My Thoughts on Zestimates

Today I’m sharing my thoughts on Zillow’s Zestimate and whether they’re a true estimate of your home’s value.

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One of my clients recently asked what my thoughts were regarding Zillow and its valuation model. This is an excellent question we get asked regularly. Zillow’s home value estimates equal ‘Zestimates.’ Zillow has some great features, and the Zestimate can give you a rough parameter of the value of your home, but it should only be a starting point.

Zillow doesn’t know how much of the lot is usable, how good the views are, whether you’ve made upgrades, or if there are any special features that could increase the value. We have some properties where a person will own a half-acre, but most of it is not flat. Conversely, you could have an all flat, 7,000 sq.-ft. lot that could be more valuable than that half-acre.

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It’s critical to hire an agent who has seen and is familiar with properties in the area.

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Zillow gets its valuation from an algorithm of public information. So it’s critical to hire an agent who has seen and is familiar with properties in the area to give you a true value for your house. I’ve previewed close to 6,000 properties and I take notes on every one of them, which means we have a lot of knowledge of the homes in our area.

If you have any questions about Zillow or real estate in general, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you.