MID-LAND REALTORS is striving to be your primary source for REAL ESTATE information in the Great Lakes Bay Region of Michigan. However, a lot of what will be posted here will apply throughout the United States.
We are also aware that what you need will be different depending on where you are in the process – buying, selling, renting, up-sizing, downsizing, landlord or property management. With that being said, we want to talk about Zestimate.
Okay, let’s talk about the elephant in the living room and why REALTOR’S don’t like Zillow. Most REALTOR’S will send you to their professional website or their offices or REALTOR.com and roll their eyes at Zillow. While some of it is Zillow giving away information to the customer for free but making the agent pay heavily to get their information on the site. The big reason for our distrust is Zestimate. Maybe if we lived on the East Coast or West Coast of the US it would be more accurate but here in the Great Lakes Bay Region, it can be really off. You might be saying that will 1 to 5% off is no big deal. I recently worked on a Comparable Market Analysis (CMA) for a piece of vacant land. One of the comparable properties I was using sold for $22,000 in Sanford. Zillow’s Zestimate said it should have sold for $256,243 (off by 1064.7%). That is more than a little off. Now on the REALTOR.com website, the same property said it should have sold for $25,000.
Ok, ok, ok I can hear you, well that’s one. I had another CMA for a house in Gladwin county. One of the properties sold for $77,000 and Zestimate said it should have sold for $125,883 (off by 63.5%).
Even on my own home, Zillow says $164,829 and REALTOR.com says $150,300. Another site called Homesnap.com, said it was worth $181,000.
This is why you should use a REALTOR in your local area. They know what the local market is doing right then, they know more about the trends and will give you a very good snapshot of the houses like yours.
Here is your chance to go to the websites and check your home.
We here at MID-LAND REALTORS would love the opportunity to help you sell your house and find you your next home. Let us show you some great homes.
Happy Buying
