I don’t hear much about Zillow these days, in my experience the big Z is less often a part of the real estate conversation with buyers and sellers than it was in the past. And it’s not because their most famous feature, the zestimate, is any less accurate than it was – I’d say, if anything, it’s more accurate (though still hit or miss) – I think it’s because the market has changed.
During the real estate bust there was chaos; home values were falling quickly, no one knew where or when prices would reach bottom, while sellers, nonetheless, listed their homes for fairy tale prices, as if they were immune. And along came the zestimate, a handy, easy to use tool that promised to help us make sense of prices - whether or not it actually did was almost beside the point - it was fun to snoop at allegedly changing home values, and pretty soon it became addictive.
But now that the market has stabilized to a more or less normal and reasonably balanced market, with more homes being listed at marketable prices, and selling fairly close to list, in my experience buyers and sellers are turning to and quoting the zestimate much less often, and with less gusto, than in the past.
Whether or not the zestimate is accurate I think its wide use by consumers was valuable in promoting the idea and helping teach consumers to do their own due diligence market research before buying or selling.
That said, let’s see how Zillow did on 12 recent sales in the Catalina Foothills – following is the list price (at time of sale), the sold price and Zillow’s zestimate for 12 homes that were listed from $900,000 & up and sold since November 1st. This is a tough group to value from afar, nothing cookie cutter about them.
7281 E Desert Moon Loop, Tucson, AZ 85750 – List $949,000 / Sold for $885,000 / Zestimate $1,084,974
1631 E Moonridge Road, Tucson, AZ 85718 – List $929,000 / Sold for $900,000 / Zestimate $922,606
2180 E Calle Los Altos, Tucson, AZ 85718 – List $945,000 / Sold $911,000 / Zestimate $962,032 - Zillow does not show the listing nor the recent sale (12/13) of this home.
6470 N Ventana Canyon Drive, Tucson, AZ 85750 – List $925,000 / Sold $925,000 / Zestimate $1,305,793
6140 N Paseo Valdear, Tucson, AZ 85750 – List $1,000,000 / Sold 982,500 / Zestimate $999,647
6600 N Eagle Ridge Drive, Tucson, AZ 85750 – List $949,900 / Sold $1,025,000 / Zestimate $1,382,153
5881 N Esperero Vista Trail, Tucson, AZ 85750 – List $1,099,000 / Sold $1,050,000 / Zestimate $1,081,716
5330 N Via Alcalde, Tucson, AZ 85718 – List $999,000 / Sold $1,075,000 / Zestimate $1,034,314 (sold with an additional 1 acre adjacent lot)
3212 E Blossom Dancer Lane, Tucson, AZ 85718 – List $1,095,000 / Sold $1,095,000 / Zestimate $1,195,238
7578 N Mystic Canyon, Tucson, AZ 85718 – List $1,750,000 / Sold $1,610,000 /
Zestimate $1,294,375
3163 E Via Palomita, Tucson, AZ 85718 – List $1,345,000 / Sold $1,275,000 /
Zestimate $1,392,084
7288 N Cloud Canyon Place, Tucson, AZ 85718 – List $3,900,000 / Sold $3,250,000
Zestimate $2,675,493. And Zillow does not show that it was listed or sold.
Maybe a C+ for Zillow on this group. With all the variables of amenities, finishes, views and locations that come into play with upper-end homes I don’t see how Zillow or anyone could expect an algorithm to pull together accurate valuations.
see TheFoothillsToday.com
to find your very own Catalina Foothills Home
