Zillow – How accurate is Zillow Zestimate?

You’ve heard about Zillow and you’ve entered in your property address to see what Zillow’s Zestimate is for your home.  Unfortunately the number provided by Zillow is typically inaccurate.  In our findings, many of the properties evaluated were actually very far off.  Although Zillow’s Zestimate can be a useful tool in some situations (the market, market projections, rental info etc.), most often it gives homeowners an unrealistic valuation of what their home is worth.

So how can you find out what your home is really worth?  Besides an appraisal, you can have a licensed agent run a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA).  A CMA will provide you with “comps” or “comparables” which are nearby houses that are similar to yours, which have sold recently (usually in the past few months).  This method ensures you’re getting a true “apples to apples” comparison for an accurate estimate of what your home is worth.

There are other factors which might influence your properties price.  One of the main factors being condition.  If your home needs repairs, that can drastically influence the value of your home.  Willow has no way of knowing the condition of your home so you can see this is where the values from Zillow can be inaccurate.  Furthermore, zestimate’s are created by automated software which have many variables to take into consideration thus making an even greater margin for error.

Don’t get me wrong, Zillow isn’t a bad service.  In some cases it can be used as a ball park figure for some areas, but homeowners shouldn’t rely to heavily on this number.

Sell Your NJ Home Now

If you’re a homeowner that would like to know what your home is really worth, contact us today.  We’ll go over all the details of your home, your local market and what an accurate sale price for your home would be.  Also, if you need to sell fast.  Perhaps your home needs extensive repairs and you won’t be able to sell to a mortgaged buyer, let us make you a fair cash offer.  We pair you a fair price and can close on the date of your choice.

To sell your NJ home now, fill out our sell my new jersey home now form and we’ll provide you with a fast cash offer (typically within 24 hours).