Should I Use a Zestimate® to Determine My Home’s Value?

Should I Use a Zestimate® to Determine My Home’s Value?

Many buyers and sellers use Zillow’s “Zestimate® ” tool, but is this the best method to determine your home’s value? Find our more on Zestimate House ValueIt is estimated that nearly 90% of consumer’s use online tools to shop for and determine home values.  Tools such as the Zillow Zestimate® provide estimates on home value, but how accurate are they? The professionals at The Donnelly Group provide you important information to consider.

Competitive Market Analysis (CMA)

An experienced Seller’s agent is, by far, the best route to obtaining an accurate assessment of your home’s value and determining the best list price for selling your home.   Your agent should be able to provide a CMA which takes into account economic conditions, recent comparable home sales in the area, your home’s most sellable features, and your agents’ unique knowledge of the local market.

Don’t forget to check out our latest guide: 10 Ways To Sell Your Home Quickly

Behind the Zestimate®

According to Zillow.com, “The Zestimate® home valuation is Zillow’s estimated market value, computed using a proprietary formula. It is not an appraisal. It is a starting point in determining a home’s value…Zillow uses an algorithm to calculate a housing estimate using current market information and home specifications. However, no matter how sophisticated an algorithm might be, there is no way for it to accurately gauge the value of new home renovations, staging efforts, and other intangible factors.”

This is where a Seller’s agent can be invaluable and can never be replaced by an algorithm.  In addition, “the Zestimate®  is calculated from public and user-submitted data.”  What this means is that homeowners can edit their home facts.  The Donnelly Group believes that an unbiased party, such as a real estate agent or appraiser, is the only party that should influence and edit home values, not the homeowner.

In addition, it’s important to note that “the Zestimate® has a median error rate of 7.9%.”  This means that a homeowner using a Zestimate® to determine their listing price may list their home at $400,000 when the actual value may be $30,000 (or 7.9%) less or more.  This could be the difference between a house that sits and one that sells.

Can a Buyer’s Zestimate®  of My Home Work Against Me?

Today’s tech-savvy buyers will likely have researched your home extensively before making an offer – including gathering information from Zillow. Buyers might feel empowered by this “data” and argue your price down according to your Zestimate®. This is where having a Realtor is a tremendous help for both you and the buyer.  Real estate agents know that in an actual real estate transaction, the appraisal is the only credible source to establish the value and loan amount in a real estate transaction.  Most experienced agents understand that a Zestimate® is not a viable negotiation tool and they should be able to educate the Buyer as well.

Contact the experts at The Donnelly Group and put their knowledge and experience to work for you.  They are devoted to being your guide, your expert, your resource, your advocate.

Don’t forget to check out our latest guide: 10 Ways To Sell Your Home Quickly

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  • From our first meeting with our agent Diane, we were impressed with her knowledge of the market, her creative marketing strategy, her spirit and enthusiasm. Although it took a while to sell our home, Diane and her Licensed Closing Manager Christine continued to support us, kept us informed of marketing changes, and saw us through some difficult negotiations to a successful sale. The Donnelly Group is the best!

    Calvin & Peggy H.

  • Diane helped us sell our home which was a quick and fairly painless process. Christine was our main contact on the selling side and she was absolutely fabulous. The responses were fast and she was knowledgeable. The team made a stressful situation as easy as possible.

    Andrea helped us find our dream home which we absolutely love. I would absolutely recommend the Donnelly Group for buying and selling your homes. They know what they’re doing. They’re not part-timers doing real estate on the side so they will give you their full attention.

    Katie & Justin W.

  • Loved working with Andrea from Donnelly Group! She was always pleasant, working with a smile, taking us everywhere we asked her to, and was excellent at knowing market value and the appropriate price to bid on for properties in AA County!

    Ray & Jeanne R.

  • Diane told me the range I would sell my house and we hit the target she said. Very professional, always responding to my questions with good answers. I have and would highly recommend anyone to use them, they are very professional and will help you with your property. Christine was also very helpful at all steps of the process.

    Chris & Danielle F.

  • The Donnelly Group is amazing! We worked with Andrea and she was incredible! She is super organized, very patient, a pleasure to be around, and asks the right questions. If you’re looking to purchase a home in the Maryland capital region, Anne Arundel Co, PG County, etc, the Donnelly Group is who you want! Andrea talked us through the entire process, gave great advice, negotiated as if it were her own money, and kept us informed throughout the whole process. She was very familiar with the VA loan process and as veterans and first time home buyers, we couldn’t have asked for more! She and the Donnelly Group come highly recommended by us and if we have to resale, we know who we’re going with!

    Jeanette R. & Laken S.

  • Diane has been with us since 2007 when we purchased our first home and unfortunately sold the same home in 2012. She is a true professional that is passionate about her job and her team. To this day we still keep in touch and she is always open to giving us advice to make sure we are taken care of when we move around every few years. Diane is the type of realtor to take home to Mom and Dad and go to war with. Diane you have been such a great help to my family over the years. We are blessed to have a realtor like you in our life. I definitely recommend you to anyone looking for a great trustworthy realtor. Thanks Diane!

    Aaron M.

  • Diane Donnelly and her team helped me with selling my mom’s home after she passed away. Diane worked through the whole process in a professional manner and offered expert advice on pricing, the contract, and final details. All of this while I was a bit emotional. I appreciated all of this and would recommend Donnelly Group to anyone looking to sell or buy a home.

    Sherri K.

