Henderson REALTOR REACTS to Zestimate ACCURACY on ZILLOW
Okay, I have got to show you this — I was checking Zillow like I do from time to time and saw the Zestimate for one of our listings… and my jaw? Dropped.
Today, we’re looking at one home — same address, same condition, same everything — but two totally different Zestimates. What changed? The house went live on the MLS. That’s it.
I’ll walk you through how this Zestimate rollercoaster happened, what it means, and why relying on automated values might be costing sellers (and buyers) big.
Have you ever looked at your Zestimate and thought, ‘Umm… where did they get that number from?’ Tell me in the comments!”
The Zestimate Switch-Up
This home is a home in Henderson that I recently listed for sale. It is a well-maintained single story upgraded property with great curb appeal, a popular floor plan, and in a nice guard gated neighborhood.
Before we listed it? Zestimate showed $611,300
The moment it went live on the MLS? Zestimate dropped to $581,800 below our list price of $589,500. That is more than a $20,000 drop.
So, what happened? Zillow’s algorithm saw our professional listing — photos, features, pricing — and instantly adjusted its valuation. This isn’t a rare glitch. I’ve seen this time and time again: Zillow updates their Zestimate to reflect my pricing strategy.
I do check the Zestimate before I go on a listing appointment because I know that many Seller’s look at some kind of automated value to get an idea of what the home their home is worth.
This is why I have a LOVE / HATE relationship with Zillow! I love it when the Zestimate is low, and I can tell my clients that I recommend listing much higher! I really don’t like it when the value is high and I have to overcome that amount and get my client to realize that we need to list much lower. That is exactly what happened with this home.
Now, let’s break this down. Before I listed the property, I ran a full market analysis. That includes recent comparable sales, market conditions, buyer demand, and even appraisal expectations. When I run the market analysis I look at the recent sales but also take into consideration the available inventory. The available inventory is so much more important than the recent solds to show what is truly happening in the market currently. If there are a lot of other properties sitting on the market then we have higher supply and my price recommendation is usually going to be to list lower than other similar properties that are sitting on the market. We are currently seeing properties sit a little longer. For this home there were several other properties listed for sale in the community that had been on the market that had been on the market for a while. Specifically, there was a model match home that was comparable in escrow. Ours was slightly more upgraded but not a huge difference and that one is the same floor plan. It started with a list price of $600,000 and continued to reduce to $550,000 before finally getting into contract.
I met with my client and went over what I am seeing in the market. We are seeing supply increase and more homes come on the market. Which is normal this time of year. However, we are not seeing demand pick up like we normally do so the overall inventory is growing. Sellers need to price homes right and show well. You need to do everything you can to put your property in a position to be sold. As an accredited staging professional, I walked through the home and helped her stage it. We removed personal pictures and personal items off her bathroom and kitchen counters, and I had her move some items around. She has two cute dogs, so I recommended removing pet items prior to the pictures and showings.
I recommended listing the home at $550,000 right where the other property is listed that is in escrow. Of course, the seller wanted to list at $610,000 slightly below where the Zestimate was. We priced this home at $589,500 but I prepared her that this may be high. Sure enough, we have been on the market for 2 weeks and haven’t had one showing. I had a talk with her today and said we will likely need to reduce if we are not getting showings at all.
What Zillow Gets Right… and Very Wrong
Let’s be honest, the Zestimate can be a helpful starting point. It gives a quick, automated ballpark of what your home might be worth. And I get it – it’s tempting to check that number and think, “Hey, maybe that’s what I could get!”
I check the Zestimate on my own home. We purchased the property from a For Sale by Owner and it was never listed in the MLS. We did get a good deal on our home and purchased the home below value. The Zestimate does take into account the last sale price of the property. So, when I look at that value, I know it is very low. I know that I can sell my property for much more than it shows.
Here’s why Zillow struggles:
It can’t see your upgrades, layout flow, or curb appeal. It doesn’t know if your kitchen was remodeled last year or 20 years ago. It doesn’t walk through and say, “Whoa, that backsplash needs updating.” — I do. It can’t account for local buyer demand or timing or recent changes in the market. I often say that I am in the trenches. I see when homes are sitting on the market and prices are reducing. I often see those trends before they are reported. Over the years I have realized that it takes about 2 to 3 months of a market change before the statistics really show what is happening. Our Las Vegas market changes quickly, and 3 months can be a big deal here!
Let me give you the perfect example. During the market slowdown in the real estate market in 2007, Money Magazine reached out to me to do an article on the Las Vegas Real Estate Market. Now they reached out to me at the very start of the slowdown. They were doing an article on how “hot” the Las Vegas Market was. So, when I spoke to them, I told them that our market had slowed down recently and that I had several listings that were sitting that were not getting showings for a couple of months. So that is the article they ran – According to Leslie Carver the Las Vegas Real Estate Market has slowed down. That was a little rough but we all know what happened then. The market crashed and values went down significantly for several years. My clients that listened to me during that time priced slightly lower and got their homes sold before the values went down even further. I don’t make predictions of future values but I am advising my clients based on the current market conditions where we need to price and what we need to do to get the home sold now.
That’s the difference between an algorithm and an experienced local Realtor. I’ve been helping sellers’ price their homes right for nearly 30 years. I don’t just click a button, I study the market, the comps, the condition, and what buyers are really willing to pay.
Zillow’s not helping you get top dollar—it’s just giving you an automated guess that sellers and buyers cling to way too often. So, if you’re thinking of selling—or just curious what your home is really worth—please don’t let Zillow be your only voice.”
If you’ve ever questioned your Zestimate or wondered what your home could really sell for, I’m just one message away!
