Zurple | Real Estate Success Blog

What to Say When a Real Estate Client Brings Up the Zestimate

Written by Pacifico "PJ" Ortiz Luis | Jun 6, 2019 2:30:00 PM

If you haven’t been there yet, you will. A real estate buyer or seller will ignore your expert advice and tell them what Zillow estimates their home at. How do you respond to such ludicrous ideas?

Here is How Real Estate Agents Can Address Zestimates

Did Zillow Look at Your House?

Simple question. Did somebody from Zillow take a look at your home seller's property? You can estimate a home's value by looking at single photo, but you need to tour the home to give a legitimate appraisal.

Respond with the definition of a Zestimate

On ZIllow's site, they claim a zestimate is an estimated market value and is NOT an apraisal. It is only a starting point in determining a home's value derived from public and user-submitted data. It's the equivalent of a Buzzfeed quiz determining what type of dog you should own.

Send Them a Link to Recently Sold Homes on Zillow

Zillow estimates will not predict the sale price of a real estate property. By searching for local homes recently sold, and sending that link your real estate buyer or seller can see that Zestimates will be both higher and lower than the actual sale price. What they need to ensure a fair price is a good real estate agent. (That's where you come in!)

Describe the Identifying Qualities of Your Market

Each real estate market is unique. Some areas will have real estate properties listed at $600k within a mile of $300k homes. Local real estate agents are much better experts at their local neighborhood, especially considering websites like Zillow will cover the entire country instead of a specific area.

But Will Somebody Actually PAY For Your Home?

A Zestimate doesn’t mean much because it’s not like Zillow is actually writing a check to pay for the home. A home is only worth what somebody will pay for it. It is up to you as a real estate agent to get the best deal for your real estate client! Acknowledge that the Zestimate is not accurate, a good starting point, but they must ask a real estate expert for a true analysis of the home's value.

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