A co-worker came up to me the other day and said, “Check this site out, Realtors are mad because they have to pay for this, and it’s out there free now.” Riiight. Check it out for funzies.
Zillow.com Your edge in real estate.
I typed in my address and it said my house was worth $126k. It says that a year ago it was worth $99k. It also says I have 3 bathrooms and 1887 sq. ft., when we only have 2 baths and about 400 square feet less. Plus they show my house about a 1/4 mile away from its actual location.
But at least that explains the $239k starting price on a house about 6 further down the road. They must have checked Zillow.com, which says $193k or a similar service and then jacked up the price to allow for negotiating. I hear that after the open house and a month on the market it is down to listing for $199k.
Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/06: 74
Realtors are more amused than mad about Zillow.com I’ve looked at what zillow.com reports about homes I’ve listed/sold/own and find that the only thing consistent about their pricing is that they’re off the mark. Some too high … some too low … none spot on IMO.
Generally a Realtor will use similar styled homes that sold (or were on the market) within the past six months and are within a mile or so of the subject property. Zillow doesn’t seem to use that philosophy — especially when it comes to proximity of the “comparable” homes to the subject home.
In the end, I think you get what you pay for. And zillow.com is free.
Hey Man,
Catching up after being away for a while. I checked out Zillow and first impressions is that it is cool, but they don’t have my 1.5 year old house on it. In fact, from the picutre they bring up, it looks like the info for my ‘hood’ is about 2.5 years old (at least).
Just thought I would mention it.
Oh, and this is the first time I have seen your redesign. Loos great!