Navigating Zillow
Navigating Zillow
When searching for a home, you may not know where to start looking. Zillow is a great online source for buyers, sellers, and renters. This website allows anyone to create a listing, publish that listing, and search existing listings. There are many filters available so that every search brings up properties that are relevant to a specific location, budget, construction style, square footage, and age. This article will address ease of use for a buyer.
User Friendly
Zillow is very user-friendly. The top heading allows the buyer to select “Buy” so that they see only homes that are listed for sale. The next level of headings will specify the location, size, construction type, price, and more! Additional filters are available to narrow the search to homes that have been listed by licensed agents and homes that have been listed by owners. Once the filter selections are made, the search will quickly display a variety of homes that are within the specified margins. Zillow will automatically offer additional suggestions that may be close to the requirements but just outside of the specified filters.
Inclusive Listings
Unlike many websites, Zillow offers a variety of listings for buyers to peruse. They include typical home listings that are currently listed on the MLS and also include information on homes that have foreclosed and will be auctioned. Home listings are also updated throughout the process and will show “pending” once a contract has been entered and then “sold” once the home is no longer on the market. Most listings include a variety of photos, details about the home and property, an interactive map, a history of tax assessment, and an estimated value of the home (known as a “Zestimate”).
Shortcomings
Like all good tools, there is always a drawback! According to ReMax, Zillow home “Zestimates” are only accurate within 20% of the actual home value and some listings are even more inaccurate. Unfortunately, many sellers and buyers rely on the Zillow estimate to determine the value of a home. This becomes a huge problem when the estimate can be off by tens of thousands of dollars. A 20% estimate error on a $150,000 home is a margin of $30,000. Remax explains that the reasons for these margins of error are because Zillow does not have access to the local MLS listings (so they only receive some of the valuation information) and because the local real estate market plays a huge factor in listing prices.
A Great Resource
Although the Zestimate is not always accurate, the other features available in Zillow allow the user to easily access specific home listings as well as rentals and foreclosures. The system provides a lot of extra information such as neighborhood statistics, school district data, and tax history. The listings are frequently updated as the property status changes. For the average buyer, Zillow is a great resource for current real estate listings, but they should consult a real estate professional who has access to the updated MLS listing before viewing and purchasing a home.