Is Zillow Zestimate Accurate? What's your opinion?

Specialist · Huntsville, UT · Member since 2015 · 458 posts · 249 votes

I have my own opinions about Zillow's accuracy for valuing property. But I want to know yours. It's one of the most visited sites online and so many people trust their values because it's strong brand online.

If you use Zillow in your investing, how do you use it? What do you, like or dislike about it? I also want you know your opinion about how they are affecting investors now that they are buying houses or your opinion on how they are affecting Realtors.

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Rivy S.

Silver Spring MD · Member since 2015 · 198 posts · 116 votes

@Lori Greene Sometimes, in the same way that a broken clock is right twice a day :) Definitely not often enough to rely on without having other data to back it up.

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Russell BrazilBusiness Member
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Real Estate Agent · Washington, D.C. · Member since 2012 · 17k+ posts · 30k+ votes
7y
No
[email protected]301-893-4635 Podcast Guest on Show #192
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Heath M.
Rental Property Investor · Chattanooga, TN · Member since 2017 · 203 posts · 188 votes
7y
I use it as a data point, but not the gospel. I've seen 2 of the same floor plans in a subdivision be 20k off.
3 Reply
Steven Warner
Member since 2018 · 62 posts · 50 votes
7y
Lori:
Zillow is just another tool to use when you formulating your valuation. In some areas it is ok but in others they suck. I use at least 4-5 different AVMs to even begin to look at "value".
I also look at the assessor's cite as well. In some areas they do a real good job (i.e. Salt Lake, & OKC assessor site are good.).
Even then I might have a BPO done - it all depends.
If you are relying on one AVM and not looking at others- you are tying your hands behind your back at a boxing match!
Just my thoughts..
Steve
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Matt M.
Specialist · Easton, PA · Member since 2018 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
7y
@Lori Greene
Just like @Russell Brazil said, No. and I’ve never met a realtor that believes Zestimates. For example.. I have a property that’s worth about $105k, the zestimate is $160. My personal home zesttimate is about $65k low.
3 Reply
Dan Bryskin
Investor · Minneapolis, MN · Member since 2015 · 252 posts · 263 votes
7y
@Lori Greene, I think Zillow is good for gauging value, not good for pricing an individual property. Zillow estimates value based on sale data. In the areas with a lot of sales it will be more accurate in the areas with fewer sales it will be less accurate. So while trends, price per foot and some average price of some average house in the average condition can be accurate, Zillow won't know you house will sell at premium because of skylights, high ceilings or expansive flooring.
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Lori Greene
OP
Specialist · Huntsville, UT · Member since 2015 · 458 posts · 249 votes
7y
Originally posted by @Russell Brazil:

No
I love your answer.
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Lori Greene
OP
Specialist · Huntsville, UT · Member since 2015 · 458 posts · 249 votes
7y
Originally posted by @Heath M.:

I use it as a data point, but not the gospel. I've seen 2 of the same floor plans in a subdivision be 20k off.
I know what you mean. I did a test on my own house using Zillow and a bunch of others and there was a $200k range between them. Most of the were $100k or more over. I usually use a Realtor to get comps but I can see the point in just looking at all of the AVM's when trying to narrow down the deals I want to get comps on.
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Lori Greene
OP
Specialist · Huntsville, UT · Member since 2015 · 458 posts · 249 votes
7y
Originally posted by @Steven Warner:

Lori:
Zillow is just another tool to use when you formulating your valuation. In some areas it is ok but in others they suck. I use at least 4-5 different AVMs to even begin to look at "value".
I also look at the assessor's cite as well. In some areas they do a real good job (i.e. Salt Lake, & OKC assessor site are good.).
Even then I might have a BPO done - it all depends.
If you are relying on one AVM and not looking at others- you are tying your hands behind your back at a boxing match!
Just my thoughts..
Steve
Yeah, I live near SLC and the assessor's value for my house was pretty close but in some areas they are way off too. There's nothing better than an in-depth CMA from a realtor.
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Lori Greene
OP
Specialist · Huntsville, UT · Member since 2015 · 458 posts · 249 votes
7y
Originally posted by @Matt M.:

@Lori Greene
Just like @Russell Brazil said, No. and I’ve never met a realtor that believes Zestimates. For example.. I have a property that’s worth about $105k, the zestimate is $160. My personal home zesttimate is about $65k low.
Yeah, I know realtors hate Zillow for house values. Some of them even hate Zillow for leads because they cost a fortune and most leads are no good. I'm annoyed that they and places like OpenDoor are snatching up so many properties from investors.
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Lori Greene
OP
Specialist · Huntsville, UT · Member since 2015 · 458 posts · 249 votes
7y
Originally posted by @Dan Bryskin:

