Comments on: Zillow cannot adapt http://www.realcentralva.com/2006/12/12/zillow-cannot-adapt/ Tracking Charlottesville's Real Estate Market since 2005 Thu, 18 Mar 2010 20:30:38 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Real Central VA - Tracking the Charlottesville and Central VA real estate market and more » Rolling the dice with Buyers http://www.realcentralva.com/2006/12/12/zillow-cannot-adapt/comment-page-1/#comment-4011 Real Central VA - Tracking the Charlottesville and Central VA real estate market and more » Rolling the dice with Buyers Mon, 12 Mar 2007 17:31:17 +0000 http://www.realcentralva.com/2006/12/12/zillow-cannot-adapt/#comment-4011 [...] This is how I explained it - if you spend six hours with me today, and six hours with another Realtor tomorrow and another several hours with yet another Realtor the next day and then spend Sunday looking at Open Houses - there is no consistency, no coherence to the search process, no relationship formed. What I learned on Thursday will have to be re-learned by the next Realtor and so on … a good agent needs time to adapt; in order to adapt, one must be able to listen. One cannot listen unless given the chance. [...] [...] This is how I explained it – if you spend six hours with me today, and six hours with another Realtor tomorrow and another several hours with yet another Realtor the next day and then spend Sunday looking at Open Houses – there is no consistency, no coherence to the search process, no relationship formed. What I learned on Thursday will have to be re-learned by the next Realtor and so on … a good agent needs time to adapt; in order to adapt, one must be able to listen. One cannot listen unless given the chance. [...]

]]> By: Sadie’s Take on Delaware Ohio » Blog Archive » Another Monday, Another Carnival http://www.realcentralva.com/2006/12/12/zillow-cannot-adapt/comment-page-1/#comment-1609 Sadie’s Take on Delaware Ohio » Blog Archive » Another Monday, Another Carnival Tue, 19 Dec 2006 03:42:53 +0000 http://www.realcentralva.com/2006/12/12/zillow-cannot-adapt/#comment-1609 [...] Jim Duncan presents Zillow cannot adapt posted at Real Central VA. [...] [...] Jim Duncan presents Zillow cannot adapt posted at Real Central VA. [...]

]]> By: MortgagesUndressed » Blog Archive » We Are Honored To Be Selected For This Weeks Carnival http://www.realcentralva.com/2006/12/12/zillow-cannot-adapt/comment-page-1/#comment-1608 MortgagesUndressed » Blog Archive » We Are Honored To Be Selected For This Weeks Carnival Tue, 19 Dec 2006 00:50:15 +0000 http://www.realcentralva.com/2006/12/12/zillow-cannot-adapt/#comment-1608 [...] Jim Duncan presents Zillow cannot adapt posted at Real Central VA. [...] [...] Jim Duncan presents Zillow cannot adapt posted at Real Central VA. [...]

]]> By: RealEstateUndressed » Blog Archive » Selected for The Carnival http://www.realcentralva.com/2006/12/12/zillow-cannot-adapt/comment-page-1/#comment-1607 RealEstateUndressed » Blog Archive » Selected for The Carnival Tue, 19 Dec 2006 00:47:24 +0000 http://www.realcentralva.com/2006/12/12/zillow-cannot-adapt/#comment-1607 [...] Jim Duncan presents Zillow cannot adapt posted at Real Central VA. [...] [...] Jim Duncan presents Zillow cannot adapt posted at Real Central VA. [...]

]]> By: Jim Duncan http://www.realcentralva.com/2006/12/12/zillow-cannot-adapt/comment-page-1/#comment-1537 Jim Duncan Wed, 13 Dec 2006 03:57:42 +0000 http://www.realcentralva.com/2006/12/12/zillow-cannot-adapt/#comment-1537 Frank, thanks for posting that link. I fully expect that Zillow will become more and more accurate as they evolve, but they will never become as accurate as a professional's analysis. Nor will they replace what a ready, willing and able buyer is willing to pay. Real estate valuations can be a mostly objective process, but how does one value a mountain view? Or a mountain view that one can see only when standing on one's tip toes looking out a corer of an upstairs window? Frank, thanks for posting that link.

I fully expect that Zillow will become more and more accurate as they evolve, but they will never become as accurate as a professional’s analysis. Nor will they replace what a ready, willing and able buyer is willing to pay.

