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How accurate is Zillow? (silly question)

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newlywedT
LIF Adolescent

Member since 9/11

792 total posts

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How accurate is Zillow? (silly question)

House Hunting again, but in a new area. (dont know much about the area)

Last week looked at a house:
Both the asking and the "Zestimate" were over a million.

This week looking at a different house and both the asking and "Zestimate" are around 850k

But both houses are only about 3 blocks apart, divided by a big street (for example Northern Blvd) but its a big difference in price. Could it be that one of the houses is "on the wrong" side of the tracks?

Can we use the "Zestimate" to gauge how good the neighborhood is?

For example, I heard south Garden City isn't as good as North because south is closer to Hempstead which is not as good of an area. So I assume the "Zestimate" for south will be lower than north, even for a similar house.

Thank you.

Message edited 3/2/2022 8:03:20 PM.

Posted 3/2/22 8:02 PM
 
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hmm
Sweet

Member since 1/14

7983 total posts

Name:

How accurate is Zillow? (silly question)

Not sure, I'm looking for a house, I think it's all BS to some degree. Part of Hempstead are beautiful

Posted 3/3/22 10:50 AM
 

lululu
LIF Adult

Member since 7/05

9508 total posts

Name:

Re: How accurate is Zillow? (silly question)

I would go look at the houses and see what the differences are. It's hard to tell online. If you are talking about an area like great neck, I would say people want to be north of northern because you can walk into town without having to cross Northern. Small factors like that can make a big difference. Also, check the school district zoning.

Posted 3/3/22 10:55 AM
 

Jacquelina
LIF Adolescent

Member since 10/11

767 total posts

Name:
Jacqueline

Re: How accurate is Zillow? (silly question)

Posted by newlywedT

House Hunting again, but in a new area. (dont know much about the area)

Last week looked at a house:
Both the asking and the "Zestimate" were over a million.

This week looking at a different house and both the asking and "Zestimate" are around 850k

But both houses are only about 3 blocks apart, divided by a big street (for example Northern Blvd) but its a big difference in price. Could it be that one of the houses is "on the wrong" side of the tracks?

Can we use the "Zestimate" to gauge how good the neighborhood is?

For example, I heard south Garden City isn't as good as North because south is closer to Hempstead which is not as good of an area. So I assume the "Zestimate" for south will be lower than north, even for a similar house.

Thank you.



I live in Suffollk so I am not as familiar with Nassau towns, but I think its pretty well known that Garden City is a very affluent area, where as Hempstead is not. So yes, I would realistically think the closer you are to North garden City would dictate a higher price. I would check the school zoning as well. Garden City Schools will drive the price up if you compared to a home zoned for Hempstead schools.

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Posted 3/3/22 1:15 PM
 

pugmama
April already?

Member since 3/06

5297 total posts

Name:
Erica

How accurate is Zillow? (silly question)

I think that sounds pretty accurate, I live in Westbury (Salisbury to be exact) and Old Country Rd seems to be the divider between two very different areas in price, and school district

Posted 3/3/22 1:21 PM
 

Sash
Peace

Member since 6/08

10312 total posts

Name:
fka LIW Smara

Re: How accurate is Zillow? (silly question)

Wrong side of the tracks, diversity in schools. house isn't updated, one has an extra bathroom and bedroom, back yard size, one seller and his agent are delusional on pricing.

There is a multitude of reasons for this. Welcome to house hunting and good luck!

Posted 3/3/22 1:21 PM
 

angelicd77
LIF Adolescent

Member since 12/13

794 total posts

Name:
Kim

How accurate is Zillow? (silly question)

Definitely dont rely on the "Zestimate". Thats a formula they use that is blanket across the country. For example, the Zestimate for my house is around $360k but its acutally worth closer to $425-435.

Posted 3/3/22 1:26 PM
 

Pomegranate5
LIF Adult

Member since 2/11

4798 total posts

Name:
Pomegranate5

Re: How accurate is Zillow? (silly question)

There could be a hundred reasons why the values are different. Square footage, lot size, # of bedrooms and bathrooms, basements and on and on. And yes of course being separated by a major roadway could have an impact.

