How can we trust your Zestimates?

Your real estate friends are correct. You are speaking of Palos Verdes which also includes Rancho Palos Verdes and the properties themselves can vary wildly do to what they offer, but of course Zillow cannot take that into effect.

I have a property listed at $1,550,000 and Zillow has it Zestimated at $633,000. Believe me, if I listed that property at $633,000, I would have the world come down on me! It would be absolutely the deal of the century.

I have contacted Zillow muiltiple times to assist them in correcting their errors and they aboslutely refuse to return my inquiries.

In fact, their mapping is showing the home on a dirt lot... So you can see your real estate friends are correct and Zillow's ways are very well known in the industry... (Want to see some great examples, look at homes in Beverly Hills. Compare Zestimated to listed and sold prices)

I believe it actually damages the homeowners and misleads the buyers into believing their numbers are ledgit and factual.

There is a lot that goes into an appraisal. It isn't as simple as logging onto the assessor's office and saying the assessed value is what the house is worth, which is what appears to be in our case, or a two bed two bath house around the corner sold for $200K so therefore your house is also $200K.

Zillow is a little more complicated than that, but not by much, in my opinion.

When it all comes down to it, the banks appraisal is what will settle the dust when they have a "Licensed" apprasier come through and give the opinion of value.

Good luck out there :o) 

Zestimate may be a bit unfair but if you click on the followed links then you may found that nothing is better than Zestimate.
The '1815' house size is smaller than '1809' but it is 7 years newer built and its lot size is bigger that explains more value '1815' then '1809' (it is coincident that the '1815' home number is also bigger)

http://homesand.net/QuickComps.aspx?1815+Via+Visalia+Palos+Verdes+Estates&citystatezip=CA?Map=1?AllComps=True
http://homesand.net/QuickComps.aspx?1809+Via+Visalia+Palos+Verdes+Peninsula+CA&citystatezip=90274?Map=1?AllComps=True

And it is also make sense that more value the '1821' then the '1825' since the '1821' house size has twice as big as '1825', even it is a bit older.

The followed links show the smaller home '1825' has more value than the bigger home '1821' !!!!!????.
http://homesand.net/QuickComps.aspx?1821+Via+Visalia+Palos+Verdes+Peninsula+CA&citystatezip=90274?Map=1?AllComps=True
http://homesand.net/QuickComps.aspx?1825+Via+Visalia+Palos+Verdes+Peninsula+CA&citystatezip=90274?Map=1?AllComps=True

No one should be using Zestimates for more than what Zillow describes them in their description of "what is a Zestimate" in the FAQs and after studying the Zestimate values and accuracy (link at the bottom of the page). 

Are you proposing they shouldn't be trusted relative to appraisals?  Absolutely right, and Zillow says the same.   

Are they a good tool for starting one's analyses, IMHO, yes.   Is it the only tool, no, hopefully no one is that foolish with a big life decision.

In addition, houses that are upper price end of markets tend to have fewer valid comps so the standard variation is larger.

There are many agents who haven't studied Zestimates and simply slam them from what they've heard from their buddies. . A few courses in statistics (or simply reading some of the better posts on this advice section), and they'd be better able to describe the Zestimate strengths and weakness.  Some agents are great and study up and can do so, unfortunately fewer than I'd hope.