For years, Realtors, real estate agents, brokers, home buyers and sellers have questioned the accuracy of “Zestimates,” the property value estimation tool built into every listing on Zillow (Z), and its benefit for buyers and sellers. Zillow apparently heard those complaints and will now allow users to update a Zestimate immediately.
“We created the Zestimate because we think giving people a starting point for determining a home’s worth is incredibly important and useful,” said Stan Humphries, Zillow chief economist.
“However, our algorithm has no way of knowing as much about a given property as the people that own it, which is why we enable homeowners to provide the most up-to-date information about their home, and why it is important to have the Zestimate reflect that information in real time.”
Zillow’s Zestimates are currently based on a “sophisticated and proprietary algorithm” that combines millions of data points from public record and user-submitted data to provide an estimated property value.
But, the algorithm wasn’t all-knowing and Zillow is recognizing that.
“Today, when a homeowner updates the number of bedrooms, bathrooms, square footage, lot size, year built or structural remodel year, the algorithm will immediately recognize those changes and update the Zestimate accordingly,” Zillow said in a release. “The change in estimated value will depend on several factors, including the home’s location and the breadth of changes to a home’s facts.”
To make edits to a property listing, homeowners will need to claim their home on Zillow.com or a Zillow mobile app by clicking “edit” on their home details page, and follow several prompts. Once a home is claimed and confirmed, homeowners can update their home facts, Zillow said.
Don’t like your Zestimate? Then do something about it. Fix your home’s info, update Zestimate. http://t.co/dSK4ChXlnG
— Spencer Rascoff (@spencerrascoff) February 27, 2015
