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Answers (21)
My Zestimate value on my home is VERY wrong as well. It also shows a listing for December 2011 that NEVER occurred. I have asked Zillow twice now to correct it yet they won't. It appears they do not care if the information on their site is inaccurate and negatively affecting our home's sale. (Yes, we are still selling our house but they have an extra listing in there, at a ridiculously low price, that never happened.) In fact, homes all around us continue to have rising Zestimates yet ours goes down, despite we've done upgrades. Of course, Zillow does not know about our upgrades but if people next to us, in front of us, and behind us all increase, why does our value decrease? Homes much older than ours, with less lots, have higher zestimates. Zillow has yet to even give me the courtesy of a response. They should be held liable for erroneous information and it's unbelievable that they do not care to be accurate.
Zillow have my home mapped to a city 6 mile away and they tell me it has no impact on zestimate either. The homes across the street mapped to the correct city have a 15% higher zestimate. The words 'have no impact on zestimates' are used to frequently to be taken with any seriousness when there are so many data errors of this type.
- SoCal_Engr
- Contributions:5661
@Surbiton,
"I don't believe for one minute that there is no connection between these errors and the erroneous zestimate that itsap2 is complaining about."
Just call Rachel a liar and have done with it.
While I don't agree with your position on Zestimates, I understand it. But, you cross some lines when you let your rhetoric roll uncontrolled.
"I don't believe for one minute that there is no connection between these errors and the erroneous zestimate that itsap2 is complaining about."
Just call Rachel a liar and have done with it.
While I don't agree with your position on Zestimates, I understand it. But, you cross some lines when you let your rhetoric roll uncontrolled.
" I apologize for the confusion and error."
Seems to be a lot of confusion and errors of this sort. I don't believe for one minute that there is no connection between these errors and the erroneous zestimate that itsap2 is complaining about. The whole issue of poor data management and data integrity at Zillow is a cause of concern and denial seems to be the only answer they have when it comes to zestimates.
Seems to be a lot of confusion and errors of this sort. I don't believe for one minute that there is no connection between these errors and the erroneous zestimate that itsap2 is complaining about. The whole issue of poor data management and data integrity at Zillow is a cause of concern and denial seems to be the only answer they have when it comes to zestimates.
- hpvanc
- Contributions:2567
Rachel,
Is there any chance that Zillow can return to the practice of placing an * next to transactions not included in the Zestimate calculation, this same question comes up frequently.
Is there any chance that Zillow can return to the practice of placing an * next to transactions not included in the Zestimate calculation, this same question comes up frequently.
- Rachel Rosen, "RachelRosen"
- Contributions:1487
Hi Rajesh,
Thank you for letting us know. We are in the process of removing the $561 from your home and the rest of the homes it's on.
Please note even though we are displaying the erroneous $561, we are not using that number in the Zestimate calculation. I understand how us displaying the $561 is confusing. This is an error, and we are working on removing the $561 number from the site.
I apologize for the confusion and error.
Thank you for letting us know. We are in the process of removing the $561 from your home and the rest of the homes it's on.
Please note even though we are displaying the erroneous $561, we are not using that number in the Zestimate calculation. I understand how us displaying the $561 is confusing. This is an error, and we are working on removing the $561 number from the site.
I apologize for the confusion and error.
" As you know, price of the house is all about perception. If zestimate is low, the people whose house is on the market will start lowering the price and as an effect the housing market further goes down"
When the values of so many homes are incorrect you are absolutely correct and whatever the cause of the issue Zillow should have 'controls' in place that identify ridiculously low valuations like $561 so they are excluded from the algorithm. It is this basic lack of common sense that frustrates me as all it does is extrapolate the errors and reduce the zestimates even further as itsap2 has explained.
When the values of so many homes are incorrect you are absolutely correct and whatever the cause of the issue Zillow should have 'controls' in place that identify ridiculously low valuations like $561 so they are excluded from the algorithm. It is this basic lack of common sense that frustrates me as all it does is extrapolate the errors and reduce the zestimates even further as itsap2 has explained.
- sunnyview
- Contributions:25120
You might want to check the King County Recorder's Office and the King County Assessor's Office to see if they have the correct information for your house. If they do, you can flag your property with the yellow "edit" pencil to let Zillow know. If they can verify the correct information, they will remove or edit he current entry.
A "sales price" that low could effect your Zestimate so it is worth getting it updated ASAP.
A "sales price" that low could effect your Zestimate so it is worth getting it updated ASAP.
