Monday, December 20, 2010
Many people turn to Zillow to look at property values. Zillow’s property values are called “Zestimates.” Did you know that information is available to tell you how accurate these numbers are in different real estate markets? I have looked at this information and it is very interesting for North Carolina overall and when you look more specifically at Orange, Durham, Chatham and Wake Counties more specifically.
Here is the info:
North Carolina:
- 99% of homes in North Carolina are on Zillow;
- 80% of those homes have “Zestimates;”
- 33% of the Zestimates are within 5% of the actual sales price;
- 55% of the Zestimates are within 10% of the actual sales price;
- 76% of the Zestimates are within 20% of the actual sales price;
- There is an 8.7% median error.
Orange County:
- 99% of homes in North Carolina are on Zillow;
- 99% of those homes have “Zestimates;”
- 34% of the Zestimates are within 5% of the actual sales price;
- 61% of the Zestimates are within 10% of the actual sales price;
- 84% of the Zestimates are within 20% of the actual sales price;
- There is an 7.6% median error.
Durham County:
- 99% of homes in North Carolina are on Zillow;
- 89% of those homes have “Zestimates;”
- 38% of the Zestimates are within 5% of the actual sales price;
- 61% of the Zestimates are within 10% of the actual sales price;
- 79% of the Zestimates are within 20% of the actual sales price;
- There is an 7.0% median error.
Chatham County:
- 99% of homes in North Carolina are on Zillow;
- 0% of those homes have “Zestimates;”
- – of the Zestimates are within 5% of the actual sales price;
- – of the Zestimates are within 10% of the actual sales price;
- – of the Zestimates are within 20% of the actual sales price;
- – % median error.
Wake County:
- 99% of homes in North Carolina are on Zillow;
- 99% of those homes have “Zestimates;”
- 45% of the Zestimates are within 5% of the actual sales price;
- 69% of the Zestimates are within 10% of the actual sales price;
- 87% of the Zestimates are within 20% of the actual sales price;
- There is an 5.7% median error.
So what does this mean? Well most houses in North Carolina are on Zillow and most of the houses in Orange, Durham and Wake Counties have Zestimates. However, Chatham County houses don’t have Zestimates at all. In Orange and Durham Counties only 1/3rd of the estimates are within 5% of the actual selling price. This tells me the Zestimates are questionable. Zestimates seem to be more accurate in Wake County with 45% being within 5% of the actual sales price.
Zestimates tell you something. They are information. In my book, however, they are not as good as looking at true comparable sales and making adjustments for the differences between properties.