Comments on: Misleading Towson Zillow Zestimates Explained Further

By: Marney Kirk

Marney Kirk — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 02:36:04 +0000

Kelly, you can try to fight it, but the only real way to do so is to pay for a full appraisal. If you need the HELOC loan, and feel your value is that much higher, then it might be worth the $$ needed…I am so sorry this is happening to you as well. It is a shame this is the route taken to approve/not approve rather than actual value…

By: Kelly

Kelly — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 05:57:32 +0000

I recently tried to get a new HELOC from a different bank, to replace one we already have (and get a higher amount) and the banker told me zillow says my house isn’t worth much. So i checked it out-I think the house is worth about $400,000.00 and zillow says $308,000.00. We pay the lowest taxes on the block. Zillow says the house next store is worth $50,000 more and I know that is not true at all. A house sold down the street this past summer for $500,000.00 and zillow is showing it as sold for $230,000.00. So this was very interesting reading for me. The banker did say he “starts” with zillow as an estimate. It already makes me not want to bank with that bank though. Thank you for very interest reading.

By: Incorrect Towson Zillow Zestimates Strike Again : Marney Kirk Real Estate

Incorrect Towson Zillow Zestimates Strike Again : Marney Kirk Real Estate — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 19:37:48 +0000

[...] the one about how my past client’s HELOC was reduced based on the very incorrect Zillow Zestimate on his [...]

By: Brian Craig

Brian Craig — Fri, 22 May 2009 11:16:09 +0000

Marney,

When I first started hearing about Zillow from clients, I was interested. But when I saw how wildly different the prices were from true market prices, I was scared. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that a foreclosure shack that an investor walked away from with 2000 square feet shouldn’t be valued the same as completely remodeled home.

While many banks do give quick thoughts of Zillow due to their perceived correctness, most experts will always rely on expert appraisers and Realtors to assess true value.

By: Adrian Cox

Adrian Cox — Thu, 21 May 2009 20:27:12 +0000

Marney, this is great information. I remember when Zillow was first released. After reviewing the Zestimates for various clients I was working with, I realized there were huge disparities in the data. I Zillowed my own home at the time, and the Zestimate was $100,000 less than my model-match neighbors on my street. I determined that because I had recently purchased that home, the sale date, sale price and appreciation assumptions were very different for the homes in my neighborhood.

Zillow does a good job of disclaiming that a full appraisal should be used to determine a particular property’s value. It’s more than a little dismaying that a lender would use Zillow as data to make a lending decision. Thanks for the update, Social Networking to the rescue!