Related Posts
Anonymous User
Community Builder
Conversation Starter
Conversation Starter
90s music binge is so fire right now.
Anonymous User
Additional Posts in The Real Estate Bowl
Mentor
Visual Storyteller
New to Fishbowl?
Download the Fishbowl app to
unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.
unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.
Zestimates work better in cookie-cutter neighborhoods than in places with unique or older homes
The house across the street from me, with the exact same floor plan and a smaller lot has a z estimate 30% higher than my home. I don’t think there’s anything that explains that difference.
Zestimates can be way off sometimes, and most of us in real estate treat them as just a starting point, not the final word. Zillow’s own data says their Zestimates for on-market homes have a median error rate around 2%, but for off-market homes, it jumps to about 7% or more, which can mean tens of thousands of dollars difference. The accuracy really depends on how much recent sales data is available in your area and how similar the homes are.
It’s just a gauge, gives some idea what where the valuation might be, a starting point. For me, I will then look at comps, what is currently being listed and what has been closed in the last 12 months.
I have a unique property, a local real estate agent gave me an estimate of its value. I discarded it as too low, didn’t list it. Zestimate has no idea. I tried Grok. It came within 3k of what the realtor said. I gave it a lot of unique details, like usable land versus unusable, remodel status, utilities, River front, out buildings. Maybe 🤔 these realtors know something…,
Directional only. I would view it as a step below a desktop appraisal (appraisal conducted w/o no site visit, just comps). There is a reason lenders generally want an appraisal from a professional familiar with the area, who has visited the site, and at least driven by the comps and spent time analyzing them. Absent that level of cost / analysis, everything is rough. Best to talk to multiple realtors and use your own analysis / judgment.
It has weirdly different results for me and my very similar neighbor, for example. If you really watch property, there's also a pretty tight range on price per square foot, so it's not hard to recognize places that are unusually above (new build/unsual features) or weirdly below ("for the savvy investor"). Remembering that the square foot value differs for basement space.
It’s indicative at best. Really just uses sqft price for houses in the neighborhood but that ignores so many factors. I used to believe it a lot as well, until I bought a house and realized that it’s wildly off in some places.
I’ve never trusted Zillow. My go-to used to be loopnet, but now it been absorbed by co-star and is very expensive. I used to subscribe, but it wasn’t worth the cost to me. But these are mostly for multifamily and straight up commercial properties. As far as homes go, I haven’t really seen anything accurate other than what a local agent can come up with for comps.