The Chicago Tribune’s Mary Ellen Podmolik has an interesting article today about a study on the accuracy of Zillow’s Zestimates (estimates of residential property values). Professors at the University of Texas at San Antonio concluded that Zillow overvalues properties. In their study Zillow overestimated home values for 40% of homes by more than 10%. Zillow underestimated home values by more than 10% for less than 1% of homes.
My experience with Zillow Zestimates in Chicago has been more balanced, but it appears to me that it overestimates more than it underestimates. Over 3 years ago I wrote about Zillow overestimating by 23% the value of a home my buyers had just purchased. A quick check this morning of 2 homes my clients have under contract revealed that Zillow has a Zestimate 14% too high for one of them and a Zestimate only 1% low for the other.
While I don’t put much value on Zillow Zestimates, I do use a lot of the other information Zillow provides. Zillow often has the last sale price for a home. I also use Zillow to find sales data not in Chicago’s multiple listing system. For the full article read, “Is your guess as good as Zillow’s?“
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Fran Bailey shows, previews and tracks downtown Chicago homes for sale giving her the insights needed to help her clients negotiate the best price and terms. Fran has been quoted in numerous Chicago and national publications. To schedule showings of listings regardless of broker or to contact Fran email her at fran.bailey@bairdwarner.com or call 773.793.4516. Learn More
Fran Bailey, Realtor