Real estate valuations can be a mostly objective process, but how does one value a mountain view? Or a mountain view that one can see only when standing on one’s tip toes looking out a corer of an upstairs window?

]]> By: Jim Duncan http://www.realcentralva.com/2006/12/12/zillow-cannot-adapt/comment-page-1/#comment-1536 Jim Duncan Wed, 13 Dec 2006 03:50:11 +0000 http://www.realcentralva.com/2006/12/12/zillow-cannot-adapt/#comment-1536 David - Thanks for stopping by - you are mighty active in the real estate blogosphere. Thanks to the folks at Zillow for the t-shirt, too! <blockquote> it doesn’t replace the need for a buyer’s agent.</blockquote> Do you think that Zillow could theoretically replace listing agents? That counties use a metric to evaluate quality of construction is fascinating and truthfully, I had never paid much attention to that value within Albemarle County's tax pages (it appears to be a scale of A-F, with variables - C--, B++, etc.) It doesn't seem to be consistent in our region at all. More power to you if you can accurately integrate this metric into your algorithm. Personally, I think Zillow could be a great tool, not just for the general values that may be possible, but the aggregation of content as well. The <a href="http://www.zillow.com/wiki/RealEstateWiki.htm" rel="nofollow">wiki</a> seems promising. David -

Thanks for stopping by – you are mighty active in the real estate blogosphere. Thanks to the folks at Zillow for the t-shirt, too!

it doesn’t replace the need for a buyer’s agent.

Do you think that Zillow could theoretically replace listing agents?

That counties use a metric to evaluate quality of construction is fascinating and truthfully, I had never paid much attention to that value within Albemarle County’s tax pages (it appears to be a scale of A-F, with variables – C–, B++, etc.) It doesn’t seem to be consistent in our region at all. More power to you if you can accurately integrate this metric into your algorithm.

Personally, I think Zillow could be a great tool, not just for the general values that may be possible, but the aggregation of content as well. The wiki seems promising.

]]> By: Frank http://www.realcentralva.com/2006/12/12/zillow-cannot-adapt/comment-page-1/#comment-1526 Frank Wed, 13 Dec 2006 00:02:21 +0000 http://www.realcentralva.com/2006/12/12/zillow-cannot-adapt/#comment-1526 The Seattle Times just published a very negative review of Zillow's accuracy. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/realestate/2003468373_zillow10.html The Seattle Times just published a very negative review of Zillow’s accuracy.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/realestate/2003468373_zillow10.html

]]> By: David G from Zillow.com http://www.realcentralva.com/2006/12/12/zillow-cannot-adapt/comment-page-1/#comment-1523 David G from Zillow.com Tue, 12 Dec 2006 20:08:59 +0000 http://www.realcentralva.com/2006/12/12/zillow-cannot-adapt/#comment-1523 Hi Jim, it's David from Zillow. We're thrilled to be an accessory. Zillow has no plan to replace Realtors -- a Zestimate is not a replacement for a CMA and finding for sale homes posted on Zillow is similar to reading your local paper's classified ads; it doesn't replace the need for a buyer's agent. Interestingly, construction quality is captured by your county appraiser and is part of the tax assessor's public records. So, we do factor construction quality into Zestimates. It can be difficult to interpret the county's value for construction quality. It's usually a number -- some county's use a 3-point scale while most seem to use 10. It is useful when comparing homes within a neighborhood but it's not very useful to an owner to know that their home is a "6". So, we took this info off the home detail pages on Zillow but it is still used in calculating the Zestimate. Thanks for writing. Hi Jim, it’s David from Zillow.

We’re thrilled to be an accessory. Zillow has no plan to replace Realtors — a Zestimate is not a replacement for a CMA and finding for sale homes posted on Zillow is similar to reading your local paper’s classified ads; it doesn’t replace the need for a buyer’s agent.

Interestingly, construction quality is captured by your county appraiser and is part of the tax assessor’s public records. So, we do factor construction quality into Zestimates.

It can be difficult to interpret the county’s value for construction quality. It’s usually a number — some county’s use a 3-point scale while most seem to use 10. It is useful when comparing homes within a neighborhood but it’s not very useful to an owner to know that their home is a “6″. So, we took this info off the home detail pages on Zillow but it is still used in calculating the Zestimate.

Thanks for writing.

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