Zillow in the Desert

April 26th, 2007 category: Real Estate News

For those of you that are unaware of the latest in real estate website technology, there is a fabulous site available for home viewing voyeurs - www.zillow.com. It’s a fascinating site, with aerial photos, property statistics, and general information. It also provides to its fans what it refers to as a “Zestimate”- a ballpark figure for those wondering about the value of their home.

The state of Arizona has filed an injunction against Zillow. It is their contention that Zillow is providing unlicensed appraisals to the general public in the form of the Zestimate. While true to the extent that Zillow offers its estimate, there is a disclaimer allowing for error. The harm in that, as I am interpreting the actions of the state, is that unsuspecting people will take the Zestimate as Gospel, and list their house according to this figure, without benefit of a “real” appraisal.

COME ON. This is a changing market, with the news alerting EVERYONE to dropping prices and an overabundance of inventory. The notion that Zillow would impact the market negatively is a questionable. If the overabundance of inventory is any indication, there should be an injunction filed against every real estate agent, and every For Sale By Owner who have overpriced their homes. Cease and desist.
Real estate doesn’t stand still. Just as we are in a downswing right now, so will we experience an upswing in the future. There are very few people who would take one market analysis of their home without looking into a second opinion- just ask all of the competing real estate companies. A “second opinion” is encouraged in all areas of importance, and obtaining a home value is no different.
My annoyance with the action filed by the state of Arizona is that there is an assumption that sellers are ignorant, and need the state’s protection from Zillow (or any other remarkable real estate site). It is illogical to imagine a prospective seller sitting at a computer (having not spoken to anyone in the real estate community)and deciding WITH THEIR LARGEST ASSET, to **LIGHT BULB** list it there, expecting without question the provided Zestimate. People will list their homes there after doing a bit of work to establish pricing, provided that they are serious about selling. If they are less serious, perhaps they’ll try it with the Zestimate as a guide, knowing that all it takes is a small investment, and if it doesn’t sell, they’ll try the traditional method. SO WHAT?
Personally, if someone is considering selling their home at an inflated price, and willing to take the gamble and take the time, GOOD FOR THEM. They might be lucky people, and get it sold. If not, we’re here to help.
In any case, it seems completely irrational to create problems for a superior web site that offers assistance to people selling homes, buying homes, or simply checking out the market. As a member of the Realtor community, it allows me to avoid the pitfalls of overpricing for a client- appraisals for buyers can’t be ignored, nor can the resultant annoyance of potential buyers wondering WHY I’m showing them an overpriced house. Better to have an avenue for people that would like to try high for now, and adjust later. Just in case.
I like Zillow for listings from Realtors- it’s another opportunity to show off a property to someone that might know someone. While it is only one of several internet opportunities that we utilize, it does no harm to expose a property on a site that entertains BUYERS AND SELLERS AND OTHERS INTERESTED IN REAL ESTATE. Talk about a captive audience.
While the jury is certainly out on the effectiveness of Zillow with respect to actually SELLING homes, for now it’s a very entertaining and interesting opportunity to check out real estate. We don’t need Arizona, or any other state, to “protect us” from OURSELVES with regard to Zillow.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, April 26th, 2007 at 10:23 am and is filed under Real Estate News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

4 Responses to “Zillow in the Desert”

1. matt Says:
   April 26th, 2007 at 3:26 pm

   We used zillow to get the estimate for the home that I’m currently in escrow with…funny because we already wanted it, and the Zestimate was about $50K higher then our asking price. I like using it to justify buying something that I already want…If it was lower I would have still bought the home and ignored the estimate

2. laurie at Options Realty Says:
   April 26th, 2007 at 3:50 pm

   Zillow simply provided you with a tool to look at value. You don’t need the state of Arizona to remove the tool because you might be foolish enough to call the sellers and say, ” Zillow says your house is worth 50k more- we would like to pay the Zestimate price” any more than you would have used the Zestimate had it been lower. Thank you for making a good point.

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