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.
I think Zillow only has one goal, and that's to get people to view their site. Two goals, actually; they also collect your information. The Zestimates are click bait. Sometimes click bait can be handy to the viewers, but even so the point of creating zestimates was to create click bait IMO.
You are missing the end game goal:
Zillow is funded by real estate agents and firms. Zillow's main feature is to provide traffic and sales leads to agents who pay them for that opportunity.
Ha ha, I know you're being humorous but the funny thing is I know a few people who swear that exact thing has happened to them.
I try not to look at things like Zestimates but every once in awhile it's hard to resist when you're just a few weeks away from listing your house. So this morning I took a look and compared with the last time I looked (about 3-4 weeks ago). Some went up, some went down. So not only are they not accurate, they're not even consistent.
well, if you just go claim your house, and make sure ll the info is accurate, then they'll email you the value every single month.
mine moves up and down ~10% in any year, meaning a range up to 20%.
Zillow is funded by real estate agents and firms. Zillow's main feature is to provide traffic and sales leads to agents who pay them for that opportunity.
I think Zillow only has one goal, and that's to get people to view their site. Two goals, actually; they also collect your information. The Zestimates are click bait. Sometimes click bait can be handy to the viewers, but even so the point of creating zestimates was to create click bait IMO.
amazingly, just got me a Z email. My Z went down 1.1% in the last 30 days, though my neighborhood's went up 0.6% in just 30 days. Go figure.
You're exactly correct that the goal is to get eyeballs. Then they "sell" that to agents, who want be positioned beside all of the listings. I haven't thought about it as much as I should have perhaps, but they haven't and won't make money this way, UNTIL they can get so good at getting consumers to use those agents that it pays off.
So it seems they're taking their Wall Street capital and trying to piggy back on all the new "disruptive" ventures like iBuying, online mortgages, etc.
In a declining market, I'd say Zillow scores are far more important because now the buyer has power, so they will use that as a negotiation point.
It doesn't quite work that way in a seller's market.
I get your point, and yes it could be a way you could use Zillow in certain situations. To be honest, though, but I think most buyers who are savvy enough to negotiate also know that using comps is easier and more reliable.
That computer generate estimate of your home's value is nothing more than a digital guess. Don't worry too much about it, other than as conversation at neighborhood get-togethers ad PTO meetings. If you actually want to know what your home is worth, hire an appraiser (if you need it for some legal reason,) or call a local real estate agent. The key to evaluating COMPARABLE properties is to COMPARE them. No one at Zillow has ever been inside any of the properties, so can't do an actual comparison.
In fairness, appraisers do not go into comparable properties either. They go inside your property, and then often make uncorrect assumptions about the comparables.
Gawd mine shoots up and down month to month all the time. Down $27.5K this month, up $57K a few months ago- I pay it no nevermind, I suspect few people do.
In fairness, appraisers do not go into comparable properties either. They go inside your property, and then often make uncorrect assumptions about the comparables.
They don't go in, but they typically have access to interior pictures of the comps and they also can talk to the listing agents if they have any questions about the comps.
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.
