Have you heard it lately? Everyone’s talking about it...it's zillow.com. It's a website where the user punches in an address (almost any address across the country) and the site replies back instantly with a ballpark figure on the value of the home (it’s called a “zestimate”)

That's the great news – it’s delivers a ballpark figure estimate based on public record data that it pulls up.  We were at a meeting lately and we had a chance to talk directly with zillow founder and President Lloyd Frink and he explained, “half the time our estimate is within 7% of the real value. The other half the time, we're off by more than 7%. But it’s really only designed to be a starting point, not a final value. It's an estimate.”

In fact, the “guess-timate” is based on public tax records and other data that is sometimes reliable, sometimes not. The estimate is really only as reliable as the data (which is not designed to be updated regularly).

But here’s where the controversy starts. A person looks up a zestimate on zillow.com ….and then uses that figure for the wrong purpose. They use it to insist that “the appraiser who just came to my house is wrong” or “the asking price for that home is wrong, zillow told me so.” It’s kinda like if you’re feeling something kind of funky with your health. You go to webmd.com and look up a few things. Maybe you’ve cancer, maybe you’ve just got similar symptoms, but the bottom line is that you have enough information that you should now go consult with an expert to get “the final answer.”

So...zillow.com – it’s a great concept! Obviously, the consumers are craving this information as zillow is getting something like 3+million visitors per month.

But....be careful. If you want to really know the true value of a home, then remember that you’re going to want to speak with someone who can drill down with accurate information.

Oh, and by the way...insert plug here...Teresa is available to help you with this and it can be via email. Just let her know if you'd like to know the value of a home and she'lll help you with no pressure or obligation. It’s TeresaMihelic@RealtyExecutives.com