of foot traffic then you may be okay, otherwise don't wait too long to do a price reduction.
You don't want to sit on the market too long. Real Estate is a funny thing, like a loaf of bread they say.

 

[fat rat]

Zillow is usually about 2 months behind ( give or take) due to the " recent sales" coming from public reporting. That said, depending on your market ( most have " cooled") its within percentage points to actual value. Get comps for recent sales off of the MLS and go from there. Agent sounds like they just want a quick sale at 50 under though.

I thought the same thing about the low ball price!

 

[Mandelon]

Talk to multiple realtors. Get them to do a Comparative Market Analysis. That is like a mini-appraisal, then go look at the comps yourself.

But be realistic. Most homeowners think their home is better than the neighbors' houses.

 

[Big B Hova]

I'd its anything like craigslist, start high. Argue via text with low ball offers and trades. Meet a guy in a parking lot because you don't want shady people seeing what you have in your house. LoL

 

[JD D05]

This is a very random question but don't want to start a thread...Anyone have someone or sell residential iron doors?

 

[DrunkenSailor]

Zillow zestimate is good for neighborhoods with hoas. It is always two months behind the market. I still use it almost every day for a quick glance at value. Look at listed and sold homes. filter by newest. Keep it tight and expand if your not finding comps. Look at the pictures to see quality of materials and if there is any issues with the property. Pick 3-5 sold and 3-5 listed comps. Look at the listing history for the sold properties and see where they started at price wise and how many reductions they had. See how long your comps were on the market or have been listed. Average the listed properties and the sold one's. Zillow can be useful just need to put a little bit of work into it.

 

[bowtiejunkie]

Zillow is fairly accurate in my neighborhood. It's all tract homes, so you don't have a $200,000 house and a $1,500,000 on the same street, etc. Checking comps for a specific house isn't too difficult. Some sellers have been testing the elasticity of the market, but have downward adjusted their prices. For example, one home had a zestimate of $300k when hitting the market @ $360k; it's now adjusted to $355k and the zestimate is up to $325k. In many areas, zillow is good for prior sales, buy zestimate seems a bit or way off. I'm no expert, just a casual stalker of zillow for years.

 

[MohavValley]

All online AVMs are only as good as their data, most trail the market by 30 to 90 days so at the very least they're chasing a market, so if your markets moving (up or down), it'll show you what has happened not what is happening good or bad.

Also it has no way of knowing what you actually have, county records are often wrong, and if you live in an area where there a lot of different sub markets (aka desireability/demand, physicality) meet you get values all over the place.

Plus there are non physical factors that also effect demand in various sub markets, good/bad schools, school district policies, rising/declining crime, policing agency, Chinese or any other ethnic group moving cash in to a market to get it out of their country, etc , all stuff you can not see, but only know from closely following a market as transactions occur. If your markets flat and fairly homogenious then it'll probably be fairly close.

There is no way a computer can get a feel for this or even understand it, there just using historical data punched in to an equation to come up with a number, then they'll "adjust it" depending on the desires of there audience, remember zillo sales leads and advertising so there more page views the better for their bottom line.

.

 

[Englewood]

Seems Zillow goes primarily by $ per Sq Ft. and some discount/premiuim for lot size.

If the algorith was that simple it might actually work...Zillow is about as useful as a two-peckered billy goat.

 

[shane-o]

you can list your house for whatever you want to get for it. remember things are only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. My wife and I recently sold our home to downsize. we had a specialty estate in a special location. we got a realtor and listed our estate for what I wanted out of it to move. everyone thought I was out of my mind and said I would never get it. well long story short a couple came and looked at it ten days later and the wife told her husband it was her dream house and boom that's all she wrote. If your in a position like we were where we didn't need to move and if it sells it sells and if it doesn't then no harm no foul list it for what you want. There's always someone for something.

 

[johnnyC]

This is a very random question but don't want to start a thread...Anyone have someone or sell residential iron doors?

go to I want that door .com I bought one from them cheeper than wood easy to put in 8 ft tall big selection really good quality located in sun valley ca but they are kinda a dick after the sale also do custom work a lot in bev. hills

 

[JD D05]

go to I want that door .com I bought one from them cheeper than wood easy to put in 8 ft tall big selection really good quality located in sun valley ca but they are kinda a dick after the sale also do custom work a lot in bev. hills

Oh wow those prices are really good.

 

[COCA COLA COWBOY]

Lots of real estate threads theses days.

I'm gonna make it short...Zillow uses an algorithm based on the comparable sales to determine value for their zestimate. Zillow makes money...at the moment...by selling impressions or exposure for real estate agents and mortgage brokers which we pay hefty prices for. If they sell more than what is being produced, they adjust the algorithm for a given area to increase exposure.

To answer your question...it's all over the board.

