Do You Actually Trust Zestimate When Evaluating Deals?

[Marcus Gore]

I’ve been thinking about how often sellers (and even newer investors) rely on Zillow’s Zestimate when trying to determine property value.

On the surface, it makes sense — it’s quick, easy, and gives you a number instantly.

But in practice, especially with off-market deals, I’ve seen Zestimate be way off.

For example:

• It doesn’t factor in true property condition
• It ignores investor-specific metrics like ARV and repair costs
• It doesn’t account for seller motivation or deal structure

I’ve seen properties with a $350K Zestimate realistically trade closer to $220K–$260K once you actually break down the numbers from an investor perspective.

It seems like Zestimate works more as a general reference, but not something you’d rely on to actually make a buying decision.

Curious how others here approach this:

👉 Do you use Zestimate at all when evaluating deals?

👉 Or do you completely ignore it and rely on your own comps/analysis?

I’ve been exploring ways to use more data-driven approaches (including AI) to bridge this gap, but interested to hear how everyone here handles it.

[Ken M.]

Quote from @Caleb Brown:

I use actual sold comps from the MLS, no farther than 6 months and within 1 mile. Zestimate is an algorithm that is a guess.

Your comment "I use actual sold comps from the MLS, no farther than 6 months and within 1 mile."

That's a much better way. I clamp it down a little, I go a minimum of 3 properties, in the last 3 months if it exists, within 6 blocks, not across a major highway or river, same style house etc and so on. I'm sure you do that too, but the lurkers might not know.