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Replies (18)

- Pasadenan
- Contributions:21453
It is nice to know that a Realtor® would like a class action law-suit filed against her for $1.2 billion for stating that "house prices always go up", and "no one ever lost money on Real Estate", and "now is the best time to buy", at the height of the housing bubble in 2005.
What about that Crystal Ball? Of course I have one. I have more than one, and they are exceptionally accurate. And my Excel program using Linear Regression and extrapolation is even more accurate.
We all knew where the market was heading, except those that intentionally lied about it claiming that they were "professional".
What about that Crystal Ball? Of course I have one. I have more than one, and they are exceptionally accurate. And my Excel program using Linear Regression and extrapolation is even more accurate.
We all knew where the market was heading, except those that intentionally lied about it claiming that they were "professional".

- Dan, "the_country_hick"
- Contributions:4694
How can I sue my realtor for giving me a CMA that was $25% to high so I could not sell my house for 2 years?
Under the theory you are proposing here that is very doable. If any realtor ever gave a CMA that came out $1 to high when the listing finally sold they should also be sued yes?
Opinion is allowed. A zestimate is an opinion as is a CMA.
Now how about a realtor saying something that convinced me to buy so I lost over 40% of my value. Are they legally liable also? Be careful considering a certain line of logic for it this line of logic went all the way you would be out of business and bankrupt. Fortunately, this logic is flawed and does not work legally or in real life.
Under the theory you are proposing here that is very doable. If any realtor ever gave a CMA that came out $1 to high when the listing finally sold they should also be sued yes?
Opinion is allowed. A zestimate is an opinion as is a CMA.
Now how about a realtor saying something that convinced me to buy so I lost over 40% of my value. Are they legally liable also? Be careful considering a certain line of logic for it this line of logic went all the way you would be out of business and bankrupt. Fortunately, this logic is flawed and does not work legally or in real life.

- Dan, "the_country_hick"
- Contributions:4694
"The value of our home is over $1,400,000 and it is on the market @ $1,249,000 after numerous reductions.we may not be able to sell due to"
You can not sell because you are still priced to high. If I knew a house was worth 25% more than asking price I would buy it and sell it for a profit. Many would buy now if they really believed they would get $151k of instant equity. You are making the rookie mistake of chasing the market down. Had you instead priced correctly at the beginning you just might have sold it. Also, zillow shows 54 DOM. Realtor.com does not show that MLS# 133843 per your listing website. Perhaps your marketing needs help.
your house
You replaced the roof and siding. If both needed replacement that did NOT add to the value. It only stopped value from being taken away. You also said that adding improvements gave $1 return for $1 spent. That does NOT happen. The old stuff had some value. Thus replacing it loses money although it may gain appeal.
The value of a house is totally, completely, and exclusively what someone will pay for it. It is worth no more and no less than that amount. So far no one thinks your house is worth over $1.2 million. Just because it was valued at $1.4 million in 2006 means nothing today.It sounds like you need to get a grip on realistic pricing. What you paid means nothing. What you need to get out of it means nothing. Only the market sets prices and it is saying strongly you are overpriced.
Although a zestimate may get people to think about the price an appraisal is what determines it.
If I wanted to sell my house that was a stale listing that had been on the market so long it now was long in the tooth I would do a meaningful price reduction. Going from $1.4 to $1.25 is not much of a reduction in one step. Taking several small reductions in price it changed nothing at any given reduction. It still does not change the real price point. Why not go down to $995,000? That puts you under $1 million and if it really is low priced that could create a bidding war.
You can not sell because you are still priced to high. If I knew a house was worth 25% more than asking price I would buy it and sell it for a profit. Many would buy now if they really believed they would get $151k of instant equity. You are making the rookie mistake of chasing the market down. Had you instead priced correctly at the beginning you just might have sold it. Also, zillow shows 54 DOM. Realtor.com does not show that MLS# 133843 per your listing website. Perhaps your marketing needs help.
your house
You replaced the roof and siding. If both needed replacement that did NOT add to the value. It only stopped value from being taken away. You also said that adding improvements gave $1 return for $1 spent. That does NOT happen. The old stuff had some value. Thus replacing it loses money although it may gain appeal.
The value of a house is totally, completely, and exclusively what someone will pay for it. It is worth no more and no less than that amount. So far no one thinks your house is worth over $1.2 million. Just because it was valued at $1.4 million in 2006 means nothing today.It sounds like you need to get a grip on realistic pricing. What you paid means nothing. What you need to get out of it means nothing. Only the market sets prices and it is saying strongly you are overpriced.
Although a zestimate may get people to think about the price an appraisal is what determines it.
If I wanted to sell my house that was a stale listing that had been on the market so long it now was long in the tooth I would do a meaningful price reduction. Going from $1.4 to $1.25 is not much of a reduction in one step. Taking several small reductions in price it changed nothing at any given reduction. It still does not change the real price point. Why not go down to $995,000? That puts you under $1 million and if it really is low priced that could create a bidding war.

