Zillow Inc. launched about a year ago and many people are familiar with the computer-generated estimates of home values created on-line. It has become an addition for some people to constantly look at their own property, friends, neighbors, etc. But is it accurate?
A Wall Street Journal analysis of 1,000 recent home sales shows that Zillow's "Zestimates" often are very good, frequently within a few percentage points of the actual price paid. But when Zillow is bad, it can be terrible--off the mark by more than 25% on one in 10 homes.
The Journal looked at transaction prices recorded for 1,000 recent home sales in seven states, using data from First American Real Estate Solutions, a data provider in Santa Ana, Calif., and compared those prices with Zillow estimates, which didn't yet reflect the sales. The median difference between the Zillow estimate and the actual price was 7.8%. (That was close to the 7.2% median "margin of error" reported by Zillow itself on all transactions involving homes whose value it has estimated.) (Source: RealEstateJournal.com) Full Story . . .
What do you think? Have you used Zillow? Are Zillow estimates accurate?
