Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Yup. I had posted the link to the ad awhile back and was surprised there wasn't much discussion about it. (A zestimate question) Guess I should have started a new thread but with Surbiton around I figured we probably didn't need more.
Buyer beware? Seller beware? You bet! How can anyone trust a site whose 50% right on the price (within 5% of listing)????????? Yep, 50 percent right. I could through darts and come much closer. Zillow sneaks that one by and on the right column of their Zestimate page then tell you that the MEDIAN error is less than 5%. I'm not a statistics guy, and I'm appalled that Zillow is even allowed to exist...
Here is the conspiracy issue behind the whole Zillow deal. (For the record I am an agent and refuse to do any business through Zillow)
When an owner puts his/her house up for sale through Zillow, the owner is not forced to update anything regarding the listing INCLUDING THE SALES PRICE. Read through Zillow's site for anything in any agreement that forces that to happen - it isn't in there...)
So a house in Zillow may be seen as SOLD, but the seller or buyer does not have to update the price they sold at. Like most markets, Public records do not update instantly, and it could take several months to update. Given that scenario, I will share what I saw and how Zillow has not control over the process, and thus their Zestimate is a load of BS.
In areas of one of the states I do business in, there is a particular concentration of population of a certain ethnicity (which one is not important and for the record this is not a discriminatory statement but merely factual since it is close to a religious temple and supporting businesses ). The market during the "selling season" [March through September] was so HOT that owners were putting their homes up for sale directly on Zillow at ridiculous prices. Zillow's estimates were way off on the high end and kept creeping up. The selling homeowners in the area of cluster townhomes in effect had blatantly conspired to maintain a false market pricing scheme through Zillow.
The issue here is that Agents through their MLS are obligated to report within 24 hours the deal - either listing or selling with the final price. Selling Homeowners are under no such obligation.
The buyer nor seller is under no obligation either! The Zillow questions asked for taking over a listing on their site are lame at best! For the record, the buyer may not even know what to do as far as Zillow is concerned.
Zillow then becomes a facilitator of market manipulation with no regulatory oversight (unlike REAL realtors) I take it not even in Texas where they are registered.
So beware of this whole Zestimate deal - as I am sure you would prefer to be on the right side of their 50% formula and not on the wrong side. The good neighbor policy doesn't quite cut it for many people.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The Agent's view within the conZpiracy of Zillow
