Zillow give $380K on my home. (it cost us $310K to build in 2001-02). Appraisal (for cashout refinance)came in at $300K for appraisal. Couple month later need rental credit to buy another property due to job transfer, the appraisal came in at $260K. And we can sell it in 1 second at $400K if we wanted. In other word, can't count on anything, just expect the worse from appraiser. The property we are buying is listed at $410K, (Zillow est. this one at $480K) we bid up to $485K, the appraisal came in at $430K. The bank said they will sell it to us for $450K as at $430K there is a bidder with full cash.. So we put $20K extra to obtain the property and finance %80 of the $430K.

I am finding more and more that their estimates are very unreliable. A house down the street from me was listed at 450K and Zestimated at 250K. It recently sold for 410K. All of a sudden, the Zestimate is 395K. I am very hopeful that banks choose to rely less on Zillow as accurate appraisals.

Greetings,
"zestimates" are based on the mining of statistical data only. There are many variables that zillow cannot take into account. Location, condition, etc, etc. For the average homeowner it can be a fun tool, but in no way should it be taken seriously. It should be used only as a data point. If you really want to know the true value of a home, than seek the advice your real estate professional.

Sanjoy. Be a good home buyer and believe what these realtors and mortgage brokers are telling you. If you don't believe what they tell you regarding property value, then you may decide to wait before buying a home. They wouldn't like that. :)

Sanjoy. I am a mortgage broker. Trust me when I tell you. Zillow is off the vast majority of the time. Also, I saw a post saying to contact a realtor in order to get the value. Let me tell you from experience. The correct person to talk to about your value is an appraiser. Let me say it again. An appraiser. I work with several of the areas best appraisers. Give me a buzz and I will put you in contact with a good one. Good Luck! 630-330-2229

Depends on your are. In mine, zestimates seem to be 50,000 higher or 100,000 lower than the current market price (or maybe it was the other way around, 100k more or 50k less) So, zestimate gives you some idea of how much a property is worth, so you won't overpay 300,000 on a house (that costs 500,000 ...)

Of course some areas have a bit more accurate numbers (like ones with identical houses (condo developments) with a lot of recent sales) and sometimes zestimates do come pretty close to market value. In short, pay no attention to a zestimate unless there is other information to back it up or it's very accurate in your area.

Your should look at Zillow zestimate and the assessed value from township and then go to trulia.com and see comparable house prices for sold propoerties and then you will get an idea. Also the market will be in a free fall for the next 24+ months so use discretion. I am not a realtor, just an investor. Hope this helps.

I believe Zillow relies on public information available on the last sale date of property in question. They basically store years and years of public data on real estate transactions. If a property hasn't changed hands in a while, the only statistical data available would be aged. I've tested this theory on homes in my own neighborhood and found it pretty accurate.

I always go with the low number on all the estimate sites and then average them from there. However, if your in an area where homes rarely sell, your pretty much outta luck. Here in San Francisco, or any metropolitan area, zillow can get pretty accurate.

Some other sites to check out, both free:
eppraisal
propertyshark

Sanjoy.....

The zestimates on Zillow can be off anywhere from 5 - 25% of the value. I would strongly suggest to not rely on them. Have a local realtor help you with the value. Good luck.

They are HORRIBLE! I looked there a while back just to compare and see what the public had access to and was shocked at how inaccurate the information was!

They're not particularly reliable. Some are pretty much on target. Others are way off. I'm a Realtor, so I have access to the MLS. But, prior to that, I preferred RealEstateABC to Zillow because it allowed me to more easily select comps, based on proximity, number of beds and baths, age, etc.

How much should you base a buying decision on Zillow's estimates? None at all. The best advice would be to contact a Realtor, get comps, and get the agent's professional opinion of the value. (Sometimes even comps can be misleading.) If, for some reason, you absolutely refuse to contact a Realtor, then do your own research. Look at Zillow, Real Estate ABC, the Bank of America site (also quite good), and maybe a few others. Most jurisdictions also have tax and sale information online. Take a look at those, look at recent sales. Now, what these non-Realtor sites can't tell you that Realtors can is what properties were listed but the listings expired or were withdrawn. They also can't tell you whether there was any seller contribution, which effectively lowers the price of that the property was sold at.

Hope that helps.

In the markets we are seeing right now the zestimates aren't up to the minute. If You are thinking about putting your house on the market you really need to have an apprasial or a CMA from a local Realtor to determine the current value. The Current Value is also not what a house is worth to the market it is only a picture of time based on history. With a changing market trends can drop or stand stable. Please don't base your buying or selling on a computer driven estimate of value.