Zillow and the prices they post

[CountAllVotes]

I checked the "value" of my house today.

It dropped 20% overnight!

How reliable is zillow.com for pricing a home?

The only good thing I can see out of this is that if I move, I won't be needing to worry about paying capital gains on the profit I might realize from the sale of my house.

I wasn't planning on doing this anyway as I don't really have anywhere to go as I have one relative left that spews quotes from the Orange guy every minute or two.

Has the housing bubble begun to burst? Is this the beginning of it now that I am seeing.

What a nightmare this whole buying/selling and owning a house can be.

Anyone else making similar discoveries?

What a this is for me!

[Johnny2X2X]

1. Noise

Zillow's calultions can vary widely if something in the area sells.

Zillow valuations are usually in the ball park, but they have no idea what improvements you've made to your house. Housing isn't a bubble that will pop, it's just the new market.

[spooky3]

2. Totally agree. That's especially true if you live in a neighborhood of

older homes that vary widely in improvements and maintenance, and if there are few sales.

[CountAllVotes]

4. I don't know what to think

Mr. CAV kept the property up until about 5 years ago.

Then he fell ill and couldn't do much.

I tried to do it myself with a lot of effort and little to show for it.

I have kept the house up however. I had painting done, just had the fence repaired and just hired a new person to maintain the yard.

I don't know what to think.

Thank you for your input.

[Johnny2X2X]

8. Are you looking to sell?

If so, find a good realtor, you can find realtors that only work with sellers, they'll tell you about what it's worth.

[CountAllVotes]

14. No I am not

Since my husband died a few years ago, I've had a myriad of individuals telling me to sell the house and move.

I don't need or want their advice.

Its a very depressing situation I am in right now as I am still grieving the loss of my husband of 30+ years.

[Johnny2X2X]

15. Very sorry for your loss

But it sounds like you've got a desireable piece of property that is a good store of wealth. I would hold onto a house right now unless you can afford to sell it and by another house.

[CountAllVotes]

19. Thank you

I've been here for over 20+ years now.

It is a desirable area to live in and as for the house, it is made out of redwood and has held up well.

I haven't had any big problems with it, but the house is quite small.

It works for me and it is set-up for a disabled person to live in; no stairs and the bathroom was remodeled before we moved in here.

As for my late husband, I certainly miss him.

I don't quite know what to do with myself, I'll admit it.

Funds are running low and I don't qualify for much help. I get a few food stamps every month and some help with the utility bills but that is it.

Thank you for your condolences. I appreciate them.

[Johnny2X2X]

24. Oh jeesh

Hang in there, I recommend the grief DU message board, there are people here going through what you're going through that. The one thing I know about loss is that it will seem like no one knows what the hell they're talking about and whatever they say will seem way off the mark, until you talk to someone going through the same things as you are.

Is your home paid for?

[CountAllVotes]

28. Yes

I own it outright and it is in a trust for now.

It is a very difficult time in my life. I haven't known grief to be this bad since my father died in 1995.

[spooky3]

26. I too am sorry for your loss. I"m glad you have the house.

People mean well but their unsolicited advice can be hard to hear sometimes.

[Think. Again.]

3. One of the main reasons real estate is overpriced...

...is because real estate agents make a percentage of the sale, and they set the prices. Higher prices are in the interest of real estate agents and brokers, and zillow, realtor, etc, represent them the same way the nra represents the arms trade.

[Johnny2X2X]

7. The market sets the prices

A realtor's job is to get the most possible for his client.

A house is worth what someone is willing to pay.

[Think. Again.]

10. the market prices are set by the realtors.

They get a percebtage of the price, the higher the price, the more they get.

It's not rocket science.

[Johnny2X2X]

16. 3.5%

Realtors don't think about the small amount an extra $5K will do for their commission, it's actually the opposite, they price homes to sell because they don't get paid if the price is too high for people to want to pay it. Realtors want through put, they want as many closings as possible as closings are the only thing that gets them paid. If anything, your realtor would price your home below market value because the quick sale with no effort is what they're looking for.

