Just when folks were about ready to wade into the computer generated home value water Zillow has tried to purify with its owner-generated corrections, Zindex Housing Trend Reports, mainstream media hypnosis and Gibbonesque PR, Realtor.com jumps in and pees in it.
The most visited real estate website on the planet, Realtor.com, has recently added Home Valuation Estimates. Since alpha Realtor relies on public data (the swill Zillow still drinks), it should be as unreliable as beta Z. Folks will see that real soon. (And they will be pissed)
Realtor.com explains its Estimate:
Interestingly, Realtor.com does seem to appreciate the impact of Unzillowables* on home value:
There are many additional factors that determine a property’s actual market value, including its condition, house style, layout, special features, quality of workmanship, and so on. For this reason, an Estimate should not be viewed as an appraisal, but rather as an approximate basis for making comparisons, and as a starting point for further inquiry. A REALTOR® who specializes in the given area will be able to provide a more accurate valuation based upon current market trends, as well as specific property and neighborhood characteristics. (emphasis added)
[*Note to Mr. Srleffler. Examples of Unzillowables include:
- house condition
- house style
- layout and room flow
- quality of workmanship
- specific property characteristics]
The question is: Will Realtor’s new adventure help or hurt Zillow? Realtor.com certainly provides a stronger competitor. My take: It will be a pissing contest consumers should not take seriously.
h/t: 4realz
Technorati Tags: zillow, realtor, avm, home valuation, unzillowable
Nicely said, as usual. My favorite part however is the “Gibbonesque PR” line.
Realtor.com needs to understand that first, they need to focus on the simple things - like providing the best search tool for Realtors and consumers - then they can start spinning wheels on things like AVMs. Why is the KISS principle so seemingly complex?
So so so true. Search should be the heart and soul of this business. Even basic search sucks because Realtor, like most RE sites, pushes “fuzzy” search. For example, I searched realtor.com for property in Riverside, CA with an “ocean view” (use advanced search).
Realtor gave me a mind numbing 3,553 properties.
http://tinyurl.com/5zd637
The only problem is there is no “ocean view” from Riverside,CA unless you have a Hubbel and live on a big hill– it’s 50 miles from the ocean.
http://tinyurl.com/585qqe
So, yeah, it makes perfect sense to do computer home val. Oh, brother.
The positive side of this is real estate professionals are needed even more now.
(In case he’s looking in (hi David), Gibbonesque is meant as a compliment)
Ummm - Didn’t last weeks DOJ/NAR settlement announce that there are to be no more 3rd party auto-gen home valuation widgets to appear side by side of Realtor listings??? And now the king has rolled out its own version?
Good point, Mr. Longo. But it only applies if seller’s opt out:
“(ii) displays an automated estimate of the market value of the listing (or hyperlink to such estimate) in immediate conjunction with the listing.
The VOW shall disable or discontinue either or both of those features as to the seller’s listing at the request of the seller.”
http://tinyurl.com/3v6p3x
Joe,
Spencer from Zillow here.
Since you are relentless in your criticism of Zillow and Zestimates, I expected to see nothing less when you finally picked up on Realtor.com’s automated valuations (which have been out for weeks).
Much to my surprise though, you seem to have given Realtor.com a free pass. The mere fact that Realtor.com has a disclaimer about “Unzillowables” — which is similar to the many Zillow disclaimers which DavidG has shown you countless times — should not let them off the hook from your criticisms.
Where’s the justice?
Spencer,
Thanks for stopping by and I welcome a dialog with you. Is Mr. G off today?
Point of clarity:
I am relentless in my advocation of a homeowner’s right to exclusively control the display and marketing of their home (no 3rd party interlopers, no Q&A) and the right to the removal of misleading and inaccurate information concerning their homes (zestimates, inaccurate data from public sources)—ALL without having to “claim” their home. I support an opt-out of the zestimate, at least when a home is listed for sale.
1. Do you recognize any of these homeowner rights? or the opt-out?
The day is coming when homeowners will be the ones to decide how their asset is parlayed for pay– not buyers, not advertisers looking to mooch some ad space from a home, not Zillow.com
2. Would you, if you could, honor a seller request not to have an AVM beside their listing? not to have comments on their listings?
I beg to differ—I did not give Realtor a free pass– I called it a pissing contest consumers should avoid— I did not say their piss was better than yours, I mean, Zillow’s. In fact, I said, and I quote myself:
“Since alpha Realtor relies on public data (the swill Zillow still drinks), it should be as unreliable as beta Z. Folks will see that real soon. (And they will be pissed).” Pissed, as in pissed at Realtor. I am sorry if this was not made clear.
If you read my comment after Jim Duncan’s, you’ll also see I pointed out the major flaw with Realtor.com– piss poor search
Re: unzillowables
To the best of my recollection, David G has always maintained that unzillowables ARE factored into the zestimates.
3. Well, are they or aren’t they?
Bottom line:
Zillow does not give homeowners choice–
1. no opt out
2. let 3rd parties say a home is for sale w/o consent
3. Q&A without consent
4. no removal of misleading or inaccurate info
Where’s the justice there?
I repeat– I am not anti-Zillow, I am pro-homeowner.
Question 4, if I might:
Given the recent NAR DOJ settlement, sellers can opt out of AVM and comments by notifying their agent, who will notify the MLS. I assume Realtor.com will honor such a request– what would be your answer if asked by Mr. Barton “should Zillow”? (and yes, I know Z is exempt from the settlement)
http://tinyurl.com/3v6p3x
Joe -
The data used to calculate a Zestimate value is the data you see on the website; no more, no less. You probably misunderstood me when I explained that any attributes can be considered by an estimate when the value of those attributes is implied in recently sold data.
If you still don’t get it, give me a call.
“The data used to calculate a Zestimate value is the data you see on the website; no more, no less.”
I do not see home condition, room flow, landscaping, privacy, traffic noise, quality of workmanship or rotten neighbors— so I guess unzillowables are not factored in. I get it.
When a Zestimate is of lower value than one of my list prices, I post a question and then explain why the the Zestimate is lower than my asking price. In ERAHouston, the most common reason is the pool or a big rehab job. I welcome these discussions with the Zillow searchers in my Zestifarm. I allows me to demonstrate some modicum of competence in a WWDGD (What would David Gibbons do?) or, Gibbonsesque manner.
By the way, did you know that ERAHouston is the best place in the USA to live and work?
http://agent21.featuredblog.com/?p=23
Yes, I know Houston is a great place to live because I lived there from 1978-1981.
That was a Gibbonesque reply.
The only thing I want to know is: Where the hell is that fountain?
Katy
The fountain is in Prague, Czech Republic.
http://tinyurl.com/682bqv
Why R.com would attempt to give home valuations is beyond me. It can’t be done on the fly as there are way to many factors that play into a homes value that public data doesn’t include. Hope that R.com doesn’t put to much into this worthless tool and spends more time improving their search functions.
Hooray Ken Smith.
I wish Realtor.com would just work on searches rather than trying t break out into all these other fields. They have a long way to go just improving with the searching.
I agree Rick. In fact, all websites need to work on search.