How to Work Through Zestimates

By Tiana Baur 

Zestimates. Clients love them, yet they are largely the bane of the real estate business as a whole. In theory, they sound amazing, but the problem is that they’re often horrifically inaccurate, leaving homeowners upset and agents anxious. In fact, the median error rate of Zestimates is 5 percent. That may sound menial as a percentage, but when computed with the median home sales prices, it can be tens of thousands of dollars lost to the bottom line, and that’s if you’re lucky. According to the Washington Post, “Zestimates are within 5 percent of the sale price 53.9 percent of the time, within 10 percent 75.6 percent of the time and within 20 percent 89.7 percent of the time, Zillow claims.” So, unless luck is on your side, that 5 percent is likely to grow.

Wouldn’t it be nice to showcase the Zestimate inaccuracy to your clients?

Our CMA presentation tool, Moxi Present, encapsulates the relevant information about a house and enables you, a professional agent, to consult and advise clients with accurate information, and information that can give true context to a Zestimate. It does this by showcasing what the Zestimate was on all selected comparable properties to your current listing versus what they actually sold for. Here is an example of Moxi Present at work. 

You are not an algorithm, don’t get treated like one.

Have you ever been sick or not feeling well and tried to look up what your symptoms mean online? If you have, chances are you panicked when the results came up because it eluded to you probably having a horrible flesh-eating disease (even though you just have a flu that’s going around). My point is, when you’re talking about your health, you go see a doctor, a professional doctor. When you’re trying to sell your home, you might take a peek online beforehand, but in the end, you want and need a professional’s advice.

Remember, Zestimates are a computer algorithm. You, the real estate agent, have access to a wealth of data when using modern tools (like Moxi Present) that go well beyond what some computer algorithm is using. You also have access to things that no algorithm can. Let that sink in for a moment. Zestimates can’t see the details of the home’s interior or know the character and culture of a specific neighborhood. As their agent, you are their trusted advisor, the professional.

Find out more about this industry-leading CMA and presentation tool here and why agent’s that used it in 2016 did 43% more business than those that didn’t.