Why Zillow may be a Roseville, CA or Rocklin, CA home sellers worst nightmare…

Why Zillow may be a Roseville, CA or Rocklin, CA home sellers worst nightmare…

Zillow’s Zestimate-ZeWrong!!!

In Roseville, CA and Rocklin, CA homes are selling like hot cakes! Supply and demand are hard to calculate. So in that aspect, I will give Zillow a “pass.” However, it never fails that a buyer states… “Well, the Zestimate says….” NEWSFLASH-the Zestimate is Ze-WRONG! Well I guess I don’t have to be that harsh, but it sure is frustrating. So I thought I would explain where Zillow is getting their numbers and how to use Zillow to help in your home searches. I will also include some of the idiosyncrasies of Zillow and hopefully steer you away from using it as a reliable valuation tool in your home search.

 Zillow defines Zestimate-

“The Zestimate® (pronounced ZEST-ti-met, rhymes with estimate) home valuation is Zillow’s estimated market value, computed using a proprietary formula. It is not an appraisal. It is a starting point in determining a home’s value. The Zestimate is calculated from public and user submitted data; your real estate agent or appraiser physically inspects the home and takes special features, location, and market conditions into account.”

 Here are some hard and fast examples of Zillow’s Zestimate compared to actual sales, so you can see the differences. I used recent sales so you can see these are not just listed at this price, but they have actually sold and we all know a home is only worth what someone is actually willing to pay!!!

Example #1- 5505 Cabrillo Way Rocklin, CA 95765

This home sold March 21,2013 for $305,000… let’s see what Zillow says….

 

Notice Zillow says home “Is not for sale.”  The home was actually listed February 7, 2013, it’s been on the market for over 30 days. Not only that but the Zestimate, lists the homes value as

 

YIKES!!! Do you think this may have brought some BIG TIME objections for the sellers? Not too mention some doubts in the buyers minds about potential offers.

 

Let’s Look at another example,  6681 Silver Mill Way, Roseville, CA 95678

Let’s see what Zillow says…..

 

Again property is “not for sale.” It was actually listed February 27, 2013. Check out the Zestimate

 

And just to be thorough, we’ll do one more…. 1618 Abilene Cir, Rocklin, CA 95765

 And Zillow-Zestimate???

 

At least this one has the property actively for sale…. but what about the Zestimate???

This one is closer… but still $25,000 off!!! Who couldn’t use an extra $25,000!!! Ouch!!!

 In these examples I’ve purposely chosen to use active sales, none are short sales or bank owned. As we progress away from the distressed market, traditional sales are becoming more the norm and are being hit hard with pricing objections… Here’s showing traditional equity sales are back!!! and are worth every penny paid… not what Zillow’s magical Zestimate algorithm states.

 Zillow, Trulia and all of the home finder search engines can be resourceful tools in your home search, but should not be used in a evaluating either an offer or a list price. You must consult a professional to review the numbers!!!

 Zillow has wonderful property information that you may not find elsewhere, i.e. school information, property history information, neighborhood details all in one easily accessible spot.  For up to date accurate information about the real estate market in Roseville, CA or Rocklin, CA home sellers please contact Jennifer Klein (916)230-3880 or email JenKleinSells@gmail.com

Join The Discussion

7 thoughts on “Why Zillow may be a Roseville, CA or Rocklin, CA home sellers worst nightmare…”

  • Brad Yzermans

    I have never seen such a well documented argument for why Zillow is often a poor indicator of home values and homes for sale on the market. Thank you for this. I will be sharing your post with others.

    Reply
    • JenKlein

      Thank you very much! While I know Zillow can be very useful in some aspects, true value, most of the time is far from accurate. I appreciate your feedback and welcome your sharing!

      Reply
  • Cheri Smith, Realtor

    What a great post Jen! I cringe every time my buyer clients send me an email that says “We found these homes on Zillow and we’d like to see them.” My gut initially says oh no, how did I miss these??? But then I look them up and they are never available. I tend to work with buyers more and quite too often have to explain to them why we can’t use the Zestimate when making an offer. You’ve inspired me to do a similar post for the Bend, Oregon market, if you don’t mind!

    Reply
    • JenKlein

      Thank you! I’ve had this happen countless times where I find myself laughing, which may not come across the best. So I figured this would be the best way to REALLY SHOW, no arguments about it! Not too mention they are so far out of date it’s frustrating! I wish you good luck on your post, I found this fairly easy and actually entertaining. I would love to share a back link with you! Please come back and share your post with me! One thing I will say and do mention near the end of my article is that there are some great uses for Zillow, maps, past sales, and school zoning. Just to be fair.

      Reply
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