Fortes Seller’s Minute: The Zestimate Trap

Words I Like: Data is helpful. Strategy is profitable.

Fortes Seller’s Minute: The Zestimate Trap

If you’re selling, you’ve probably said: “Zillow says my home is worth (insert inflated amount here) so that’s the price, right?” Most homeowners don’t realize that when Zillow says the “Zestimate” it’s a computer-generated estimate, not an in-person appraisal.

Zestimates ignore market cycles, current supply, pending velocity, absorption rate, and Days on Market (DOM) shifts.

Here’s what I tell sellers about that number. Note it, but don’t marry it. Unless Zillow came to your house personally to inspect it, then don’t set it in stone.

Here's the checklist I send to sellers:

• Walk through your home through the eyes of a buyer. This is hard for most homeowners.

• Make an inventory of all the repairs you made around your home. This helps with comping your home to the market.

• Make note of everything you know needs to be fixed or improved. I'm not saying to fix it unless that is something you are planning to do already.

  • If you don’t do any of these, it's always a good idea to know about it and be transparent than to allow this to get discovered at inspection. You maintain all the leverage.

• Compare what the different sites say about the value of your home and not just Zillow. Look at similar homes on the market and try to consider if we are still in a sellers market, neutral market, or have we shifted to a buyers market. This changes all the time.

  • I’m never going to discourage a homeowner from doing there homework on the value of their home.

• Set your own price range based off your research.

• Consider buyer psychology. When your researching, search for your home how a buyer would.

• Invite a few different realtors over and have them comp your home.

  • Every agent will have a different value but the range should be similar. Ask them their system on how they comp homes.

  • For instance, I have a background in IT so I designed a tool that comps homes accurately and takes into account of all the improvements and amenities that ensures owners net more when they sell based off buyer activity. It’s undefeated.

Quick math (example): Zillow reports off-market median error around 7%. On a $700,000 home, that’s about $49,000.

Home-Selling Tip: Don’t let a website pick your number. Let your strategy pick it. As promised, value in under a minute-ish.

I operate on a controlled capacity model and I limit active listings to six to eight at a time so each seller receives full strategic attention.

We typically meet with ten to fifteen homeowners per month and onboard two to four as others go under contract. I don’t aim to be the busiest agent. I aim to be the most precise.

Reply “ZESTIMATE” with your goal (speed, price, or terms), and I’ll reply with the leverage plan I’d run first.

PS - If you find value in this and you feel compelled, please share this newsletter if you know of anyone thinking of selling that this could help.