Q: I’ve been trying to get Zillow to correct the grossly inflated assessed value (or “assessed value”) of my White Plains home for some time. Comparable homes in my area have sold in the $800,000 to $900,000 range, but Zillow estimates my home is worth $1.2 million. The city has estimated the amount at less than $800,000. I contacted Zillow and was asked to provide information from my county assessor’s office about when my home was last sold. I did that and then Zillow increased the value to $1.3 million! How can I fix this error?
A: Homeowners have been complaining about their “Zestimate” for many years. Some have even taken their complaints to court (unsuccessfully).
Zillow says its published home value estimates are a “neutral estimate of a home’s fair market value,” but an inaccurate Zestimate can mislead buyers and sellers about how much a property is really worth (not to mention how much homes nearby are worth in comparison).
The formula includes public information as well as data from the multiple listing service and input from homeowners. The company says its margin of error is 7.2 percent for off-market homes and just 1.74 percent for on-market homes.
“The estimate is only as good as the data that is fed into the system,” said Laura Mehl Sugarman, real estate partner at Benesch in New York.
First, make sure the facts about your home—like square footage, number of bedrooms, and home type—are accurate on Zillow. You can also tell the site if tax and price history data is incorrect. A Zillow spokeswoman told us you can send the details of your issue through the contact page to try to resolve the issue.
In a case like yours, where the Zestimate is expected to be higher than market value, there doesn’t appear to be any immediate cause for concern, said Marc Lyman, a real estate agent with Pacific Sotheby’s International Realty in San Diego. He’s never heard of an accountant relying on a Zestimate.
“Unless you have reason to believe that the Zestimate is being used by an official in a way that directly harms you, I wouldn’t lose sleep if the number deviated from the likely market value,” Mr. Lyman said.
In his experience, Zestimates can change quickly once a home is listed. If you end up listing your home for sale at a realistic price, the inflated valuation could even lead buyers to think your home is a bargain, he said.