Realty Times: Zillow Estimates: Accurate or Inaccurate?

Are Zillow Estimates Reliable?


For various reasons, consumers often want to know the value of a home. Zillow is a popular site that consumers often use for that purpose. Zillow's estimates, termed "Zestimates," are steadily becoming a household term when discussing the value of a home.


As a homeowner, you may want to inquire about the change in your home value for many reasons, ranging from: refinancing considerations to just wanting to know how much your new neighbor paid for her house.


Although you may want to rely on Zillow as a one stop shop for accurate home value estimating, the question remains whether you should! Attemping to learn about a homes value through the use of Zillow could cause some serious miscalculation on your part.


In fact, real estate agents get asked all the time - are estimates from Zillow accurate? For many agents, Zillow has become the bane of their existence. Agents are constantly having to explain to consumers that you never want to rely on an algorithm to predict the value of a home...

June 14, 2026
Can I Trust the ‘Zestimate’ for My Home on Zillow? | New York Times Real Estate Q&A Pretty remarkable statement in the middle of this short article: A Sotheby's agent is quoted as saying, "He has never heard of a tax assessor relying on a Zestimate." Don't rely on algorithmic valuations for your property's value. These estimates are interesting, but anything but the final word. Read the paywalled article on NYTimes.com >
3 reasons online home value estimates fail
April 13, 2026
Why Your Zillow Estimate is Wrong | What Your Home is Actually Worth | Pauly Campanaro Discover the 3 reasons online home value estimates fail: they can't account for condition (your $40K kitchen remodel), they lag behind the market (using 60-90 day old data), and they don't know your competition (what's hitting the market this week). Learn why pricing right matters: homes priced correctly sell 19 days faster and for 3.8% more ($15K+ on a $400K home). Excerpted from this video posted by Pauly Campanaro:
Screenshot of a Twitter post by Ryan Lundquist, discussing a property's Zestimate history and price changes.
September 15, 2023
@SacAppraiser | Ryan Lundquist Zestimate history. This property in Roseville listed at $349K, and the Zestimate matched the list price at $349K despite comps being above $600K. After 11 days the price went to $699K (sold $638K). Today's Zestimate shows no history of $349K. Maybe a brief Zestimate gets erased?
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