- MB01
- Contributions:6
Basically, I would tell your potential buyers that Zillow is very far from perfect, and is way off on a lot of properties. It is too simple of a program to account for many facets of how a house is valued . I agree with the previous poster in that the only way to get the true value of a house is how much someone would agree to pay for it.
After learning this myself, the only reason I use Zillow is to track trends. But even that cant be trusted anymore, as Zillow now rewrites its own history books by changing their previous zestimates in their graphs that track value over time.

- sunnyview
- Contributions:25130
Zillow is not an appraisal. As an agent you should already know that. You house is worth only what a willing qualified buyer would pay. You say it's worth 1.4m, but no buyer has come forward to buy it at 1.2m so you may be overestimating it's value. Until you sell it, what your house is worth is only a guess on anyone's part.
You assessment is much closer to Zillow guestimate so you might want to appeal your taxes right away so that your community has full benefit of the a higher tax base.
You assessment is much closer to Zillow guestimate so you might want to appeal your taxes right away so that your community has full benefit of the a higher tax base.

- wetdawgs
- Contributions:26804
Touche Sunnyview!

- John Stewart, "nwhome.us"
- Contributions:2161
I had a potential listing client moan that "It was the economy's fault" for taking the profit that they expected. Maybe that would help, Gita; blame the economy. Or you could be more specific:
Realtor lesson #12: never try to sell your own home. At the very least, co-list it with someone you trust to contradict you.
I don't know, the last research that I did (2009) in Lakemont, there were only 3 sales in the entire year over $1.0 M. What are the stats this year in Somerset? Two? Not a lot of traffic.
Realtor lesson #12: never try to sell your own home. At the very least, co-list it with someone you trust to contradict you.
I don't know, the last research that I did (2009) in Lakemont, there were only 3 sales in the entire year over $1.0 M. What are the stats this year in Somerset? Two? Not a lot of traffic.

- Richard Arden, "richardarden"
- Contributions:4
This sounds as if it is nothing more then a poor negotiation strategy with potential buyers of the home. Have the potential buyers been shown the information showing that your Zestimate is way off and there is no way they would be able to acquire a property in that area for that price? Is your estimated property value taking into consideration distressed properties that are reducing the value of your home? At the end of the day the home is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it and this seems as though it is a classic case of someone believing their home is worth more because it's their home. I would recommend running a new CMA and see where the properties that are selling are in relation to the market. I would be fairly confident in saying the comps that are selling aren't in the top 50% of the price range comparables.

- CORONA NICK
- Contributions:2218
OMG..lol good luck on selling.

- Kevin Lisota
- Contributions:479
Buyers don't make their sole pricing determination from Zillow Zestimates. If there are similar, nearby homes that have sold in the $1.25M range, you will be able to make your case to prospective buyers that you are fairly-priced. I would put together a list of comps in a flyer that buyer can browse when viewing your home if the neighborhood supports the higher values.

- Joy Triglia, "joytriglia"
- Contributions:16
I am sorry that this happened to you and it is so wrong. All you can do is to keep posting on Zillow and the internet about how wrong they are. I am a professional agent for over 25 years and they will not listen to me. Their zestimates are 95% wrong in my areas... You have to tell any buyer to please consult a professional, not a website that is using somewhat current values to help them get their system in check cheaper or less expensive than employing or purchasing the accurate information. Zillow is relying on current info to correct old wrong info andf eventually the system will balance out and be more close to being accurate., Consult a professional appraiser or Real Estate agent in your area.

- Pasadenan
- Contributions:21453
"The value of a house is totally, completely, and exclusively what someone will pay for it. It is worth no more and no less than that amount." -
Well, that is only 1/2 the story; it must also be a price that the willing seller is willing to accept.
And if you believe your home is worth $1.4 million and won't sell it for less; then keep it, since that is the value it is worth to you! Sure, you may not be able to get financing for it at that level, but if it is yours and you can afford to maintain it and live in it, then there is absolutely no reason at all to sell it since it has so much personal value to you. And you definitely should not sell it for less than you want since you have made it clear that you would rather keep it.
If it were me, I would raise the price to make it clear that I didn't want any offers!
Well, that is only 1/2 the story; it must also be a price that the willing seller is willing to accept.
And if you believe your home is worth $1.4 million and won't sell it for less; then keep it, since that is the value it is worth to you! Sure, you may not be able to get financing for it at that level, but if it is yours and you can afford to maintain it and live in it, then there is absolutely no reason at all to sell it since it has so much personal value to you. And you definitely should not sell it for less than you want since you have made it clear that you would rather keep it.
If it were me, I would raise the price to make it clear that I didn't want any offers!

- Pasadenan
- Contributions:21453
And, as the other poster pointed out, why are you doing a FSBO when all those Real Estate classes you took told you that you should hire someone else due to your emotional involvement?

