The Good, Bad, and Ugly of Zillow in St. Louis
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Many prospective buyers and sellers use Zillow as a starting place to gain a better understanding of the value of a property. The problem is that Zillow has a wide range of values. In fact, there is a disclaimer on their website that says the valuation can be off by 5% to 20%. This is based on information that Zillow has, and their data isn’t always accurate.
At this point, Zillow does not have all sold data, so it relies on poor numbers. Zillow is an advertising company that focuses on generating leads. Zillow promotes homes that are already under contract, or pre-foreclosure properties that actually don’t end up being foreclosed.
There is valuable data on Zillow, but it’s up to you to differentiate the good data from the bad. For example, Zillow is a good place to find real estate agents. A lot of buyers and sellers find us through Zillow because of our strong ratings and sales success. After a short conversation with us, they realize how other information on Zillow can’t be trusted.
To get an accurate home valuation, there is nothing better than a face-to-face meeting with us. We can identify true comparable listings, check out the competition, and figure out the market value of your home. We also have the advantage of being able to look inside the property. The pictures on a Zillow listing are no longer available two weeks after the property closes, so it’s hard to tell if homes sold in your area can compete with your property or not.
As a buyer, Zillow is not a good resource to start your home search. Many of these homes have already been sold but Zillow lists them as active. The site offers inaccurate information that is intriguing to buyers and sellers in order to sell advertising space. If you have any questions, give us a call or send us an email. We can get you accurate information to inform your home search or your home sale. We look forward to hearing from you!
Discussion
Mark, Sometimes I feel like I have a part-time job educating people about the pitfalls of relying on Zillow. Between displaying data that's often wholly inaccurate, listings that are no longer on the market, and "zestimates" that are wildly out of line with market value, consumers who begin their search on Zillow typically lose time and energy and experience a great deal of frustration. Thanks for doing your part to educate prospective buyers to steer clear of Zillow!
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