Zillow recently announced it’s partnership with several newspaper publishers. Advertisers of homes for sale will now have the option to include their listing on Zillow.com. Read the article here: http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/11132007_Zillow_Newspaper.asp .

I have a love/hate relationship with Zillow. I love it for the free additional exposure for my listings, I hate it when I get that random call or email from an enthusiastic buyer who challenges my pricing…based on what Zillow says the home should be worth.

The thing to keep in mind about Zillow is that it has a history of being grossly inaccurate in the home details and very erratic in it’s pricing. I sold a home earlier this year (March) before it even hit the MLS, to a cash buyer. At the time of the sale, my price was a whopping $60,000 higher than Zillow’s. Zillow’s Zestimate has just caught up, eight months later, to my price. And it’s not just this listing, I can tell similar stories with most of my listings. Strangely, Zillow will allow you to correct inaccuracies and provide your own Zestimate, but they fail to absorb this information to make their data more accurate.

One very nice benefit of this new partnership, though, is that it will help bridge the wide gap in perception between sellers and buyers. Sellers still expect print media to sell their home. After all, who doesn’t like seeing their home in the newspaper or glossy magazines or on a fancy postcard? But statistically, according to NAR, over 80% of buyers find their home online, many before they’ve even engaged a buyer’s agent.

So my advice is as follows:

Sellers: Ask your listing agent to provide a list of online marketing resources they are familiar with. Check your home on Zillow, and ask your agent to create their own Zestimate and to correct any errors in the home information. If your agent isn’t tech savvy, this is something you can do yourself. Do not be overly concerned about difference in price, just be sure your agent is prepared for the debate.

Buyers: Take Zillow with a grain of salt. It’s a handy tool if you are looking for general information. Say, if you are moving from Portland, Or., to Portland, Me., and want a general idea of what to expect to pay for a home. There are more accurate sites out there. Ask your buyer’s agent for the local MLS’s public site, like http://www.rmls.com/ here in Portland.

Agents: Open a free account at Zillow, and make friends with it. They are here to stay, love’em or hate’em.

Opinions expressed in this article are the opinions of author, and not to necessarily the opinions of Meadows Group Inc.
All rights reserved on all original content, non-original content is given credit | Michelle Berry | 2009