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Zillow has been a pretty hot topic lately, especially after they acquired Trulia for $2.5 billion. Right now, Zillow is the de facto real estate search engine in the world. Buyers and sellers alike use Zillow’s Zestimate tool to determine the value of the property.
Can you trust those Zestimates? I would say no, and there are four reasons why:
- Zillow does not come out to your home. They don’t really know what kind of features you have in your home. They don’t know what upgrades you have made to your home. Those are critical factors to your home value. We come out to your home and attach price value to every upgrade you have made to your house, and we do it for free.
- Zillow does not assess the value of your lot. Does it back up to a golf course, lake, or major road? Again, this is a very important factor when determining what your home is worth.
- Zillow has data inaccuracies. Some associations around the country do not give Zillow access to their data so they have to use third party vendors. You have probably noticed that Zillow will have properties listed as for sale when that home actually sold three months ago.
- The market shifts. We are in a hot market right now and some neighborhoods around town have very low inventory. You need someone who can give you this information in real time, and with Zillow, that is not the case.
“
Don’t rely on Zillow when you
make big real estate decisions.
make big real estate decisions.
”
The best way to know what your property is worth is to talk to a local, expert real estate agent and have them assess your home value.
If you have any questions about what a property is worth, give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you with a free valuation. Your home is probably worth more than you think!