- wetdawgs
- Contributions:26784
Have you checked how your country assessor has this recorded?
Could you share the links to the statistics on how Zillow (and all dozens of other AVM sites) are hurting society?
Could you share the links to the statistics on how Zillow (and all dozens of other AVM sites) are hurting society?
- itsap2
- Contributions:6
This is very unfortunate. If there is error of such volumn Zillow should have corrected it. Rather Zillow helped to reduce the price.
As you know, price of the house is all about perception. If zestimate is low, the people whose house is on the market will start lowering the price and as an effect the housing market further goes down. If you think further, there is a cycle and that cycle drives the perception and psychology in housing seller and buyer.
I did further digging and found some statistical data which are really eye opening that how Zillow hurts our society then benefit by its responsiblityless zestimate.
I have no problem with Zillow selling other services BUT STOP wrong Zestimate. PLEASE. It is really hurting me and my fellow community members who are normal hardworking people.
Rajesh
- wetdawgs
- Contributions:26784
I suspect there is a systematic error in recording some refinancings in Washington state (especially Snohomish Co) as I see almost 2300 properties with recently sold at $561. I sent a separate E-mail to Zillow customer service.
Have you checked to see how your county assessor has this recorded?
Have you checked to see how your county assessor has this recorded?
@itsap2
I fully agree with your sentiments. It is outrageous that a company can plant erroneous and unwanted valuations on peoples homes the way Zillow does purely for commercial reasons without any responsibility or accountability for the consequences, purely for the purpose of attracting advertising revenues.The fact that the homeowner is denied any right of appeal by Zillow is a travesty, and it's time our legislators caught up with the technology and introduced some form of Regulation over AVM sites like Zillow to stop this nonsense. No wonder home prices are in a race to the bottom when such irresponsible valuations are published using a flawed algorithm that has never been publicly tested and the source data that Zillow uses is riddled with errors.
I fully agree with your sentiments. It is outrageous that a company can plant erroneous and unwanted valuations on peoples homes the way Zillow does purely for commercial reasons without any responsibility or accountability for the consequences, purely for the purpose of attracting advertising revenues.The fact that the homeowner is denied any right of appeal by Zillow is a travesty, and it's time our legislators caught up with the technology and introduced some form of Regulation over AVM sites like Zillow to stop this nonsense. No wonder home prices are in a race to the bottom when such irresponsible valuations are published using a flawed algorithm that has never been publicly tested and the source data that Zillow uses is riddled with errors.
- itsap2
- Contributions:6
UPDATE:
The zestimate has further dropped for this property. Zillow is incorrectly showing that there are 6 properties all sold with same $561 price in the neighbourhood.
Zillow has neighter corrected this nor have contacted me.
I plan to call WA Real Estate department to look into this as Zillow is misguiding general public. I plan to also contact BBB for this matter.
The broader question is " Is Zillow bad for the society? "
Rajesh
The zestimate has further dropped for this property. Zillow is incorrectly showing that there are 6 properties all sold with same $561 price in the neighbourhood.
Zillow has neighter corrected this nor have contacted me.
I plan to call WA Real Estate department to look into this as Zillow is misguiding general public. I plan to also contact BBB for this matter.
The broader question is " Is Zillow bad for the society? "
Rajesh
- itsap2
- Contributions:6
Thank you all. Looking forward to see the change.
regards,
Rajesh
- Caveat Emptor
- Contributions:500
They will do the best they can to fix the problem, but like i said, it could take some time. it is also prudent to note that zillow has automated programs that search for unreasonable sold data and removes it. I've flagged your posts, you've flagged your property, you will get some attention.
its just a matter of patience.
its just a matter of patience.
- itsap2
- Contributions:6
UPDATE:
I found that Zillow has marked 4 other house as sold at $561 ( same price) incorrectly in my neighbourhood.
As you can see, if these houses are not really sold but if Zillow has marked them sold at only $561, then Zestimate will show very incorrect house value.
Unfortunately, this has caused house price drop in our neighbourhood.
This is very unfortunate. Shame on Zillow. Wrong data really hurts people. If you can not make sure data is correct, please STOP Showing it.
Zillow is dragging our housing market down and economy down. We MUST STOP Zillow hurting us.
Rajesh
- itsap2
- Contributions:6
Thank you for suggestions. I have reported the incorrect transaction on Zillow's property site.