@Lori Greene, I think Zillow is good for gauging value, not good for pricing an individual property. Zillow estimates value based on sale data. In the areas with a lot of sales it will be more accurate in the areas with fewer sales it will be less accurate. So while trends, price per foot and some average price of some average house in the average condition can be accurate, Zillow won't know you house will sell at premium because of skylights, high ceilings or expansive flooring.
You are exactly right, they can't take condition into consideration, their info is outdated, they can't pull sold prices in non-disclosure states and they go off of asking prices, not just sold, so when someone reduces their asking price the neighbors house automatically sinks in value.
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Robby Hogle
Rental Property Investor · W Bloomfield, MI · Member since 2017 · 21 posts · 16 votes
7y
As with most things in life I don’t think this is just a blanket “yes” or “no” answer.
It does a good job for cookie cutter homes (I.e., a lot of the same looking houses in a subdivision). Probably gets within 10% accuracy?
Terrible for any home that is unique, special situation or a C class neighborhood with mix of home quality (renovated vs run down).
I find Zillow very useful for pulling my own deal comps though. It is manual (i.e., use filters to look at recent deals within a given area) but great when I want a quick answer vs waiting for realtor to send me comps
3 Reply
Account Closed
Rental Property Investor · Canton, OH · Member since 2017 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
7y
@Lori Greene
My answer in English = No
My answer in Spanish = No
My answer in Pig Latin = O-nay
3 Reply
Rivy S.
Silver Spring MD · Member since 2015 · 198 posts · 116 votes
7y
@Lori Greene Sometimes, in the same way that a broken clock is right twice a day :) Definitely not often enough to rely on without having other data to back it up.
3 Reply
Rob Hoffman
Oakland, CA · Member since 2016 · 104 posts · 47 votes
7y
@Lori Greene not always accurate...but sometimes. It seems like they set the zestimates on autopilot according to what they expect the market to do. I notice that sometimes they will make big adjustments which are also not always very accurate. Ive found Redfin to usually be more accurate where I am located.
2 Reply
Eric Schultz
Investor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2016 · 265 posts · 305 votes
7y
I’ve found Zillow to be more accurate on properties in the Midwest than on the West Coast.
2 Reply
Joshua Howaniec
Contractor · Indianapolis, IN · Member since 2016 · 267 posts · 144 votes
7y
@Lori Greene No way. I used to work for a wholesaling company so when we got the address the first thing I would do is go on Zillow to see the most recent pics of the inside of the property. Not for any estimating purposes but just to get an idea of what I was getting into.
There’s factors and data that Zillow does not and cannot yet account for. If a home owner is using it to negotiate their price you need to be ready to handle that with real comps on hand.
So they say it’s worth $270 cuz Zillow says then you need to be able to say “let’s take a look at some differences between the other houses that are going for $270” or “let’s look at what homes with similar specs are going for right on this street” then walk them through each point. Floor plan, square footage, condition, features, land, garage, etc and so on...
1 Reply
Andrea Townsley
Real Estate Agent · Gainesville, FL · Member since 2019 · 63 posts · 52 votes
7y
It’s hit or miss. It depends what you’re going to use that number for.
I use several resources when I need to get a quick roundabout estimate of ARV. Problem with any of these tactics, really, is that it does not account for upgrades or the reverse. My own house, for example, has pics on Zillow from when we bought it in 2007. That entire house has been redone by us in the time since. This is the same problem with getting a BPO...that broker likely hasn't been inside the house, either.
What I do for best estimating ARV takes longer but involves pulling comps and looking at pictures of the interior and exterior of potential comps, and comparing that with what I estimate the flip in question will turn out like based on previous experience. Obviously building a full CMA takes longer but it's worth it to me bc we can better gauge what the investor is getting into.
Zillow is okay for getting a very rough estimate to see if a property is worth considering in the first place, I guess.
1 Reply
Lori Greene
OP
Specialist · Huntsville, UT · Member since 2015 · 458 posts · 249 votes
7y
Originally posted by @Robby Hogle:
As with most things in life I don’t think this is just a blanket “yes” or “no” answer.
It does a good job for cookie cutter homes (I.e., a lot of the same looking houses in a subdivision). Probably gets within 10% accuracy?
Terrible for any home that is unique, special situation or a C class neighborhood with mix of home quality (renovated vs run down).
I find Zillow very useful for pulling my own deal comps though. It is manual (i.e., use filters to look at recent deals within a given area) but great when I want a quick answer vs waiting for realtor to send me comps
Robby, I can see your logic and I sometimes use it myself that way, but I also know how to get comps from a Realtor super fast.
0 Reply
Lori Greene
OP
Specialist · Huntsville, UT · Member since 2015 · 458 posts · 249 votes
7y
Originally posted by @Account Closed:

