Zestimate and homeowners, a frustrating combination. There are plenty of reasons why you shouldn’t try to sell your own home.
The classic FSBO – For Sale By Owner model was a great concept to empower the consumer to take matters into your own hands. Bell-bottoms and disco balls were a good idea once too. Times have changed and unless you’re up to speed on the latest technology to market your home, I guarantee you are leaving money on the table.
Just hear me out… this is a short read.
Zestimate is Misleading for Buyers and Sellers
Here is a classic example of why A) homeowners should not try to do this on their own and B) consumers, buyers, and homeowners should NOT put ANY weight on the Zestimate.
This just happened last week!
This FSBO (for sale by owner) didn’t actually sell according to town records. However, the homeowner decided to remove it from the market by incorrectly listing it as sold. There are no regulations on homeowner edits. Pay close attention to the progression of values in the image below. We purposely kept the address cropped off, but did inform the homeowner. Notice the list price of $525,000, a sale price of $525, and a Zestimate of $416,088.
Guess what that does to the rest of the neighborhood?! This unregulated Zestimate affects your home value every day. There are no fact-checkers monitoring this. Unfortunately, buyers assume you’re overpriced if you’re listed higher than Zillow.
Stick with getting advice from someone who's IN the business.~Michelle Richard – Broker/Owner Share on X
When your neighbors do this, intentionally or not, they affect your “Zestimate” as a homeowner causing it to falsely increase or decrease.
The Zestimate is an algorithm, folks. Whether you excel in math or not, it’s basic fundamentals. To get the “average” you add all the sales and/or comparable homes and divide them by the number of sales and/or comparable homes. If you add $500,000 + $475,000 + $525,000 and then divide by 3, your average value will be VERY different than if you add $500,000 + $475,000 + $525.
Also worth noting: Zillow will get you refi/purchase info. According to this one, you can refinance for as little as $3 a month!
How much is my house worth? We can help. No Obligation.
It’s your money. Make the most of your real estate investment. I don’t try to fix my own car, do my own hair, advise on insurance, or offer legal advice. Stick with getting advice from someone who’s IN the business.