To give you some insight into the recent market...market has cooled and it's extremely important to be the best home for sale in the neighborhood with the most aggressive price.

Have your broker give you the data...months worth of inventory on the market, all comparable sales, average days on the market, etc. Look at that data in relation to what the market was doing a year ago.

I'd highly recommend having your broker tour all the comparable home which are actively listed. Once you actually see them in person you will know exactly where you need to be.

 

[pronstar]

Zillow is just a tool.
It’s not the only tool.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[DrunkenSailor]

The best desktop valuation tool i have ever seen is redbell. They are owned by a mortgage services company called clayton. They have access to over 400 mls services across the country. Their data is awesome and the system is easy to use. It doesn't just spit a value back though you have to go through the comps and pick appropriate ones to match your home. For anyone in the industry i haven't seen a better tool out there.

 

[wzuber]

Oh wow those prices are really good.

No shit.... as a custom ornamental iron fabricating contractor I am just shaking my head. If the fab design/quality is good and the paint finish system is solid/spot on, that is a very good deal. Those prices are for a production system, they are set up to mass produce at low margin. There's good and bad with that like most anything else. As the referrer stated their "after the sale" attitude sucks so don't put much stock in their "warranty". If you choose them make certain everything is absolutely complete, correct etc. from start to finish before handing them the balance. That's a potential huge air and moisture (installation/framing rot etc.) leak if not built, installed and sealed correctly. If someone other than them does the install you can bet any subsequent issues after completion will be blamed on the installation. If your close enough to tour the facility I would recommend it. I will be in the coming months when I have time. Good luck with your purchase/project.

 

[boatpi]

To determine a comp go to Redfin, enter your ZIP Code and search on the right-hand side of the column go down and check for sold houses the last 3 to 6 months .

Compare your house square footage and lot and upgrades to the ones that sold.

 

[JD D05]

No shit.... as a custom ornamental iron fabricating contractor I am just shaking my head. If the fab design/quality is good and the paint finish system is solid/spot on, that is a very good deal. Those prices are for a production system, they are set up to mass produce at low margin. There's good and bad with that like most anything else. As the referrer stated their "after the sale" attitude sucks so don't put much stock in their "warranty". If you choose them make certain everything is absolutely complete, correct etc. from start to finish before handing them the balance. That's a potential huge air and moisture (installation/framing rot etc.) leak if not built, installed and sealed correctly. If someone other than them does the install you can bet any subsequent issues after completion will be blamed on the installation. If your close enough to tour the facility I would recommend it. I will be in the coming months when I have time. Good luck with your purchase/project.

Good info thanks! I live in Utah so this would be shipped and installed by someone else...There is local people here that build great doors but they are twice as much...

 

[wzuber]

Good info thanks! I live in Utah so this would be shipped and installed by someone else...There is local people here that build great doors but they are twice as much...

UTAHHHHH....I miss skiing that place.
Ya, if not set up to mass produce then they become rather labor intensive. These doors are beautiful but are a huge potential rust issue, even when built and sealed correctly depending on the environment in which it's installed. Every metal to metal lap joint, butt joint etc. is a potential rust spot and these type doors have many. In your enviro. I would want a 2 part epoxy primer with a poly urenthane top coat minimum over a correctly sand blasted prep to insure a long lasting paint bond. Unfortunately, rust never sleeps.

 

[JD D05]

UTAHHHHH....I miss skiing that place.
Ya, if not set up to mass produce then they become rather labor intensive. These doors are beautiful but are a huge potential rust issue, even when built and sealed correctly depending on the environment in which it's installed. Every metal to metal lap joint, butt joint etc. is a potential rust spot and these type doors have many. In your enviro. I would want a 2 part epoxy primer with a poly urenthane top coat minimum over a correctly sand blasted prep to insure a long lasting paint bond. Unfortunately, rust never sleeps.

I use to love to ski until I discovered snowmobiling...

Again great info I will make sure and ask these questions if we do go this route.

 

[Tamalewagon]

Zillow is unreliable at best. Comps for your exact model match and in very close proximity to your home is what the appraisers will go on. You have up to a 1.5 mile radius but if the comps are in a different housing complex, typically they will not use those comps unless desperate for viable comps. If you list your property for well over the comps in the area, it may be difficult to get a lot of activity. As you are finding out and as many buyers are savvy to, buying a home that is over built for the area is very difficult to re-sell. If the property isn't moving, value range the property. You should get better activity. Good luck with the sale!

 

[fat rat]

Zillows was right on the money with us, got a signed contact 1 day of showing. Also almost 50k more than realtors estimated price. I will soon be homeless.

 

[River Lynchmob]

Zillow is about as accurate as a broken watch.

 

[Icky]

Zillow has my house about 100k less than what it appraised for over a year ago