In my opinion, Zillow has not been accurate. There are many more reliable sources to find a fair market analysis of your home. Start with your local real estate agent. Most will give you an unbiased complete market analysis of your home without any charge to you.

Thu May 8 2008, 07:38

No, Zillow is not a reliable source in any area.

Thu May 8 2008, 07:34

No, zillow is not a reliable source.

Thu May 8 2008, 07:22

In areas where I know market values and have compared real values against Zillow, I have consistently found wide discrepancies. These can swing under or over actual market values.

Throughout the country, agents report similar findings in just about every market.

Zillow offers it’s own disclosures advising the public about their own Zestimates.

Although I have not compared Sebastian values to Zillow, the pattern above seems to give clear indications.

Good Luck,
Deborah Madey - Broker
Peninsula Realty Group
(732) 530-6350
Deborah@PeninsulaFirst.com

Sun Apr 27 2008, 21:03

When you look at the housing make-up of Sebastopol, with it's lack of truly "production" housing of conforming "models" with set square footages and lot sizes, it is ny impossible to have a computer give an accurate "reading" on pricing and home values. As Lisa states below, the area is very varied in lot/acreage sizes, year of home, square footages, etc. It is very hard to find "apples to apples" (keeping the Apple Blossom Theme going here!) when doing a market analysis. But that's what makes this whole area of our glorious county so much more interesting (let alone a City Council who thinks "Wifi" is dangerous!!). This also has a positive effect on home pricing eventually as no one area can get a big "hit" as we see in production home areas in Santa Rosa, Rohnert Park, Windsor. Contact a local Realtor or two or three and get some real evaluations from REAL PRO's!!

Sun Apr 27 2008, 20:43

Hi Debbie:

That's a great question and I hear it alot. I'm very familiar with the Sebastopol market and the way that Zillow forms it's Z-estimates. This is done with complex algorithms that take account not only of tax records but of many, many other factors including past area sales, projected market movements, and many more. In my experience, Zillow is increasingly improving in its accuracy but it's still quite spotty. The main problem with it at the moment is that is looks BACKWARD not forward. With the instabiity in our local market and the recent downward trend, Zillow is having a hard type giving good results on CURRENT market values.

Furthermore, if you live on a tract subdivision type of house where most of the other homes in the neighborhood are very similar, you will get a better opinion of value than if your property is unique in some way.

I specialize in Country Property, which are very popular in Sebastopol. Zillow is very rarely accurate within even 10% on these types of properties.

The best way to determine your homes current market value is to either have it appraised or to ask a competent realtor to give you a comparative market analysis. Most good agents, myself included, will do this for you at no charge.

Thu Apr 17 2008, 08:15

Another note Debbie, Sebastopol and Sonoma County is a unique market, with many towns close to eachother, all with varying decreases in value due to the very recent market changes. Which is why it is so important to rely on local Realtors that know the most current property values first hand, all the way down to the street you are looking on.

Wed Apr 16 2008, 10:28

From personal experience on a number of properties that I've checked, the tax information seems accurate. I guess it all depends upon the accuracy of whatever municipality is reporting the data and how up to date they keep their reporting.

Wed Apr 16 2008, 10:08

Hi Debbie,

It is my understanding that Zillow relies on County tax records which for many reasons are not accurate. Let's say your mother sells her property to you for a small amount of money, well that gets recorded as the value when the deed is recorded. Or many times they use tax assessed value which is never current. Talking to a local realtor that really has their finger on the pulse of the market right now is the quickest and most reliable way to know values in Sebastopol, and also to help you locate a great property at a great value. Which by the way there are alot of now! I am more than happy to help you with this information. My number is 707-280-6523

Wed Apr 16 2008, 10:05

Here is another resource for the real estate market http://www.realtor.com/homevalues/#NEXHASHaddress=sebastapol.ca.

Regards.

Sun Apr 13 2008, 09:37