Thousands of new home buyers and sellers begin their searches on Zillow every day, sadly this isn’t where there should be looking.

Zillow is misleading

As most people probably already know, Zillow gets its listing information from a variety of online sources. This sounds like a good thing, as it keeps its options open…but this is indeed not a good thing.

Not all of the information is accurate and much of the information is outdated. For example, anyone can post a “home for sale” on Craigslist, and the Zillow syndicator with pick it up minutes later and add it to the roster without knowing if it is a legitimate MLS listing. Anyone can post any ad on Craigslist, and Zillow will add these listings without knowing if it’s fake or a scam.

As for Zillow lilstings not being up-to-date, the Russ Wald Realty group always receives calls from buyers inquiring about homes that haven’t been on the market for months.

Local Real Estate sites are more accurate

MLS listings that are posted by Realtor associations have strict standards that are put in place to protect the public. This means that the listings must have current and correct information that is obtained from the sellers through a form called the seller property disclosure statement also known as the SPDS. Realtors must follow a strict rule book in regard to MLS listing and advertising. Luckily, all of this great MLS information is now available to the public.

Russ Wald and other real estate agents/local brokers publish this MLS data right onto their websites with the help of IDX providers. The information seen on these individual on these local agent and brokerage websites is almost always more accurate than the information seen on Zillow.

Zillow Zestimates are way off

Here’s the deal, market values change from week to week, and values change depending on neighborhoods. No algorithm, even if it is the greatest technological compound, will be able to tell you if the kitchen has been updated or if the property hasn’t been well-kept.

According to Zillow’s website, the Zestimate has a median error rate of 8%, which means half of the Zestimates in an area are closer than the error percentage and half are farther off. For example, in Seattle, Zestimates for half of the homes are within 6.6% of the selling price, and half are off by more than 6.6%.

A zestimate may be a starting place for you, but you’ll definitely need to go a step further and contact some professionals to receive accurate information on a particular property.

If you’d like more information on the value of your property, or if you’d like any help with buying and/or selling you home, feel free to contact the Russ Wald Realty Group at (480)298-0708!