You are RIGHT ON THE MONEY. They are strictly estimates. They are wrong over 50% of the time. They are used as generalizations and not gospel.

I would encourage people to read the Zillow "zestimate" section on their website. They explain how they measure and track the accuracy of their estimates, including spreadsheets. Their accuracy has recently been within about 1.9 percent, when you compare their estimate to the actual selling price, which is public record. So, unless Zillow is lying, I think their accuracy is very good. But, of course it is an estimate. I have never heard of a real estate gospel.

Also, I don't think real estate appraisers are the best people to estimate market value for buying or selling a house. They usually work for the bank, and their primary function is to satisfy the bank.

I find Zillow to be much more accurate than it was years ago. And as mentioned before you can log in to establish an account and correct or update information about your house. You can even add a picture or two. Of course, your input has to be verified before the changes are made.

Anyhow, go to Zillow.com and check out your house; it can be a fun exercise.

I recently bought my home here TV and the appraised value is about $25K under Zillows’s estimate. A recent appraisal is always more accurate.

That explains the low value on my home. Thanks! The home across the street that has a value of $100,000 more than mine, has no pool and is not golf front, just sold last year, so the estimate has been updated.

I have owned my home for 10 years and have been homesteaded in Florida since 1992, when the law went into effect. I have been able to carry that tax benefit with me.

Zillow is not very accurate. They do not consider specific lot location or upgrades you may have put in, ie. enclosed lanai, granite counters, remodeled kitchen and/or bath ect. 2 identical models may show the same price on Zillow, but 1 may have $50,000 in upgrades. It is like saying 2 identical model used cars are worth the same when 1 is a stripped down bare bones version that has been in an accident and repaired and the other is loaded, garage kept and well maintained.

Starflyte Don't worry My son and I bought 9 homes from 2012 to 2014 Our purchase prices weren't even close to Zillow's estimates. But they did get the sales prices right. Len

As to zillow
 

My experience in selling our previous home. We had a long term plan so I did my own study. A broker will tell you zillow is not accurate. Realize they are sales people their biggest sales job is convincing you that you need them. Aside we did sell through a broker. My logic is that if you do a for sale by owner, the seller thinks they are saving the commission. The buyer looking on for sale by owner also figures on saving the commission. You can't both pocket the same money.

To the zillow price. It you hear of a home sold. You can easily look up the zillow price and compare it to the sale price. You need to do it quickly before the zillow price is adjusted to reflect the sale. My experience is the zillow price will be close to the sale price-5% lower or higher.

A typical broker game. They want to get the listing. I can get you xxxxxxx another broker tells you your home is worth 10% less than that. So you go with the person who claimed they would get you more so you give them the listing. Hey even with their higher commission you will still net more. Then you sit, You wonder why no one is looking and those who look don't even make an offer. The broker says you need to lower the price by 10%.

The Villages is a very unique community. Zillow estimates work reasonably well in most real estate markets. I would not bother with a Zillow estimate in The Villages. As always, a piece of property is worth only what someone is willing to pay for it in today’s timeframe.

Not even close if you live on a golf course. They use sale prices in your general area which includes homes outside of the villages and doesn't include golf course or lake front properties. So, no, they are not accurate at all.

When we put our house up for sale in So. Fla. at $475,000 Zillow estimate was $450,000. When we lowered it to $435,000 it estimated it to be $414,000! We sold it now the estimate is $441,000. Go figure!

////

If the consensus is that the Zillow estimates are low....well....YIPPEEEEE!!!

I don't understand why some people are saying that Zillow estimates are not accurate, when the published data suggests that it is very accurate. If you are going to say that estimates on a website are not accurate, then you at least need to support the claim by comparing it to other competing companies that prepare similar estimates. Obviously, if you buy or sell your house for a different price than the Zillow estimate, you may think that the Zillow estimate was not accurate. But, that is not necessarily true. Some people overpay or underpay for a house. Zillow is just providing an estimate of the market value of the house.

We bought our CYV privately (for sale by owner) at a great price a year ago. Tip-top condition, with many upgrades. We have watched smaller CYVs than ours on the same street sell for more through realtors. But we believe because of our low purchase price, our Zillow estimate is now lower than the exact same models on our street.

Until a house is sold there is no way to tell "what a willing buyer and and a willing seller" will agree to. We had The Villages real estate people do an estimate on our house some time ago. Their estimated price was considerably higher than what any similar model in our neighborhood has sold for during the subsequent 5 years.

Trusting Zillow for accurate estimates of a home's value is 100% blind faith!

Realtors are trained to do comparative market analyses and their estimate of value is based on facts -- the same facts that appraisers use. Not so as far as Zillow whose estimates of value are usually high.

The price a person originally paid for their home has nothing whatsoever to do with the current value. The county's website really tells you nothing about the upgrades a person has done since they owned the property.

I wouldn't blindly trust anyone regarding the value of a house. The best way to feel comfortable about a sale price is to gather as much information that is available. The county website is supposed to indicate permitted upgrades and often does. And, what a person paid for their house sometimes indicates how much they are willing to sell it for, especially if they haven't owned it very long and are trying to make a huge profit. Both Zillow and Realtors do comparative market analyses in preparing an estimate. But, the Realtor's primary goal is to sell houses and make a commission, not to do accurate estimates. Very few people are willing to pay an appraiser unless they are forced to by the bank. The published data does not indicate that Zillow estimate are usually high. These are facts.

Having recently both bought and sold property in different states, Zillow is Zooey. My guess it is a computer program that gathers limited data to determine price with limited or no weighted factors such as location, interior or exterior quality or upgrades, school districts, healthcare, curb appeal, etc., etc.

