According to a real estate attorney, the estimate “is only as good as the data that is fed into the system.” Source: The New York Times, Jill Terreri Ramos
Many people use Zillow as a “search engine” to find out about properties for sale. However, Zillow may not always be accurate.
Is Zillow Accurate?
Question: I have been trying for some time to get Zillow to correct the wildly inflated estimated value (or “zestimate”) of my home in White Plains. Comparable homes in my area have sold in the $800,000 to $900,000 range, but Zillow thinks my home is worth $1.2 million. The city has assessed it at less than $800,000. I contacted Zillow and was asked to provide information from my county assessor’s office regarding the last time my home was sold. I did this, and then Zillow increased the value to $1.3 million! How can I correct this error?
Answer: Homeowners have been complaining about their “Zestimate” for many years. Some have even (unsuccessfully) taken their complaints to court.
Zillow says that its published home-value assessments are a “neutral estimate of the fair market value of a home,” but an inaccurate Zestimate can mislead buyers and sellers about how much a property is really worth (not to mention how much nearby homes are worth by comparison).
The formula comprises public information as well as data from the multiple listing service and input from homeowners. The company claims its error rate for homes that are off the market is 7.2%, and just 1.74% for on-market homes.
“The estimate is only as good as the data that is fed into the system,” said Laura Mehl Sugarman, a real estate partner with Benesch in New York.
What You Can Do
Start by making sure the facts of your home – like the square footage, the number of bedrooms, and the home type – are correct on Zillow. You can also let the site know if data about the tax and price history is wrong. A Zillow spokeswoman told us that you send the details of your issue through their contact page to try to get it corrected.
In a case like yours, when the Zestimate is believed to be higher than the fair market value, there doesn’t appear to be an immediate cause for concern, said Marc Lyman, a real estate agent with Pacific Sotheby’s International Realty in San Diego. He has never heard of a tax assessor relying on a Zestimate.
“Unless you have reason to believe the Zestimate is being used by an official in a way that directly harms you, I wouldn’t lose sleep over the number being of from likely market value,” Mr. Lyman said.
In his experience, Zestimates can change quickly once a home is listed. If you eventually list your for sale at a realistic price, the inflated valuation could even cause buyers to think your home is a steal, he said.
A version of this article appears in print on, Section RE, Page 2 of the New York edition with the headline: Can I Stop Zillow From Overstating The Estimated Value of My Home?
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