Using Zillow for Valuations

[Dan Powers]

I'm very curious to know why some investors use Zillow to compare the ARV and comps of a property against. From what I know Zillow measures the value of a home by taking an average value of all the houses in the target search area. While this may be somewhat helpful in suburbs where houses are more spread out and values are more constant, that is not the case in Philadelphia.

Philadelphia is a very block by block city, and in certain neighborhoods you can see ARV values change by 20-30k depending on the block you are on. I'm not sure if some investors simply do not know that about Philly, or they are just married to Zillow values.

Would love to hear everyones thoughts.

Dan Powers - Real Estate Agent

[John Knisely]

Using it to pull actual Sold comps in the absence of MLS access or an agent willing to pull comps for them, good starting point. Relying on the "Zestimate" as an indicator of value...bad idea. A few of my properties Zestimates are a solid 30-40% lower than I know they are worth based on adjusted comp evaluation. And I've updated the specs and features in my owner dashboard too.