The Zestimate Effect

Something tends to happen when people start thinking about selling their house.

They open Zillow.

At first it’s just curiosity. What are the neighbors’ houses worth? What did the one down the street sell for?

Then it turns into checking every few days. Then every day. Then sometimes multiple times a day like the number might magically change overnight… even I'm a victim of the Zestimate obsession LOL.

I see this all the time when I meet with sellers. By the time we sit down, they usually already have a number in their head.

And sometimes Zillow gets surprisingly close.

Other times… not so much.

What most people don’t consider is Zillow has never actually been inside your house, and it definitely isn’t a neighborhood expert. It doesn’t know if your kitchen was remodeled last year or understand the value difference between 50’ and 75’ of waterfront or fixed vs. non-fixed bridges. And if your house sold a long time ago, it may just be applying a percentage increase or decrease based on an old sale price.

It’s just an algorithm trying its best.

The real value of a home usually comes down to the things you can’t plug into a formula: condition, layout, location within the neighborhood or the neighborhood itself and how buyers emotionally respond when they walk in.

That’s why two homes with the same square footage can sell hundreds of thousands of dollars apart.

So if you ever find yourself checking your Zestimate a little too often, just remember… it’s a starting point, not the final answer and that real number shows up when you meet with an expert.