I Am A Local Real Estate Expert - A Computer Program is Not!
Whether you are thinking of buying a home or possibly selling your home
you more than likely have stumbled upon Zillow and thought you hit the
mother-load of real estate information! It's a fancy site with
Zestimates, has homes marked on a map that are either currently listed
or have recently sold, and you can spy on your best friends home on the
other side of town to see what it's worth and that's cool, right?
Wrong! Well, if spying on your neighbor is cool to you then that's your
business BUT if you are thinking of buying or selling a home then you
want to steer clear of Zillow.
You see, I cringe when I speak with a buyer or seller and they come at me with all their research from Zillow.
They already have a predetermined listprice based on what they learned
from Zillow or they think they already know if a home is over or under
priced with information they received from Zillow. Well, let me set
the record straight - more often then not, Zillow is inaccurate.
Zillow is a computer generated program
that acquires information from various sources and then runs it
through a program to give you information based on a mathematical
equation. Trust me, there is no human sitting at a desk inputting data
about all of the homes throughout the country. What Zillow can not
replicate and therefore will never be able to accurately price real
estate is the human touch and the ability to physically see into other
properties.
Zillow does not take into account upgrades and/or updates to a home or lack thereof. It doesn't know:
- While your home may have Formica countertops your neighbors have all upgraded to solid surface counter tops.
- You have replaced your
carpet, vinyl in the kitchen and bathrooms and updated the appliances
while your neighbors have carpets that are worn thin, 15 year old
outdated vinyl and brass fixtures from the 80s
- ZILLOW DOES NOT KNOW THAT THE HOME NEXT TO YOURS WAS A FORECLOSURE AND
THE PREVIOUS OWNER RIPPED OUT ALL THE CABINETS, TOILETS AND MADE OFF WITH THE COMPRESSOR UNIT TO THE HVAC.
All Zillow knows is what is found on other public sites - statistics. There is no room for the human touch.
So, please, if you are thinking of buying or selling a home don't consider Zillow as your source for pricing.
It's a fun site - lot's of bells and whistles - cool tools and great
graphics but that's about it. If you are serious about buying or
selling real estate then you want to rely on a real estate professional
that can add the human element and knows your neighborhood and the
local real estate market.
I am YOUR Wake Forest NC Real Estate Agent!
