Oh No ..... not Zillow!
One of my past clients recently was called into his investment brokers office to go over his account and obviously make any future
battle plans that were necessary. This has been a trying time for anyone with any kind of investments and offering a shoulder to cry on was the actual topic of the meeting. After going thru all the various accounts, the planner came to the 'real estate portion' of the program and gave my client the value of his home. $209,000 ..... REALLY?
My client asked 'how do you know what the value of my house would be?' Now the planner obviously did not know at that time this client was about to become my seller again and sell his home. We had already checked out all the comparable sales in the neighborhood and we had already set a listing price.
What the planner told my seller next sends chills down every Realtors spine - 'well we've found out the price of your home on Zillow.' My client said 'what?' That internet nonsense! The planner went on and on in detail how Zillow is very accurate and that they use it all the time to give clients the 'potential value' of their home. REALLY?
Well my soon to be Smart Seller said 'what about the one that just closed across the street for $215,000?'
Planner: 'We don't have that information and Zillow is very accurate.' REALLY?
Smart Seller: Well my Realtor just showed me that closed sale and my house has a better location (truly) and a fireplace and you think it's worth $209,000?
Planner: Yes, we've found that Zillow is very accurate. REALLY?
Smart Seller: Then how do you explain the missing sold across the street for $215,000? Hmmmmm, she says. Uhhhhhh, she says some more.
Well, around a month after this story had taken place I listed and sold this clients home at $225,000 and it sold in 10 days!
What's the moral of the story here? Zillow cannot take the place of a good area Realtor that can come into your home, help you decide where you should be placed in the market and help you do a thorough pre-selling and staging of your home.
Zillow can not tell you about the homes location, size or the updates done to the property. In fact, Zillow can't even tell you how many BR's and BA's the home has! Just an address and a number, that's all it's good for.
If you need a well thought out game plan and market analysis done of your home, please don't go to Zillow.
Lyn Sims (847)230-7324 at RE/MAX Suburban
I proudly serve and sell real estate in the Northwest Suburbs of Chicago. If you are thinking about purchasing or selling your home in the communities of Schaumburg, Elk Grove Village, Hoffman Estates, Roselle, Palatine, Medinah, Itasca, Bloomingdale, Carol Stream, Bartlett, Hanover Park, Streamwood, Elgin, South Elgin, St. Charles and more importantly, want to work with a local area expert, contact me immediately.
All data and information provided on this blog is for informational purposes only. Lyn Sims makes no representations as to accuracy, completeness, correctness, suitability or validity of any information on this site and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from it’s display or use.
Names and prices were changed to protect the innocent - just like on Dragnet.
Sources: MRED MLS
Pictures: Fotolia
OH NO ... Not Zillow ©2009 Lyn Sims - RealEstateConsumerInfo.com and RealEstateBuyMe.com
© 2010 Lyn Sims
Total agreement. And Zillow surely doesn't report that the house that sold for MUCH less than the neighboring houses is because the house had been neglected, abused, maybe even foresaken, in which case it had been a total eyesore for six months and an investor came along and bought it for a deal. (Actual case!)
Thanks for posting.
Foolish people will believe anything and everything.
Everyone with a computor can be an expert at anything and everything. Or at least they think they can!
Zillow trendlines are useful, but their property-specific valuation is not reliable. There are too many details that impact value that are not quantifiable by a computer - it takes the experienced human mind to be onsite to get the job done.
Tammy: As I said and you agreed, they only tell you an address and a number with no other pertinent details.
Jim & Bill: Yes, you can find anything out on your computer, is it valuable?
Jim: You mention the 'trendlines' - well if they use incorrect or outdated material for those trends what value is it? A snapshot of 4 months ago isn't very 'trendy' or timely is it?
I've found Zillow to be absolutely horrible with their Zestimates. I have zero confidence in them. Hmmm. Maybe that's why ZEro and ZEstimates both start with ZE.
Hi Lynn, it's David G from Zillow -
Please do me a favor and check the "maximum value" of the value range that we assigned to that home's Zestimate value. Is it near $225K? The Zestimate is an estimate!
Low-balling buyers are honestly nothing new - this market attracts them - but if you understand Zillow, the Zestimate should really not be sending chills down anyone's spine.
If you are hearing about Zestimates from your buyers, I really encourage you to spend a bit of time to understand Zillow's accuracy and our recent market stats for your area and to check the Zestimate value and value range of your listings.
I thought the movie "Birds" was scary....This is WAY more scary. At least your story has a happy ending.
Sounds like a good opportunity to approach the investor consultant and provide BPO services, Real Estate advise, etc?
Russ: Good one.
Kathy: Yes it does, but not if you weren't fully informed. The internet doesn't allow for all the variables that properties have. This story could have also gone the opposite way on price too. But I wanted to point out how the public believes the validity of the site.
Chad: Yes as her sources are not obviously accurate. Never thought of doing that?