Ever been on the site Zillow.com and received a zestimate for your house and then headed straight for the freezer in a deep depression looking for the Ben & Jerry’s ice cream?
I know I have… Plus, people check out raw land on zillow as well and call me with crazy stories.
Nevertheless, research shows that, on average, those ‘Zestimates’ are within 5 percent of the actual value of a home just half of the time.” Nice job Zillow!
Let’s be fair to Zillow though… They defend Zestimates, saying they have not only improved in recent years (most realtors agree) but that they now are similar to what you’d get from a human real estate agent.
However, your local real estate agent will argue they provide services far beyond just pricing a home: assistance in negotiation, help with marketing and priceless peace of mind.
Zillow doesn’t know that the counters in a home are ugly as sin, or that the previous owner had a cat with a bladder-control problem, or that the seller has lovingly cared for every inch of the property for three decades.
No matter how much you wave it around and point to it with urgency, a Zestimate isn’t going to convince a stubborn seller to come down on a price or a bargain-hunting buyer to improve his offer.
Bottom line Zillow is probably not totally full of zhit, but don’t email me about your land zestimate!
