How accurate is a Zestimate?

What is my house value? In this real estate market everyone wants to know how much has my house appreciated in value. The market is always moving One of the question's that I frequently get while appraising is about Zillow and the Zestimate accuracy. Granted, it is very easy to use. You put in your address and it spits out a value. But how accurate are these home value estimates? Can you trust the home value predictor you get online? What I decided to do was to check the appraisals that I have completed recently and then put that address into Zillow.

When determining the value of your home, the job of a real estate appraiser is to identify the most recent comparable properties. What these home value calculators online do is give you a general idea of what a house is worth, which at best is a ballpark figure. Do you really want to put your biggest investment of your life on a guess from a computer program? These programs only recognize that sales have occurred in your area but do they know if they are the most comparable sales in your neighborhood? As a local state certified residential real estate appraiser I'm not taking a guess at what your house is worth. I study the current market data in your neighborhood, identifying the most comparable properties and then I compare and analyze that information.

When I checked the recent appraisals that I have completed against these online programs, I found that 9 out of 10 times my value varied from theirs by thousands of dollars. In most cases tens of thousands of dollars.

Your home is most likely the largest investment you will make in your lifetime. An appraisal will cost you a few hundred dollars but can save you so much more. Not to mention the peace of mind an appraisal can give you.

The best information I saw from the Zestimate said this " Thinking about selling? Get a professional valuation". I couldn't agree more!