Why you should NOT believe your Zestimate
Zillow is almost ALWAYS wrong. There are many reasons but the most common reason in our area is that our homes are spread out and very unique.
In other words: If you live in a cookie cutter subdivision that has plenty of recent sales and the homes are virtually the same, Zillow and other online home valuations are much closer to real life values but outside of that (which is more common in our area) they are almost always wrong.
It's undoubtedly one of the most popular websites out there for home buyers and sellers - did you know the CEO of Zillow just sold his own home in Seattle for 40% LESS than the Zestimate!
Most commonly Zillow will give you a value that is a bit higher than the reality. However, on occasion, your home is worth much more than Zillow predicts. This is a shame because the buyers do put a huge weight on this and you can bet that the buyers will be checking.
Just know this: A computer or website will NEVER be more accurate than a seasoned, local professional.
Area | Typical Zestimate Error | |
2015 | 2016 | |
San Francisco, CA | $61,966 | $43,920 |
Los Angeles, CA | $37,653 | $26,064 |
Sacramento, CA | $22,446 | $18,174 |
We had to share this because I know I'm not the only one whose used Zillow to look up real estate info...
As a Realtor, I actually have access to a tool that can accurately show someone how much their home is worth. I normally only use it when someone is selling their home soon, but after seeing how inaccurate Zillow is I am now offering to provide this service to ANYONE who is curious.