With that said, you cannot rely on the Zillow estimate. They are usually not accurate.

Posted 3/3/22 1:36 PM
 

MrsWoods
LIF Adult

Member since 4/12

1461 total posts

Name:

How accurate is Zillow? (silly question)

Its pretty accurate. It all depends on schools, house size, and neighborhood.

As far as Garden city goes I know a bit about it if thats where you are looking because my husband lived in GC south when i met him, Garden City is separated into sections.

Garden city park is more towards New Hyde Park (normal sized houses but good schools), Garden City Proper (large mansions, very good schools), East Garden City closer to Roosevelt field area (mix of size houses, schools are still good), Garden city South is more towards West Hempsptead/Franklin square (normal sized house but schools are ok).

Posted 3/3/22 1:37 PM
 

hmm
Sweet

Member since 1/14

7983 total posts

Name:

Re: How accurate is Zillow? (silly question)

Posted by pugmama

I think that sounds pretty accurate, I live in Westbury (Salisbury to be exact) and Old Country Rd seems to be the divider between two very different areas in price, and school district



Hi Neighbor! we're not far from each other lol

Posted 3/3/22 1:55 PM
 

GoldenRod
10 years on LIF!

Member since 11/06

26792 total posts

Name:
Shawn

Re: How accurate is Zillow? (silly question)

I think a big factor in their accuracy is how recently the house was last sold. That's public information, so if it was sold recently, they have a very accurate snapshot of what the house is worth. From there, they have formulas to figure out what it's worth after X years.
My house hasn't been sold in over 25 years, and I did a lot of modifications to it, so I doubt it's very accurate for my house.

Posted 3/3/22 2:22 PM
 

oldtimerocknroll
LIF Adult

Member since 11/14

1656 total posts

Name:

Re: How accurate is Zillow? (silly question)

I'm honestly not really sure about the answer to your question regarding Zillow.

However, as far as Garden City goes, Garden City South and southern Garden City aren't necessarily the same. All of Garden City South is in the southern part of Garden City, but there are southern parts of Garden City that are not Garden City South.

Garden City South is its own neighborhood (and I would say a lovely neighborhood at that!) and it's toward the western part of Garden City. I believe most of Garden City South attends Franklin Square schools, which I think is a great district--more diverse than some other districts, strong academics, etc. Some of Garden City South may attend West Hempstead schools, but I'm unsure about that. I don't know much about West Hempstead schools to comment.

Southern parts of Garden City, of course, run the entire length of Garden City. On the more eastern side, Garden City borders Hempstead on the south.

Message edited 3/3/2022 2:33:59 PM.

Posted 3/3/22 2:33 PM
 

windyweather21
LIF Adult

Member since 3/21

6938 total posts

Name:

Re: How accurate is Zillow? (silly question)

Posted by GoldenRod

I think a big factor in their accuracy is how recently the house was last sold. That's public information, so if it was sold recently, they have a very accurate snapshot of what the house is worth. From there, they have formulas to figure out what it's worth after X years.
My house hasn't been sold in over 25 years, and I did a lot of modifications to it, so I doubt it's very accurate for my house.



Mine is just absolutely ridiculous for what you would get. Yes, someone can finish the basement to make more room but then that is more money. It is 4x what we paid.

Posted 3/3/22 2:35 PM
 

MrsWoods
LIF Adult

Member since 4/12

1461 total posts

Name:

Re: How accurate is Zillow? (silly question)

Posted by oldtimerocknroll

I'm honestly not really sure about the answer to your question regarding Zillow.

However, as far as Garden City goes, Garden City South and southern Garden City aren't necessarily the same. All of Garden City South is in the southern part of Garden City, but there are southern parts of Garden City that are not Garden City South.

Garden City South is its own neighborhood (and I would say a lovely neighborhood at that!) and it's toward the western part of Garden City. I believe most of Garden City South attends Franklin Square schools, which I think is a great district--more diverse than some other districts, strong academics, etc. Some of Garden City South may attend West Hempstead schools, but I'm unsure about that. I don't know much about West Hempstead schools to comment.

