Zillow faces lawsuit over ‘Zestimate’ tool that calculates a house’s worth
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Re: Zillow faces lawsuit over ‘Zestimate’ tool that calculates a house’s worth
#2The realtors I talk to hate the Zillow estimate as it typically creates an unrealistic expectation for either the seller or buyer depending on if the algorithm over or under estimates.
Apparently it's rarely correct, though I live in a unique area.
Re: Zillow faces lawsuit over ‘Zestimate’ tool that calculates a house’s worth
#3The realtors I talk to hate the Zillow estimate as it typically creates an unrealistic expectation for either the seller or buyer depending on if the algorithm over or under estimates. Apparently it's rarely correct, though I live in a unique area.
If it's not correct, then the sale price will reflect that and Zillow's reputation will take a hit.
Don't understand why the government needs to get involved in what someone says something is worth, it's their opinion and they're entitled to it.
Edit: It would be funny if Zillow also started putting up alerts about problems with government finances which will likely impact future taxes, such as in Illinois.
Re: Zillow faces lawsuit over ‘Zestimate’ tool that calculates a house’s worth
#4Interesting. I wonder what would her argument be if Zillow simply reported the City/County tax assessors estimates which are usually even lower than Zillow's.
Re: Zillow faces lawsuit over ‘Zestimate’ tool that calculates a house’s worth
#5I wonder how many other tech companies fit into this general category of "providing an equivalent to a regulated service without meeting the regulations". You've got the more obvious "sharing economy" type things which are in the news all over the place lately, but I bet there are a bunch of other companies like Zillow that have been flying under the radar for a while.
Re: Zillow faces lawsuit over ‘Zestimate’ tool that calculates a house’s worth
#6It would be great to see how Zillow stacks up to the desktop assessment software used by various mortgage companies and banks.
Re: Zillow faces lawsuit over ‘Zestimate’ tool that calculates a house’s worth
#7The realtors I talk to hate the Zillow estimate as it typically creates an unrealistic expectation for either the seller or buyer depending on if the algorithm over or under estimates. Apparently it's rarely correct, though I live in a unique area.
If it's not correct, then the sale price will reflect that and Zillow's reputation will take a hit. Don't understand why the government needs to get involved in what someone says something is worth, it's their opinion and they're entitled to it. Edit: It would be funny if Zillow also started putting up alerts about problems with government finances which will likely impact future taxes, such as in Illinois.
this is America. they are not entitled to their opinion.
/s
I completely agree. don't like their estimate, don't use it.
Re: Zillow faces lawsuit over ‘Zestimate’ tool that calculates a house’s worth
#8I wonder how many other tech companies fit into this general category of "providing an equivalent to a regulated service without meeting the regulations". You've got the more obvious "sharing economy" type things which are in the news all over the place lately, but I bet there are a bunch of other companies like Zillow that have been flying under the radar for a while.
Since when is providing a housing estimate a regulated activity?
Re: Zillow faces lawsuit over ‘Zestimate’ tool that calculates a house’s worth
#9The realtors I talk to hate the Zillow estimate as it typically creates an unrealistic expectation for either the seller or buyer depending on if the algorithm over or under estimates. Apparently it's rarely correct, though I live in a unique area.
It's somewhere between comical and meaningless in San Francisco. The operation of the algorithm is painfully apparent and AFAI most heavily weights trailing sale price per square foot and sale price over list, as compared to presumed 'comps,' all three of which factors are frankly piss-poor indicators in this market and city.
As a proxy at a glance for such comps it's at least an indicator of when (as is common) list price is far below expected sale price, and an arguably cruel fiction designed to attract interest (in my tier: from the desperate).
(If you don't live in SF, sales at 30-50% (100s of K) over asking are common again, after a brief cool down at the beginning of this year.)
Re: Zillow faces lawsuit over ‘Zestimate’ tool that calculates a house’s worth
#10I wonder how many other tech companies fit into this general category of "providing an equivalent to a regulated service without meeting the regulations". You've got the more obvious "sharing economy" type things which are in the news all over the place lately, but I bet there are a bunch of other companies like Zillow that have been flying under the radar for a while.
If a homeowner or homebuyer is paying someone to assess the value of a property, requiring expertise and training in inspection of a house such as materials, build quality, plumbing and whatnot, I could understand needing government approval.
This is just someone saying what they they think something is worth. Do I need a license before I can say "I think a certain car is only worth $25k instead of $30k"?