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 open the Zillow emails I get just out of interest. Over the years, the estimate goes up and down and up and down but for the last two years has been around the high $140K Last month, the house across the street sold for $200K. This house is in a neighborhood of 3 and 4 bedroom, 2 and 3 bath double wide mobile homes - all put here at the same time by the developer.
My home and the one across the street are almost identical - mine being a little larger. But that house has almost no landscaping whereas my has extensive landscaping. I have a really nice 14X32 wired workshop and a 12X14 storage shad that the other house does not. The interiors are about even except there is not a nail hole anywhere in mind. Their carpet is nicer. I can go on.
The week that house sold for 200K, Zillow had mine at 148K. The week after it sold Zillow bumped mine to 206K. A week later and it was back down to 148K again and has stayed there for about a month.
Today, Zillow has mine at $208K.
Does anyone take Zillow seriously? And how do they stay in business? - jb
Edit - Realtor.com is showing a picture of my house that is almost 8 years old.
Our primary is estimated on zillow to be around $560k which is pretty accurate. A house up the street has the same basic footprint but a pool and finished basement and just sold for $615k.
My rental is a town over and estimate is $180k but I think it's prob closer to $200k...
Either way it gives you a ballpark in most cases I'd think,
Zillow messed us over when we FiRST tried to sell our metro Denver home. We had paid $227k for it in 2012, and listed it in 2016 for $295k, which was the Zillow estimate, after my husband lost his job and we were considering moving out of state. However, the very next day after we signed the listing agreement, Zillow lowered its estimate by $40,000 to $255k Our house was listed for five weeks with not one single offer and only a few showings. (Our realtor persuaded us NOT to lower the price as we were not in a hurry to sell. However, my husband found another position he liked, so we ended up taking the house off the market.)
And so when we listed it again four years later, we paid no attention to the Zillow estimate, which was then up to about $470k. Our realtor said that we should list it at $440k, but we decided to take no chances because we needed to close within a six weeks after listing, so we listed it for $425k, and it sold for for $430k the second day after we listed it, after receiving four offers in two days -- two at listed price and two higher.
The following week, the Zillow price went down to what the sold price was!
Last edited by katharsis; 08-25-2021 at 03:14 PM..
I think it depends on how active and how homogeneous your subdivision is.
Mine is about 1 mile square subdivision built with maybe 4 floor plans so, other than size, number of rooms, the homes are comparable, between 1300 and 1500 sf on 6000 sf lots.
5 homes within those parameters sold in the last three months for between $350,000 and $400,000. Another home that was about 1800 sf sold for a bit over $400,000.
Zillow has mine at $389,600 which I think is pretty real since I have a 12,000 sf lot and a 1200 sf garage/workshop in the back yard.
Yes. Many people take Zillow seriously.
They do much besides online appraisals.
Although some sellers take it too seriously. I followed up on an old seller lead just yesterday, and he told me if I had a buyer he would sell, but not for a penny less than 360k because that's what Zillow had it valued at.
I looked at comps and I figure at 325k he'd be doing pretty good, even right now. Then again, it's a wild market so you never know.
Although some sellers take it too seriously. I followed up on an old seller lead just yesterday, and he told me if I had a buyer he would sell, but not for a penny less than 360k because that's what Zillow had it valued at.
I looked at comps and I figure at 325k he'd be doing pretty good, even right now. Then again, it's a wild market so you never know.
Early on, sales people are trained not to put out a number unless they are quite confident it is a good number. People latch onto numbers, even when they disclaim, "Ballpark," "I know it isn't to be taken seriously," "I won't hold you to it." Etcetera....
That guy will likely never get Zillow's appraisal value of $360,000 out of his mind.
Or, maybe it is just his "Make Me Move" price, and he would need a lot of inducement to move.
When the "WeWannaBuyYourHouse" scammers call, my MMM price is about 35%--40% higher than Zillow's appraisal.
"So your asking price is XYZ? That seems to be much higher than market."
"No. I'm not "asking" anything. I'm just telling you my MMM price, what it would take me to clear out. Hit my MMM and I will be out in 21 days."
I don't take it that seriously, but i do monitor my home's value on Zillow and for the most part the value does follow what other similar homes in the neighborhood do sell for. My neighborhood development is pretty homogenous, so it's not a surprise it tracks so well.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,585 posts, read 81,243,006 times
Reputation: 57825
The more sales in an area the more accuracy, and none of those companies has any idea of what condition the interior is in. It's not meant to be used to set a sale price, nor to determine your property tax, and each is subject to the people working there and their interpretations. Most of them are close to actual value, based on recent sales, but all different. For our house here in Sammamish WA they show:
Zillow currently values my house at $213,700. Trulia agrees.
Realtor.com says it's worth $150,400, but shows pictures from before it was flipped and resold (to us, 3 years ago).
Redfin valuation is $170,612.
I would talk to a knowledgeable local realtor, not trust these inconsistent algorithms.
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.
