Zillow Falls Flat

Site is Built on Shaky Foundation

Zillow was recently released amid much fanfare, but initial reviews are not promising.

Washington Post's technology columnist Leslie Walker says "Offering automated property valuations via the Internet turns out to be much harder than it seems -- especially if you expect them to be accurate. But after running extensive tests on this ambitious national real estate service, I found it to be so inaccurate that it's not useful."

Richard Powers, president of the Appraisal Institute says "What scares me is the consumer who goes out there and makes a decision based on that data. Consumers really have no way to judge the accuracy of the estimate -- that really is the problem."

Even Zillow's president and co-founder Lloyd Frink said that the free site doesn't aim to replace home appraisers or real estate agents. "It is meant as something to help buyers and sellers start a conversation."

"Trouble is, because Zillow is loaded with dirty data in some places and missing key factoids in others, its Zestimates often miss the mark -- sometimes so widely that I fear that anyone trying to buy or sell a home could get burned by relying on Zillow" says Leslie Walker.

Zillow runs its own internal analyses to calculate its accuracy rate by comparing actual transactions as they occur with the automated estimates provided by its computerized valuation system. Nationwide, 62 percent of all Zestimates fall within 10 percent of the selling price, according to Zillow. That means 38 percent are more than 10 percent off the mark, which is quite significant!

Bottom line: Zillow is just another tool to start the process of determining a property's value. If you want a true estimate based on all available data as well as a qualified professional's opinion as to value, contact an appraiser or a Santa Clarita real estate agent.

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Linda Slocum
HoneyStartPacking.com

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