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As a consumer I love Zillow. You can filter to see what neighborhood homes have recently sold for. You can see if one area sells for more than another. You link to price history and other public info. You link to maps and can see the plat lot lines. You can use search terms for words agents put in descriptions. You can do a lot more than on other websites, although other sites do have links that show noise levels for example.
Zillow also describes how it does its zestimates and how accurate tthey might be. Something like 80% of the values are within x% of new sales prices y% of the time. No one in the business expects accuracy. Just a rough idea. I look for plus or minus 30%.
"I am amazed that you would think that Zillow would have any idea what the value of your mobile home is and why you would care about your zestimate." - Tim, I don't but so many do that something needs to be done and I posted as an example of just how bad it can be.
"Zillow is simply a regression formula with factors such as taxable value and a developed comparatio. How can you possibly expect Zillow’s statistical formula to mirror updated places (unless a permit was required which increased taxable value) or property condition?" - World, I agree with you - what you are telling me is that zillow thinks my house, because it has a homestead tax exemption, is far less valuable that the two houses across the street? Except for my 14X32 wired workshop - which had a permit pulled - and other things that make my home MORE valuable than the two 200K+ across the street, they are about the same in all respect - size, location, age, etc, etc. If the only thing that Zillow can pick up on is the items like you posted, mine should be higher estimated, not less.
"Never forget that Zestimates are worth every penny you pay Zillow......" - Don't, I fully understand but when something grows to the point that it is affecting such a large market then it has some responsibility to assume.
And HB2, you can only show a very limited amount of items - such as those you mentioned. And showing a picture of my house, with very nice landscaping and my workshop, does not show the other two homes for comparison.
My point is, why would anyone - ever - use zillow for anything with so many examples of how wrong it can be. As a past realtor, it is easy to comp homes in a development with a large number of like homes - Zillow must find a way to do that with homes out of these developments and also a way to "catch" when there is an obvious error in their estimates. The week after my neighbor's home sold for 200K, my zillow estimate went from 148K to 205K. A week later it was back down to 150K - about what it has been for over 4-5 years.
Zillow needs to be regulated. - jb
I am a lender and I use Zillow quite a bit for lots of different data, just not zestimates. I don’t look at that number often.
As a consumer I love Zillow. You can filter to see what neighborhood homes have recently sold for. You can see if one area sells for more than another. You link to price history and other public info. You link to maps and can see the plat lot lines. You can use search terms for words agents put in descriptions. You can do a lot more than on other websites, although other sites do have links that show noise levels for example.
Zillow also describes how it does its zestimates and how accurate tthey might be. Something like 80% of the values are within x% of new sales prices y% of the time. No one in the business expects accuracy. Just a rough idea. I look for plus or minus 30%.
No quibble with Z here, other than any other site....
With exceptions on their flipping and their appraisals. Not a fan of either.
But, I don't key in on appraisals by Z any more than by other licensed agents or websites. The whole thing cries out for being roped in a bit.
Z just happens to have the market most cornered with the "Zestimates" brand of online appraisal.
Agents who moan about Z are generally offended or intimidated by a site that offers data they either withheld or didn't know about.
My point is, why would anyone - ever - use zillow for anything with so many examples of how wrong it can be. As a past realtor, it is easy to comp homes in a development with a large number of like homes - Zillow must find a way to do that with homes out of these developments and also a way to "catch" when there is an obvious error in their estimates. The week after my neighbor's home sold for 200K, my zillow estimate went from 148K to 205K. A week later it was back down to 150K - about what it has been for over 4-5 years.
Zillow needs to be regulated. - jb
I could be wrong, but Redfin, Trulia, Zillow, etc. all generally show the same estimate for any particular property.
Some years ago the wife and I refinanced our home, the appraisal came in at $X, yet according to Zillow the Zestimate was $X + $25K. When I went to sell that home, Zillow showed the Zestimate was now at $X + $55K, which is what we sold it for.
It doesn't really matter what Zillow thinks, anyways. As someone who is in the business, I would imagine that you know a home really has two values: the appraisal value that the bank uses, and, the actual price that homebuyers are willing to pay --which may be below, at, or above the appraisal value. At the end of a day, a home is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.
For some reason Zillow is valuing our place based on our vacant parcel. Always has. Far be it for me to correct it. I just wish the tax man used the zestimate.
There's three parcels total and the buildings are within a different parcel but this is one of the issues you get when a computer is importing data that doesn't always fit the norm.
"I am amazed that you would think that Zillow would have any idea what the value of your mobile home is and why you would care about your zestimate." - Tim, I don't but so many do that something needs to be done and I posted as an example of just how bad it can be.
"Zillow is simply a regression formula with factors such as taxable value and a developed comparatio. How can you possibly expect Zillow’s statistical formula to mirror updated places (unless a permit was required which increased taxable value) or property condition?" - World, I agree with you - what you are telling me is that zillow thinks my house, because it has a homestead tax exemption, is far less valuable that the two houses across the street? Except for my 14X32 wired workshop - which had a permit pulled - and other things that make my home MORE valuable than the two 200K+ across the street, they are about the same in all respect - size, location, age, etc, etc. If the only thing that Zillow can pick up on is the items like you posted, mine should be higher estimated, not less.
"Never forget that Zestimates are worth every penny you pay Zillow......" - Don't, I fully understand but when something grows to the point that it is affecting such a large market then it has some responsibility to assume.
And HB2, you can only show a very limited amount of items - such as those you mentioned. And showing a picture of my house, with very nice landscaping and my workshop, does not show the other two homes for comparison.
My point is, why would anyone - ever - use zillow for anything with so many examples of how wrong it can be. As a past realtor, it is easy to comp homes in a development with a large number of like homes - Zillow must find a way to do that with homes out of these developments and also a way to "catch" when there is an obvious error in their estimates. The week after my neighbor's home sold for 200K, my zillow estimate went from 148K to 205K. A week later it was back down to 150K - about what it has been for over 4-5 years.
Zillow needs to be regulated. - jb
Why do you think Zillow "must" do anything at all that they are not already doing? Why do you want regulation in a source that claims no accuracy? Should tax dollars be spent regulating the use of every such guesstimate? Would those tax dollars, as long as you're willing to spend them, be better utilized in teaching people to comprehend what Zillow means when their disclaimer is read? Or maybe people should quit looking for excuses for their own ignorance. Caveat emptor!
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