@Lori Greene
My answer in English = No
My answer in Spanish = No
My answer in Pig Latin = O-nay
CJ M, You are funny! And I agree with you.
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Lori Greene
OP
Specialist · Huntsville, UT · Member since 2015 · 458 posts · 249 votes
7y
Originally posted by @Rivy S.:

@Lori Greene Sometimes, in the same way that a broken clock is right twice a day :) Definitely not often enough to rely on without having other data to back it up.
Yes Rivy, data to back it up. You hit the nail on the head! I think of Zillow as "for entertainment purposes only", then I always back it up with Realtor comps.
0 Reply
Lori Greene
OP
Specialist · Huntsville, UT · Member since 2015 · 458 posts · 249 votes
7y
Originally posted by @Rob Hoffman:

@Lori Greene not always accurate...but sometimes. It seems like they set the zestimates on autopilot according to what they expect the market to do. I notice that sometimes they will make big adjustments which are also not always very accurate. Ive found Redfin to usually be more accurate where I am located.
Rob, yes I've heard Redfin can be more accurate than Zillow but they don't cover everywhere and they're still not as accurate as comps from a Realtor who lives in the area of the property and knows that market well. They even say so on their website, "it is not an appraisal or a substitute for the expert pricing advice of your real estate agent."
0 Reply
Ronald Starusnak
Property Manager · Syracuse, NY · Member since 2016 · 601 posts · 384 votes
7y
You can easily mess with their Zestimate. I bought my house for $120k, then threw it up for sale for $375k a year later and all the houses around me had their values on Zillow go up too. You'll get to know what things are or should be worth if you're in an area long enough. That's why it can be tough to buy in an area that you don't live in and don't have a good team established in.
3 Reply
Lori Greene
OP
Specialist · Huntsville, UT · Member since 2015 · 458 posts · 249 votes
7y
Originally posted by @Eric Schultz:

I’ve found Zillow to be more accurate on properties in the Midwest than on the West Coast.
Eric, I hear it is hit and miss. I've even heard about the value of one house changing by $50k the next day because of an algorithm change. Here's a consumer affairs review page on Zillow where a reviewer says: "6 weeks before I listed my house FSBO my Zestimate was 219,000+ with a high range of 244k. Two days after it was listed my Zestimate was suddenly 179,000+. My home was appraised in 2011 at 200k. Many upgrades and an increase in market conditions of more than 50% to date. Checked my next door neighbor, much smaller house, older house, less beds and baths, Zestimate over 220k.
"I emailed Zillow begging them to please adjust my Zestimate, that something must be terribly wrong!. Every email was the same answer . . . saying they have no control over how values are determined and that they just had an update to the system and that's why my value was affected. DUH! Sellers BEWARE!"
Zillow Review on Consumer Affairs
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Lori Greene
OP
Specialist · Huntsville, UT · Member since 2015 · 458 posts · 249 votes
7y
Originally posted by @Joshua Howaniec:

@Lori Greene No way. I used to work for a wholesaling company so when we got the address the first thing I would do is go on Zillow to see the most recent pics of the inside of the property. Not for any estimating purposes but just to get an idea of what I was getting into.
There’s factors and data that Zillow does not and cannot yet account for. If a home owner is using it to negotiate their price you need to be ready to handle that with real comps on hand.
So they say it’s worth $270 cuz Zillow says then you need to be able to say “let’s take a look at some differences between the other houses that are going for $270” or “let’s look at what homes with similar specs are going for right on this street” then walk them through each point. Floor plan, square footage, condition, features, land, garage, etc and so on...
Joshua, you are spot on. I agree with everything you said. Not only do you need comps from a local realtor but you also need to know what characteristics to compare and which have the most impact on value.
0 Reply
Lori Greene
OP
Specialist · Huntsville, UT · Member since 2015 · 458 posts · 249 votes
7y
Originally posted by @Andrea Townsley:

It’s hit or miss. It depends what you’re going to use that number for.
I use several resources when I need to get a quick roundabout estimate of ARV. Problem with any of these tactics, really, is that it does not account for upgrades or the reverse. My own house, for example, has pics on Zillow from when we bought it in 2007. That entire house has been redone by us in the time since. This is the same problem with getting a BPO...that broker likely hasn't been inside the house, either.
What I do for best estimating ARV takes longer but involves pulling comps and looking at pictures of the interior and exterior of potential comps, and comparing that with what I estimate the flip in question will turn out like based on previous experience. Obviously building a full CMA takes longer but it's worth it to me bc we can better gauge what the investor is getting into.
Zillow is okay for getting a very rough estimate to see if a property is worth considering in the first place, I guess.
Andrea, I agree. An in depth CMA is what I always recommend. And sometimes I ask for 2, one for distressed or at least not upgraded recently comps for As-Is value and then one for only recently remodeled comps for ARV. The you've really got some solid numbers to work with.
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