[spooky3]

31. That's true if we assume all real estate agents are competent and knowledgeable.

But they aren't.

[Voltaire2]

34. Sure but the incompetence filters them out.

No sales. No commissions.

[spooky3]

35. Not in every case. Many are part-time and have other jobs or may have spousal support

so they may be able to get buy on selling only a few properties each year.

The national statistics show that the median pay is pretty low, while the top agents make a great income.

[ScratchCat]

22. You are 100% correct

I've worked in real estate for over 25 years and anyone who tells you "the market sets the price" has no idea what they are talking about.

The market only "sets the price" in the rare event of an oversupply. Without an oversupply, its builders and realtors.

[spooky3]

29. They may advise the seller on the asking price, but it's the market

of buyers and other sellers that set the selling price.

I could ask $10 million for my house but if no one is willing to buy it at more than $250000, then $250000 is what it's worth, and no real estate agent can force a buyer to pay more than that. Even if a buyer offered a lot more, if the appraisal doesn't support it (assuming the buyer must borrow at least part of the money) then it won't sell for more than market value.

[GreenWave]

13. Sometimes Amazon moves nearby and builds a massive complex.

I hope my home hasn't doubled in price because I don't want to sell and I don't want to a huge real estate tax bill in addition to the hallucinogenic one they already stiff me with.

[we can do it]

17. Not even remotely true.

[Mosby]

5. Check at least three

Zillow, redfin and realtor.com. then look at the comps for the neighborhood and check for yourself. They use algorithms that are only as good as the data going in, so they can be reasonably accurate or waay off, depending.

[MissB]

25. This exactly

The three you mentioned show a range of $400,000 difference in the value of my house.

Their algorithms don’t work well in our neighborhood and that may be the case for the OP too. Only a realtor could really tell you.

(Ours is likely on the high end because of all the improvements we’ve done and the size of the property but we aren’t selling.)

[Croney]

6. I agree with Reply #1, but 20% does seem unusual.

[CountAllVotes]

9. I'll admit it, I was shocked

There is a house identical to mine across the street.

The guy that owns it does nothing to maintain it, nothing.

It looks like a dump to be honest with you. Its price is over $400K right now and mine is now worth just over $300K.

It has the sq. footage of the house listed now, 882 sq. feet.

Maybe someone is checking things out around here dare I suggest (?).

[Croney]

21. 882 sq. ft.? Both his house, and yours? And such a big difference in value?

Something technical must be glitching on the site. Those are not large properties; where I live, only condos would have that sq. footage, not single-family homes. There can't be that much difference in value if they're both under 1,000 sq.ft.

I'd just check again in a week. Zillow can be weird.

[CountAllVotes]

32. 882 sq. feet is correct

It is a small 2 bedroom house the size of a large 2 bedroom apt. That is what we lived in before.

However, this "new" value doesn't add on the size of the garage nor the huge lot of 5700 sq. feet it seems.

I just don't know.

Watch the price change tomorrow!

[Croney]

36. Nice yard! 🙂

[yardwork]

41. It sounds like a lovely house!

I'm sorry for your loss and what you're going through. I would not worry about Zillow or any other online platform. Their estimated prices are based on incomplete information and algorithms.

If you're interested or worried about the value of your home, as others suggest, you can talk with some realtors free of charge, who can give you more informed estimates of what your house would bring.

If you're worried about finances, check with your local senior center or senior organization - it should be listed in your county's offices - and see if there are financial advisors available free or at greatly reduced charge. You could get some advice about your financial situation. Good luck to you! I hope things get better.

[dem4decades]

30. Maybe your house isn't worth 300k, maybe it's worth more?

That's not a bad thing.

[arkielib]

11. My realtor calls Zillow

"The National Enquirer of real estate."

