Is Zillow good for comps?

Question

Is Zillow (or Trulia, realtor.com, etc) a good place to get comps or do you really want to use Trend or have a real estate agent run them for you?

Charlie MacPherson · Answer

@Seth Liebert, @Mike Cumbie is being kind.

Zillow's "Zestimates" are a laughing stock among real estate agents.

I recently sold my own home (Dec. 2016).  Shortly before I listed it, Zillow and Trulia - WHICH ARE BOTH OWNED BY ZILLOW - disagreed on my home's valuation by $60,000 on a $480,000 house.

I just think that their published data are not reliable - and it not just their Zestimates.  Here's an example:

Zillow took one of my listings - 18 Pondview Ave, Unit 1 in a 2 unit condo...

https://www.zillow.com/homes/18-Pondview-Ave-Unit-...

and combined it with 18 Pondview Ave, Unit 2, which was not for sale...

https://www.zillow.com/homes/18-Pondview-Ave-Unit-...

and create a new listing out of whole cloth.  That fictional listing for 18 Pondview Ave (no unit numbers, photos of both units, sq ft combined, BRs combined) is still there to this day, even after I called (in 2014) and asked for it to be corrected:

https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/18-Pondview-...

They just smashed both units together and created a new listing that NEVER existed for sale.

I had another irate buyer call me and complain that he had gone to four listed properties he found on Zillow - and three of them never existed.  One was a vacant lot!

So should you rely on Zillow's data?

It depends.  Are you a gambling man or not?

Mike Cumbie · Answer

Hi @Seth Liebert,

You really want them run from the MLS. Main reason is that is what a bank appraiser is going to use. It's a good idea to know what the money people are going to come up with aa a value before you pay for a bunch of inspections and appraisals just to have the bank say "Yeah bring another $19,000 if you want to continue.

Granted it is never a given and appraisers have their methods, but generally my experience says if you are close to where they come up with you are fine. If you are "Zillow close" it could go anywhere.

Good Luck!