I think this sums it up for me exactly.... :ho:

Checked out Zillow pricing in my immediate neighborhood. There were significant differences between golf front and non golf front properties.

Zillow is pretty much an open publication from any state. I've never sold a home on Zillow, as a matter of fact I've never ever sold anything on Zillow. I think Zillow sells because it can be seen from a lot of states. I would never sell anything on Zillow because there's to many bad people on it. Just my opinion! If someone doesn't like my input that's OK because like I said, it's just my opinion. Good luck selling you home with whoever!

Over the last several years I have monitored half a dozen homes owned by family members on Zillow. One runs consistently high; the others are fairly valued. One bounces around in value on Zillow as it does IRL. Unless a house is unique in an unobvious way its Zillow estimate is likely fairly accurate IMHO.

How realistic do you think Zillow home price estimates are?
 

Zillow estimate was 30K less than the asking price for the home we recently sold in PA by owner. Happy to say we got our asking price! I don't trust Zillow's estimates since they're sight-unseen of the actual house.



PA for 77 years, Wilkes-Barre area, now TV full-time!

People...........it's an estimate. Period.




The Zestimate® home valuation model is Zillow’s estimate of a home's market value. The Zestimate incorporates public and user-submitted data, taking into account home facts, location and market conditions.
It is not an appraisal and it should be used as a starting point.

Not that Zillow is accurate but, I tend to believe that The Villages inflates the homes value.

Blindly trusting anyone regarding the price of a house could only be by word of mouth and that would be insane without any back-up information.

The county only tells you that a permit was issued. It doesn't even tell you that the work has been completed nor does it indicate the materials used or the quality of the work.

What a person originally paid for their home has nothing to do with what they might accept as a selling price. You would only be guessing or have wishful thinking.

Have you even seen or received a market analysis done by Zillow? No, I thought not. However, that is what Realtors do. You will get in in writing with all the current facts clearly explained and outlined. The facts given are clearly provable.

Of course a Realtor's goal is to make a commission when they sell a house. Just like any sales job, that's their profession! As far as accurate market analyses, you are incorrect. They don't "fudge" or misrepresent information; their report is based on substantiated facts as mentioned above.

The best way to determine value is of course to look at sold “comparable homes with similar amenities and similar location” - go to open houses if you are thinking of selling!! Buyers do this to determine value. An appraisal is only good for approx 3-6 months max. As a prospective buyer-I will go to as many open houses in my price range as possible so I can determine what is a fair value - it will be very easy to determine what is overpriced as well. I may or may not look at Zillow but I would definitely use local Real Estate agent to assist me with the entire process because they will know the local market.

That is like saying that all houses of the same sq ft should sell for the same price, regardless of upgrade or condition. If they have not seen your house, how accurate can the guesstimate be. Knowing how inaccurate they are, even Zillow made up a word Zestimate to Cover Their A__.

Someone explained that Zillow prices homes on sale price and tax paid, and an average of all the homes in the area.

Because I have owned my home 10 years, the price has not changed in 10 years, and due to save our homes, pay a very low tax rate.

I do not like the estimate of my home, but try to understand why it is so low.

From my experiences Zillow is fairly accurate.

Agents here are not realstic Zillow lets you post own price and they’re free why pay commission for doing so little

My experience selling and buying several homes recently is that Zillow is a great starting point and their estimates are within about +/- 5%. We have found Zillow very useful.

This may be true for newer neighborhoods, but does not seem to be true when a home hasn’t been sold in ten years.

My two cents worth
 

Dates are obviously important but omitted from your post.
Zilliow supplies a range as well as the zillow price. If, the zillow price on your property was 450 and you listed at 475. I wonder why you listed it so much higher. I suspect a realitor looking to get you tied up with a listing told you they could get you 475 and then later when you wondered why it was not selling told you to lower it to 435. You do not say what you sold it for, just that it is now estimated at 441. Zillow also provided expected rate of increase or decrease.

In any case, I would not, I do not, fret over past decisions. I investigate and then make a decision. If, it is or was a wrong decision I am comfortable knowing that based on the facts I had at the time I made the right decision.

It may have changed
 

As I've stated elsewhere, Zilliow provides the zillow price but also provides a range. The zillow price is usually in the middle of the range price and the difference from the low to the top is 3-4% down and 3-4% up.

You can and people do list a home at any price they wish. A friend needed to sell his home. The bank was going to foreclose. He priced it for way over the zillow price. When, I asked why, the reason was that he needed that much to cover the two mortgages he had on the property. It was foreclosed on. Yes, I did get the money I stupidly lent to him but, I lost a friend?

I had this issue after I bought my 2nd home in Hillsborough. We originally purchased in Bonita and stayed a short time. The Hillsborough house is large, 4 bedroom. We installed a 2000 square foot lanai with a pool. Zillow didn't know that. On Zillow there is a place to update your property and add in all the addition. Somehow they calculate and lo and behold your median range is truly reflective of current market value.

Lots matter
 

Zillow does not give value to the lot view, a huge factor in The Villages.

Estimates are not false information
 

Zillow uses data only to create an estimate for a house. The data is always incomplete and the data will always be incomplete. The data they use does not have particulars as to the quality of the house. Also, people have independent views and biases that don't see a generalized answer as accurate if they have personal bias or knowledge. Likewise, your realtor will give you an estimate for the sale price of a house, but seldom does the house actually sell for that exact number.

There would be no basis for a lawsuit against zillow for creating an estimate of the house for that area based on houses in that area for a non sale public internet search. I work with data and forecasts and estimates for a living, and always remember, the future is uncertain, and sometimes the future is more uncertain than at other times. The data will always be incomplete, such as a individuals taste or a view of the quality of the house.

sportsguy