Have you ever wondered about those “Zestimates” from Zillow.com ? How accurate are they really?
"I pondered this recently, as a listing I have coming on the market in Hunt Valley has a Zestimate about $40,000 LESS than the value determined during my true, in-depth market analysis" commented Marney Kirk, Keller William Realtor and real estate blogger. "On the other hand, using their “My Estimator” tool brings the value up to over $110,000 HIGHER than its true value!" According to Marney, the site does not have correct information for Towson because Baltimore County has not provided it to the public about the square footage, number of baths, the fact that it has hardwood floors throughout, a finished basement, and other important details.
As an example, if there is a Rodgers Forge home with the correct value of $300,000, 71% of the time the Zestimate could price the home as low as $240,000. Can you imagine being a seller viewing that info? Or how about a buyer, if it were 20% above? Would you, as a buyer, be happy with paying $360,000 for this home?
Zillow.com even recommends getting a comprehensive market analysis from a qualified local real estate agent. To get a free market estimate of your Rodgers Forge home, call me anytime!
Thanks to Marney Kirk from Keller Williams for her excellent information! CLick here to link to the entire articlehttp://www.realtormarney.com/zillow-zestimates-for-towson-real-estate-may-be-misleading/
Hye Jean - Sara from Zillow here. How accurate are Zillow Zestimates is a great question and one that has been asked so many times that we actually publish our accuracy rates for every county in the US on our site.
ReplyDeleteI looked up Baltimore County on the chart and found that our median err is rate 8.7%. 34% of the time we are within 5% of the final sales price, 57% of the time we are within 10% and 78% of the time we are within 20%.
The full accuracy chart can be found here- http://www.zillow.com/howto/DataCoverageZestimateAccuracyMD.htm
So while we think these numbers are a good way for people to get a rough starting point, you are correct that they should absolutely seek the advice of a qualified real estate professional before making any major financial decisions regarding housing.