[servermsh]

12. It's just an algorithm

Zillow just uses an algorithm since they can't individually review every home. There are ways to estimate your home value by finding "comps" (comparable homes). You can google for how to do that. Here is one article for example:

https://www.rockethomes.com/blog/home-selling/real-estate-comps

[MineralMan]

18. Zillow is a pretty poor price estimator.

But it's easy these days to look at listings in your area and do some comparables checks. Look at homes with about the same square footage and room counts. Find where most of them are, in terms of asking price. The closer you can come to what you have when looking, the better.

Ignore the highest priced similar homes and the lowest priced ones. Yours will be worth somewhere in the middle.

Also, keep your searching down to as small an area near you as you can.

That's how you find out what your place is worth, more or less. If you're ready to put it on the market, contact a real estate broker and get an evaluation. From them, you should get a range, based on what you're willing to do to improve value, and what the market is doing.

Zillow is useless if you're serious.

[ScratchCat]

20. Zillow changed up their algo a while back

I work in real estate in north Florida and I can tell you for certain they changed up their algorithm a while back after losing millions by buying homes at their valuation prices. They went from way over-valuing properties to now under-valuing properties in many cases. They actually give a very wide range now as well as some pinpoint number which is around the median.

As some have noted already, they don't know what you have or haven't done to your home. If you live in a "cookie cutter"-type subdivision where the homes are all similar in age and size, they are pretty accurate for the most part. If you live in a rural area, or a suburban/urban area with a hodge-podge of homes of differing ages and sizes, the are less reliable. If you have a bunch of extra features or additional structures, they likely don't know about these and haven't considered them either.

Housing prices and real estate in general is local in nature. What is happening in your area might not be happening in others(or maybe it is). Here where I live, there is an artificial shortage of homes under a certain price point but also a relatively small pool of buyers(many people simply dropped out of the market hoping it will come back down some day). This is keeping prices stable to increasing. Builders still want more and more for new construction, with many demanding no less than a six figure profit to even build 1,700 sf worth of house(median household income is around $70-75k here). We have a large-enough white collar population earning double the median household income being the State capital and having major universities and medical centers that there is constant demand at some level(We have also had a constant influx of new residents over the past five years and they aren't poor or middle class). Its just that the working folks that live around the median can't afford anything anymore because its all being sold to the top 15%-20% of the population that are willing to (over)pay the prices.

Generally, prices just can't go up much more because its just not sustainable. This is probably true for most markets.

[CountAllVotes]

23. I don't think this house is worth over $400K

It was priced over that for awhile. Now it is at just over $300K overnight.

It is a tract home and the house next door to me has had many problems over the years but I have not. It is a bit larger but otherwise identical except I have a very large fenced yard.

Maybe it is an error and nothing else around here is priced this low, even the run down houses that have been let go.



Thanks for your reply and information. I appreciate it.

[Sympthsical]

27. It varies by market

Someone mentioned upthread looking at the big three.

We recently consulted with a realtor because we were thinking of downsizing. (Since decided to delay for another year or two). She wanted to list about 15% higher than what Zillow says. Realtor.com is the closest.

It depends on the market. Our neighborhood's prices shot up 40% 2019-2023, then have been running pretty stable for about the last year. Had that Covid city to suburbs crowd rushing out here, and it jacked everything up.

But Zillow's weird. I've seen 10% swings back and forth in the span of a month.

[CountAllVotes]

33. From realtor.com

Estimated value*
$442,000

Giant

[spooky3]

37. On Zillow, did you look at "recent sales" on your house's description?

That will show you what they are using as some of the comparables.

My guess is that a run down house in your neighborhood was sold, maybe as a tear down, recently, and Zillow is treating your house as if it were similar.

[CountAllVotes]

38. That did happen recently!

I think you nailed it.

A very run down dump it was and right up the street it is!

Thanks for insight!

[spooky3]

39. You're welcome!

[CountAllVotes]

40. Thanks

N/T