Zillow Rent Zestimate?

Question

I looking at my first rental properties right now. Is the Zillow rent estimate a good metric? Zillow seems to substantially overestimate the value of my personal residence.

I'm in the greater Houston area.

Thanks.

Tristan Gardner · Answer

I'm from a smaller city, Mansfield Ohio, and the Zillow rent isn't as great as looking on Facebook marketplace, Craigslist, and local property managers. I think Zillow could be a decent tool to verify, but multiple sources should be verified.

Michael Dumler · Answer

@Joseph Ellengar personally I have never used Zillow's rent estimates as a resourceful metric. If the rent estimates are anything like their proposed sale listings, then more likely then not the numbers are inaccurate. Zillow claims to have made improvements in their algorithm, but take that with a grain of salt. To successfully pull lease comparables, I advise sticking to the mls or another site like Rentometer which tends to be more accurate. I would also reach out to several property management groups, as most companies will give you free market analysis. Hope this helps.

Dylan Eldred · Answer

A good strategy using Zillow/Trulia/ etc. could be to check out other similar properties that are posted for rent. Then you can go back a few weeks later and check if they have been rented. That will give you a good idea of what similar properties end up going for.

Seth Matheny · Answer

I'm in Perry County - approximately an hour southeast of Columbus.

Matthew Rolf · Answer

@Joseph Ellengar that would take no more than 10 mins for your agent to do if you have one.  If not, I think @Dylan Eldred strategy is best.  As a guide, If you see a similar property that has high days on the market without major red flags, you probably know they pushed the price too much.

Seth Matheny · Answer

Agreed with Tristan, I’m in a small Ohio community and Zillow is always a little higher than what places are actually renting for.

Dan Amaro · Answer

Some areas don't have agreements with Zillow so you won't find a lot of inventory without a realtor, like where I live near Ashland, OH.

Kai Kopsch · Answer

as a Realtor, I used to love bashing Zillow for their estimates. Zillow did some huge changes, there not cooperating anymorewith the local MLS rental listings and agents have now to pay to get a rental listed to Zillow. Over the past year, we get 80% of rental traffic over Zillow and the MLS has lost 90% of their rental business. This means that now Zillow has all the information and Comps because there the Market leader in the rental market in a lot of areas. The Zillow rent estimate is now the best place to run numbers. I would just compare the Comps one by one on zillow

Wale Lawal · Answer

https://www.rentometer.com/ is a good tool, or ask your agent for rent comps for a property.

Remington Lyman · Answer

Where in Ohio? I am always curious about how the rental markets are in small towns in Ohio.

Zillow Rent Zestimate?

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