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!

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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.