Southern parts of Garden City, of course, run the entire length of Garden City. On the more eastern side, Garden City borders Hempstead on the south.




All GC south is Franklin district. My friend lives right on the border of GC south and west Hempstead and kids go to Franklin square school.

If your looking in that area here is general map of Garden City to help you: above the dark blue is GC park and above GC Park starts Herricks and below the dark blue it is GC South and below that starts West Hempstead. Below the orange section it is parts of West Hempstead and Hempstead. Below light blue is all Hempstead.

https://www.gcestates.org/vertical/sites/%7BACF072F7-5DEC-467D-A7A6-74D0126F8509%7D/uploads/VGC_-_Official_Map_-_Village_Wide_Section_Map_-_Updated-PDF.pdf

Message edited 3/3/2022 4:35:35 PM.

Posted 3/3/22 4:32 PM
 

lululu
LIF Adult

Member since 7/05

9508 total posts

Name:

Re: How accurate is Zillow? (silly question)

Posted by windyweather21

Posted by GoldenRod

I think a big factor in their accuracy is how recently the house was last sold. That's public information, so if it was sold recently, they have a very accurate snapshot of what the house is worth. From there, they have formulas to figure out what it's worth after X years.
My house hasn't been sold in over 25 years, and I did a lot of modifications to it, so I doubt it's very accurate for my house.



Mine is just absolutely ridiculous for what you would get. Yes, someone can finish the basement to make more room but then that is more money. It is 4x what we paid.



I just looked up mine. It's probably pretty close to what we could get if I made some minor cosmetic improvements. We moved in 16 years ago and I haven't updated my living or dining room or master bath. It's a little more than 50% of what we paid at the height of the market in 2006 but we also did a good amount of work to our house including a small extension and redid our whole backyard.

Posted 3/3/22 5:19 PM
 

b2b777
LIF Adult

Member since 9/09

4474 total posts

Name:

Re: How accurate is Zillow? (silly question)

Posted by oldtimerocknroll

I'm honestly not really sure about the answer to your question regarding Zillow.

However, as far as Garden City goes, Garden City South and southern Garden City aren't necessarily the same. All of Garden City South is in the southern part of Garden City, but there are southern parts of Garden City that are not Garden City South.

Garden City South is its own neighborhood (and I would say a lovely neighborhood at that!) and it's toward the western part of Garden City. I believe most of Garden City South attends Franklin Square schools, which I think is a great district--more diverse than some other districts, strong academics, etc. Some of Garden City South may attend West Hempstead schools, but I'm unsure about that. I don't know much about West Hempstead schools to comment.

Southern parts of Garden City, of course, run the entire length of Garden City. On the more eastern side, Garden City borders Hempstead on the south.




This is accurate. There are areas of southern GC South that could have WH school district. Depending on what side of Dogwood Ave you live on. Great area and nice neighborhood, just very different than northern GC.

Posted 3/4/22 12:35 PM
 

lpg21
LIF Infant

Member since 9/21

341 total posts

Name:

Re: How accurate is Zillow? (silly question)

There is a house on the next corner from me asking 30k more than the estimate I saw for my house online on a zillow-like site. My sister in law went to look at the house and she said it was smaller than mine (and probably over-asking) so I am thinking it is fairly accurate.

Posted 3/4/22 1:47 PM
 

hotelcalie
LIF Adult

Member since 12/05

1392 total posts

Name:

How accurate is Zillow? (silly question)

Just sold our house for $32K above the zestimate.

Posted 3/4/22 2:30 PM
 

MrsWoods
LIF Adult

Member since 4/12

1461 total posts

Name:

Re: How accurate is Zillow? (silly question)

Posted by b2b777

Posted by oldtimerocknroll

I'm honestly not really sure about the answer to your question regarding Zillow.

However, as far as Garden City goes, Garden City South and southern Garden City aren't necessarily the same. All of Garden City South is in the southern part of Garden City, but there are southern parts of Garden City that are not Garden City South.