- kenrw98199
- Contributions:2
Interesting comments here. One agent said "Their zestimates are 95% wrong in my areas". I recall during "the boom", agents would say, "see, Zillow says this house is worth $550,000" (even if it sold for $350,000 two years earlier) you'd better buy before it's too late".
Now that the tables are turned, it's "Zillow is so wrong". My experience is that Zillow is right-on accurate, a bit low, a bit high, way the heck high, or severely under the real value. Their Zestimate is a data point. Their tools can yelp, as well as those of RedFin, and the King County online property database.
Don't rely solely on a real estate agent either. With a few minor exceptions, I have seen data being skewed by them, particularly when you are interested in putting an offer together.
Use all the data sets that make sense, use info from an agent, the web and county records. Hey, typically, we're talking hundreds of thousands of dollars. Put at least as much effort in yourself as you would do in buying a car, or the latest $400 Android Tablet.
Finally, don't be fooled by agents. "Comps" are ONLY homes that have sold. Throw out all comps that are "listed" or even "under contract". Use data from actual sales only, and in the past 3 months, 6 months at most.
Now that the tables are turned, it's "Zillow is so wrong". My experience is that Zillow is right-on accurate, a bit low, a bit high, way the heck high, or severely under the real value. Their Zestimate is a data point. Their tools can yelp, as well as those of RedFin, and the King County online property database.
Don't rely solely on a real estate agent either. With a few minor exceptions, I have seen data being skewed by them, particularly when you are interested in putting an offer together.
Use all the data sets that make sense, use info from an agent, the web and county records. Hey, typically, we're talking hundreds of thousands of dollars. Put at least as much effort in yourself as you would do in buying a car, or the latest $400 Android Tablet.
Finally, don't be fooled by agents. "Comps" are ONLY homes that have sold. Throw out all comps that are "listed" or even "under contract". Use data from actual sales only, and in the past 3 months, 6 months at most.

- Vince Curtis, "SoCal Appraiser"
- Contributions:4699
kenrw98199 is corrrect. No one was complaining about Zillow with values going UP, only DOWN. And they complain about appraisers in the same way....

- Pasadenan
- Contributions:21453
This is a really old "dead" thread...
But it is interesting that the "agent" had no other listings besides their own home, and so few contributions, but claimed so many sales areas, and that the agent was so upset that they changed their profile name to xxx xxx and their phone numbers to 111 111 1111, to make it very difficult to contact.
It seems kind of unproductive to me.
But Zillow left the E-mail address in the original post of this thread?
As this thread was before the recent Zestimate revisions, it would be interesting to see the estimate now; but I don't see an address or link posted.
But it is interesting that the "agent" had no other listings besides their own home, and so few contributions, but claimed so many sales areas, and that the agent was so upset that they changed their profile name to xxx xxx and their phone numbers to 111 111 1111, to make it very difficult to contact.
It seems kind of unproductive to me.
But Zillow left the E-mail address in the original post of this thread?
As this thread was before the recent Zestimate revisions, it would be interesting to see the estimate now; but I don't see an address or link posted.

- Mom2NAC
- Contributions:57
If Zillow is as accurate as most of you say, does that mean that houses are selling for 20%-30% less, just within the last month? Because that is how much my home's Zestimate has dropped...

- Pasadenan
- Contributions:21453
The fluctuations in the estimates only indicate the randomness in what sells at any given point in time.
You don't want to look at one house estimate to see trend changes as some go up and some go down. Look at the city or zip code or neighborhood index instead (which is a median of the estimates in that area).
As far as the "tolerance range"; Zillow published by county what the median of the percent difference between estimated and sold price is; generally about 8%. That means that 50% will sell between +/-8% and that 50% WON'T. Some have wider tolerance ranges, such as +/-12%.
By the way, for King County Washington, Zillow claims a median tolerance range of 5.9%, and that 69.2% of the sold prices are within 10% of the estimates, and that 86.7% of the sold prices are within 20% of the estimates.
You don't want to look at one house estimate to see trend changes as some go up and some go down. Look at the city or zip code or neighborhood index instead (which is a median of the estimates in that area).
As far as the "tolerance range"; Zillow published by county what the median of the percent difference between estimated and sold price is; generally about 8%. That means that 50% will sell between +/-8% and that 50% WON'T. Some have wider tolerance ranges, such as +/-12%.
By the way, for King County Washington, Zillow claims a median tolerance range of 5.9%, and that 69.2% of the sold prices are within 10% of the estimates, and that 86.7% of the sold prices are within 20% of the estimates.

Harmed by Zillow Zestimates
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- 0.0/5.0
- (no reviews)
Contributions:3Zillow has my home estimated at $870,000 today.
I take an issue with the wrongful zestimate. Reasons:
The value of our home is over $1,400,000 and it is on the market @ $1,249,000 after numerous reductions.we may not be able to selldue to Zillow's wrongful value misrepresentation.
Potential buyers have mentioned that due to "Zillow's estimate" they are concerned about the value.
I read some of the blogs on Zillow, and it appears that a lot of sellers are harmed by Zillow estimates. I have also discussed this with my neighborhood sellers, and they all feel wronged by your site.
Please change the value of my home as well as all homes in the Summit neighborhood as soon as possible. You can send appraisers or inspectors if you wish.
If this problem persists, we may take legal action with all neighborhood homeowners.
Overlake@comcast.net
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