I understand that Zillow's zestimate is an estimate or a starting point but false estimate sets bad perception and drags the housing market down with it. For example in tihs case, my house is incorrectly showing as sold at $561, this definitely impacts other house value including mine.
Zillow is not helping to get the housing market up but it is helping the housing market go further down.
We all need to collectively stop this. Either Zillow show right value or stop showing the value at all for my property.
Rajesh
I understand that Zillow's zestimate is an estimate or a starting point but false estimate sets bad perception and drags the housing market down with it. For example in tihs case, my house is incorrectly showing as sold at $561, this definitely impacts other house value including mine.
Zillow is not helping to get the housing market up but it is helping the housing market go further down.
We all need to collectively stop this. Either Zillow show right value or stop showing the value at all for my property.
Rajesh
- John Hurlbut, "jhurlbut"
- Contributions:87
Please note that even Zillow admits their Zestimates are not very accurate. In the Seattle area for example, only 39% of homes sell within 5% of the Zestimate, while a full 17% are more than 20% off. Please check this page for more information:
http://www.zillow.com/howto/DataCoverageZestimateAccuracy.htm
John Hurlbut, Realtor, ABR, GRI, CFS
John L. Scott Real Estate
http://www.zillow.com/howto/DataCoverageZestimateAccuracy.htm
John Hurlbut, Realtor, ABR, GRI, CFS
John L. Scott Real Estate
- Caveat Emptor
- Contributions:500
zillow doesn't actually have the ability to set a zestimate to a specific value. the zestimate is an output value to a complex algorithm that uses sold data as a a heavily weighted data point.
to guard against something like this, zillow's algorythim should identify on its own that your sale price is "outside the ordinary" and ignore it, but it takes about 6 weeks for zillow to complete a recalculation. they can also manually remove the sold data point, for that, follow the suggestion of Cindy below. flag the property and report the problem.
zillow can't guarantee what will happen when they do change the stats for your home, so just be aware.
to guard against something like this, zillow's algorythim should identify on its own that your sale price is "outside the ordinary" and ignore it, but it takes about 6 weeks for zillow to complete a recalculation. they can also manually remove the sold data point, for that, follow the suggestion of Cindy below. flag the property and report the problem.
zillow can't guarantee what will happen when they do change the stats for your home, so just be aware.
- Dave Skow, "daveskow"
- Contributions:1104
What does zillow show value as out of curiosity
- Cindy Quinton, "Cindy Quinton"
- Contributions:1313
They don't change the zestimate because of appraisals or because the owner wants them to do so. It is a computer generated valuation based only on publicly available facts. You can read about zestimates here: http://www.zillow.com/wikipages/What-is-a-Zestimate/
However, your zestimate is being severely affected by the inaccurate sold price from when you did the re-fi. You need to go to your home:s detail page, scroll down past the zestimate chart, and look for PRICE HISTORY. Look at the line that has the re-fi information, and there should be a flag at the end of the line. Click on it and report the problem. You may have to send some additional information, but I suspect your zestimate will reflect a change aftet the correction.
But again, it is just a zestimate, a starting point at best. It does not have a real effect on the value of your property.
However, your zestimate is being severely affected by the inaccurate sold price from when you did the re-fi. You need to go to your home:s detail page, scroll down past the zestimate chart, and look for PRICE HISTORY. Look at the line that has the re-fi information, and there should be a flag at the end of the line. Click on it and report the problem. You may have to send some additional information, but I suspect your zestimate will reflect a change aftet the correction.
But again, it is just a zestimate, a starting point at best. It does not have a real effect on the value of your property.
ACTION REQUIRED: Zillow's recent Zestimate is incorrect -- Please correct
I have noticed that Zestimate for my following property has decreased dramatically in last 10 days. I would appreciate correction. I use zillow often and incorrect value wrongly increases the bad perception. Especially in such a bad time. I would appreciate Zillow be sensitive to this fact and not fuel the situation by incorrect data as Zillow is contributing in dragging the market value down.
1) Zillow incorrectly states that this property was sold at $561 on 12/13/11. -- This is incorrect. The property is not sold. I recently refinanced it.
2) I just refinanced the property and appraisal value came at $ 248,000.
3) Since Zillow is showing house value, it is responsibility of Zillow to reflact the correct information and truth. It is unfair for people if you start spreading wrong information. This is hurting me and can not continue.
I want Zillow to respectfully update the Zestimate of my property. I am really unhappy that zillow has changed to incorrect Zestimate in last one month.
I would appreciate immediate action or a call to correct this situation.
thank you
Rajesh
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