Are Zillow Zestimates Accurate?

OK, let’s face it. Zillow is probably the most popular real estate website there is. People just love looking at the great pictures, they have that down. They also love those Zestimates or home value estimates they provide. But are those Zillow Zestimates Accurate?

They have a disclaimer stating that “Nationally, the Zestimate has a median error rate of 8%, which means half of the Zestimates in an area are closer than the error percentage and half are farther off. For example, in Seattle, Zestimates for half of the homes are within 6.6% of the selling price, and half are off by more than 6.6%.”

Now let’s take a look at a prime example. The CEO of Zillow, Spenser Rascoff has his home on the market for $1,138,900 yet the Zestimate for his home is $1,634,176 that is about a 40% difference. The numbers may be changing a bit. Check it out at http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/3808-E-Madison-St-Seattle-WA-98112/48956614_zpid/

So if the CEO of Zillow who has his home listed with a Real Estate Agent in the NWMLS and can’t get what his Zestimate says his home is worth, just how accurate and trustworthy are these Zestimates for your home?