Can You Trust a Zestimate?

Santa Clarita Valley Real Estate Podcast with Brandon Montemayor

Though popular, Zillow and similar real estate websites can’t really provide you the same, accurate information that a Realtor can. Here’s why.

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Are home valuation tools like Zillow’s Zestimate accurate? Can you count on that information when determining how much equity you have, what your home’s value is, and what’s going on in the neighborhood?
We hear questions like these regarding those online tools all the time. The truth is, if you’re just trying to get a general idea of the neighborhood values, a Zestimate might get you close. However, I’ve seen many instances in which Zestimates price a home $50,000 to $100,000 higher or lower than they ought to have per the market.
Zestimates and their like determine the value of your home based on an algorithm that incorporates the information of comparable home sales in the area. It can’t take into account the fact that, say, your community is gated, or if it’s located in a tract that borders another tract; one low sale in a neighboring tract can throw your Zestimate off completely.
Additionally, Zillow can’t analyze what’s inside of your home, so it can’t take into account any upgrades and improvements you’ve done that might affect your value. It also doesn’t factor in the condition of the properties surrounding your home. If your home is a model match for the one next door, but yours has been upgraded where the other hasn’t, the Zestimate won’t be able to see the difference.

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Zillow can’t analyze what’s inside of your home, so it can’t take into account any upgrades and improvements you’ve done that might affect your value.

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Finally, these online valuation tools won’t consider the amount of inventory in your area. Many markets like ours are lacking in inventory, which causes prices to push in a positive direction, especially for homes with the right upgrades.
If the numbers you get back from the Zestimate seem too good to be true, chances are that the numbers are off. That’s where you reach out to a real estate professional like us. We are more than happy to pull some basic numbers and give you a much more accurate ballpark estimate of your home’s value. We can also come out to your house to take a peek and factor in your current or future upgrades to determine the eventual price your home could get.
If you need assistance from us or have any questions, please feel free to lean on us and make our team your No. 1 resource. We’d be glad to help you.