Have you bought a house that Zillow said it was worth X less?

[Account Closed]

Have you bought a property that zillow said it was worth lets say (example) 100k and then you sold it for 150k?

[Charlie MacPherson]

@Account Closed Zillow's "Zestimates" are a joke - and a bad joke at that.

If you drill down deep enough, you'll find Zillow's own statement on their accuracy.  While the Zestimate is presented in huge, bold lettering, you'll need an electron microscope to find the link to their disclaimers.

Here in the Boston market, Zillow claims to be within 10% of the sale price 79.3% of the time.  That means with an average sale price of about $550,000, their own claimed error is GREATER than $55,000 in 20.7% of Zestimates.

Worse, I've seen them create new listings out of other listings.  In my case, they took an active listing and combined it with another that hasn't been on the market for years and made a third listing that has never existed.  I got an irate phone call from another agent who thought I stole her listing photos.

And even worse than that, their false data pollutes the minds of my seller clients.  I can't tell you how many times I've had to fight the battle of "Zillow says my house is worth $XXX,XXX.  Why do you want to list it for less?"

They have a big name. They have a big website and mobile app - and that (false) number is right there.  Why wouldn't they believe it?

And my favorite...not updating results.  Like the photo below from November 2016 from a home sold 8 months prior.