Garden City South is its own neighborhood (and I would say a lovely neighborhood at that!) and it's toward the western part of Garden City. I believe most of Garden City South attends Franklin Square schools, which I think is a great district--more diverse than some other districts, strong academics, etc. Some of Garden City South may attend West Hempstead schools, but I'm unsure about that. I don't know much about West Hempstead schools to comment.

Southern parts of Garden City, of course, run the entire length of Garden City. On the more eastern side, Garden City borders Hempstead on the south.




This is accurate. There are areas of southern GC South that could have WH school district. Depending on what side of Dogwood Ave you live on. Great area and nice neighborhood, just very different than northern GC.



Dogwood ave is between Franklin square and West Hempstead. That is not GC South.

Posted 3/4/22 3:32 PM
 

Sash
Peace

Member since 6/08

10312 total posts

Name:
fka LIW Smara

Re: How accurate is Zillow? (silly question)

Can we use the "Zestimate" to gauge how good the neighborhood is?



To answer this question specifically, no!! I definitely wouldn't use a Zillow metric to assess a neighborhood. Research, drive around the neighborhood.

Posted 3/4/22 3:34 PM
 

LuckyStar
LIF Adult

Member since 7/14

7272 total posts

Name:

How accurate is Zillow? (silly question)

Redfin appears to be more accurate in terms of estimates.

Posted 3/4/22 3:56 PM
 

newlywedT
LIF Adolescent

Member since 9/11

792 total posts

Name:

How accurate is Zillow? (silly question)

Thanks for the replies everyone.

We're not looking in Garden City (it was just an example), we're not into lacross :)

It is annoying when you look at the old price in 2019 and they have raised the price by 50%. (and they will get it!)
I've checked many houses and they all took their purchase price (within the last 3-5 years) and upped the price by 50%.

I thought the market was bad last year, this year will be just as bad lol

Posted 3/4/22 4:04 PM
 

MrsWoods
LIF Adult

Member since 4/12

1461 total posts

Name:

Re: How accurate is Zillow? (silly question)

Posted by newlywedT

Thanks for the replies everyone.

We're not looking in Garden City (it was just an example), we're not into lacross :)

It is annoying when you look at the old price in 2019 and they have raised the price by 50%. (and they will get it!)
I've checked many houses and they all took their purchase price (within the last 3-5 years) and upped the price by 50%.

I thought the market was bad last year, this year will be just as bad lol



LI prices are nuts. Small property/outdated house for a crazy price. Never got the appeal of LI and still don’t living here. The prices here can get you mansions elsewhere

Good luck to you.

Posted 3/4/22 6:43 PM
 

LuckyStar
LIF Adult

Member since 7/14

7272 total posts

Name:

Re: How accurate is Zillow? (silly question)

Posted by newlywedT

Thanks for the replies everyone.

We're not looking in Garden City (it was just an example), we're not into lacross :)

It is annoying when you look at the old price in 2019 and they have raised the price by 50%. (and they will get it!)
I've checked many houses and they all took their purchase price (within the last 3-5 years) and upped the price by 50%.

I thought the market was bad last year, this year will be just as bad lol



I moved 2 years ago. I still get listing alerts and not a single house is less than $1.5m. These were well under a million 2 years ago. The inventory on mid range homes is almost non existent. You can find a shack and you can find a mansion but you can’t find anything in between.

Posted 3/4/22 6:51 PM
 

windyweather21
LIF Adult

Member since 3/21

6938 total posts

Name:

Re: How accurate is Zillow? (silly question)

Posted by MrsWoods

Posted by newlywedT

Thanks for the replies everyone.

We're not looking in Garden City (it was just an example), we're not into lacross :)

It is annoying when you look at the old price in 2019 and they have raised the price by 50%. (and they will get it!)
I've checked many houses and they all took their purchase price (within the last 3-5 years) and upped the price by 50%.

I thought the market was bad last year, this year will be just as bad lol



LI prices are nuts. Small property/outdated house for a crazy price. Never got the appeal of LI and still don’t living here. The prices here can get you mansions elsewhere

Good luck to you.



Agreed. I have no clue why people buy a house here anymore.

Posted 3/4/22 7:18 PM
 
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