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Our information is compiled from public records, so we might have inaccurate numbers or outdated information. We regularly update the information as we receive it from data providers, but sometimes the data we get is just plain wrong. However, there are two ways that you can update your own information: by updating your home facts — it's easy, just go to your home details page and click "Edit home info" — and by using the My Estimator tool where you can create your own estimate. You can save the estimate to My Zillow and make it public or keep it private. Updates to your home facts may affect your home's Zestimate.
Updates to your home facts will be factored into your home's Zestimate. However, your Zestimate may not change if the updates are not significant enough to impact the home's value. Also, if your home has characteristics that are unique in your area, we may not be able to factor them into the valuation. If your Zestimate does change, it may take some time before it's reflected on the site.
By having access to information about other people's homes you ultimately know more about your own. This amount of information levels the playing field and leads to a more efficient real estate marketplace, which is one reason most government entities make home information public. We use detailed information on as many homes in the U.S. as possible to calculate home Zestimates and to enable you to create your own estimates of market value. If we allowed deletions to our database, we would not be able to provide these services to help you make smarter real estate decisions.
We receive information about home sales from the municipal office responsible for recording real estate transactions in your area. Typically, this is the county recorder's office but also might be the records office of your city or other local government. To fix the incorrect transaction data, contact the appropriate office in your area.
Our parcel information, which outlines the lot on which your house sits, comes from various public sources, such as the county. To correct an incorrect parcel drawing, you will have to contact your county assessor's office.
The comparable homes (or "comps") are selected based on recent sales and facts about your house (e.g., location, square feet, number of bedrooms, etc.). Find out more
You bet! We chose the comparables from available data; you can choose your own since you have the best knowledge about your home and neighborhood. You can do this two ways:
We are unable to come up with a valuation for this home because we do not have the house transaction history. This is possibly because your house is in a "non-disclosure" state (Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming) where transactions are not publicly reported. We do have access to the home details and the tax assessed value, so we are showing you that information. In addition to contributing to inefficient real estate markets, this reduced visibility into home transactions is usually the subject of local controversy, since it can result in unfair taxation.
If the home is not in those states, it might be that we have the tax assessed value, market assessed value or tax appraised value and home information from local public records, but we do not have sales transactions from our data providers for the area. We are hoping to get that soon, so come back.
Depending on the jurisdiction where you live, this value could be the tax assessed, tax appraised, or market assessed value. This value comes from the taxing authority of the city, county or state where you live; this is not Zillow's value.
Note: Tax assessor's values differ from Zillow's Zestimate, which is computed by entering numerous data points into a proprietary formula, often resulting in a more accurate value estimate.
Hold on — this is complicated: Appreciation is an increase in the value of property (or many properties) in an area. On Zillow.com, appreciation at all levels of geography (ZIP, county, state, nation) is based on the Zillow Home Value Index, or Zindex® for short. This is the median Zestimate for that geographic region on any given date. Cumulative appreciation is the simple ratio between today's Zindex and the Zindex for a reference period (e.g., the Zindex one, five or 10 years ago).
Since the Zestimate is primarily affected by actual house sales, it will only change in response to events like these when homes in the affected area change hands after the disaster. Also, we don't know what homeowners may have done to fix any damage to their houses since that last time they were sold, so the Zestimate may be inaccurate following a major event. We'll try to indicate that home values have been affected by local market conditions when we can.