  • Diane Donnelly of the Donnelly Group was a phenomenal real estate agent who went above and beyond the call of duty to help us sell our Severn home. As we reside out of state, this could have been difficult, but the Donnelly Group is exceptionally well organized and their use of Docusign made taking care of all necessary paperwork while out of state a piece of cake! Diane has a “Rolodex” chock full of handy, reliable, reasonably-priced, honest service folks, several who we engaged to help us get the home ready for the market. She did most of the “leg-work” to coordinate to help us get our home market-ready. The Donnelly Group stayed on top of comparable properties in the area and provided frequent status updates. And speaking of beyond the call of duty, when our lawn service did not show up to mow the lawn as scheduled, Diane dropped by the property, borrowed a lawn mower from our friendly next door neighbors, and mowed the lawn herself right before a scheduled showing! Our home was empty while on the market; Diane made sure that someone came by from time to time to ensure our home was secure (doors/windows locked up at showings). Diane was very responsive to any questions and her assistant, Christine Jones, was also a pleasure to work with. Diane is honest, reliable, caring, and was by far, the best real estate agent I have ever had.

    Chuck & Lori Z.

  • Buying a home can be extremely stressful. I was lucky enough to have Andrea Loretangeli as my Realtor. She helped me figure out what I needed versus what I wanted in a home. I was taught patience and perseverance. There were a couple of homes that we ran from and others that I just had to have. After months of searching, looking for that perfect home, she hit the nail on the head. There were seven properties that I wanted to see that day and she told me that the first house was the one I was going to buy. She was so right. Thank you Donnelly Group for helping me move into the next chapter of my life. You ROCK!!!

    Katie S.

  • Andrea and her group were fantastic! They made the process easy and enjoyable. They were knowledgeable about the local areas and the schools, which was important to us as were new to the area. Would highly recommend them!!

    We have used Andrea and her group for a second time. This time was a repeat of our first experience. Everything about the process was explained and trouble-free. They are professional, knowledgeable and responsive. I would absolutely recommend them to anyone looking to buy/sell a home.

    Teresa & Jim S.

  • OUTSTANDING! I had an excellent experience selling my home and purchasing a new one with The Donnelly Group. Their expertise in real estate and knowledge of the area was essential in make the home buying process smooth and stress free. They were committed from start to finish to delivered on my needs as a client and I am greatly satisfied with their service and would highly recommend them to anyone buying or selling a home!!!!

    David M.

  • Diane really has the magic touch! She sold our home in 16 days when we were panic stricken to get the deal through. She calmed us down and made us feel that everything was going to be okay. Hire them, you won’t regret it!

    Ray & Isabel J.

  • My experience with the Donnelly Group was professional and seamless. They are very organized and proactive. I never had to ask “what’s next”. My home was sold in 60 days and my new home was located within 30 days.

    Tamika S.

  • Andrea Loretangeli is a five-star realtor. We used Andrea to purchase our brand new construction home (NVHomes). Having worked for a national builder in the past, Andrea knew every detail regarding the purchase of new construction (making the entire process more enjoyable). Prior to purchasing a new home, we spent many hours with Andrea looking at existing properties. She was always willing to work with our schedule, and she was extremely prompt in getting back to us. Andrea was able to answer all of our many questions pertaining to the home buying process. My husband and I enjoyed working with Andrea so much in the past, we recently commissioned her again! Not only do we consider Andrea to be a true real estate professional, but we also now consider her to be a friend.

    Jeanette P.

  • Andrea helped us to view and compare homes. She was very knowledgeable and gave us good advice on what to focus on and consider when buying a home. She is friendly and responsive. She was very patient as we asked many detailed questions! She helped us in deciding whether a resale or new construction was right for us. We are so happy with the home we bought and its location. Thank you Andrea!!

    Jen C.

  • “The service from The Donnelly Group was outstanding! Andrea was always early to appointments and was always available to answer questions or deal with any issues that came up”.

    Justin W.

  • “I have had the pleasure of working with Diane Donnelly for 10 years now. I have had Diane handle homes to sell for over 20+ of my buyers in a very challenging market with 100% success ratio. All of my customers were able to sell their homes and move into their new home. Diane is a super problem solver, creative marketer, and tenacious negotiator. Having been a Realtor, title officer, and new homes sales person, I am very particular as to referring someone to my customers because I want someone who gives the level of expertise and performance results that I would give. I recommend Dianne Donnelly wholeheartedly without reservation.

    I consider Diane Donnelly in the top 1% of real estate professionals with whom I have been associated in a 30 year career”.

    Amy C.

  • “The Donnelly Group was great to work with. They were responsive to my needs, offered ideas on what to do to get the house prepared for putting on the market and they were aggressive with their marketing strategies. I am going to use them again to sell my other house also”.

    Anthony C.

  • “Diane Donnelly was always available for all of our questions. She was extraordinary throughout this process. Her attitude and personality is the best I’ve ever worked with. I will never forget how much she has done for us”.

    Patricia & Garrett B.

  • “Great service! Diane’s and her staff were a great help! After the sale of my house, the appraisal came in low. Through Diane’s experience and problem solving, she remedied the situation quickly and we went to closing.”

    Ann B.

The data relating to real estate for sale on this web site comes from MRIS. Listing information comes from various brokers who participate in the MRIS IDX. Properties listed with brokerage firms other than The Donnelly Group of Keller Williams Integrity are marked with the MRIS Logo and detailed information about them includes the name of the listing brokers. The properties displayed may not be all the properties available. All information provided is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed and should be independently verified.