The Pitfalls of Using Zillow
Zillow is reporting increases in visits to their website and is spending a lot of money advertising to the general public. This is causing a lot of misperceptions about what Zillow is, and what they do. Here's what Zillow is: they are a self-described media site. This means they are in business for the sole purpose of attracting a lot of visitors to their website. They sell advertising and set their ad rates based on the number of website visitors. Here's what Zillow is not: Zillow is not a licensed real estate broker. Zillow cannot sell you a home. You cannot complete a real estate transaction on Zillow's website. There are implications for home buyers and sellers who use Zillow on their own, without employing the services of a local Realtor. Zillow zestimates are as likely to be too high, as they are too low. If you are a home buyer making an offer without a Realtor, using a high zestimate can result in the home you are buying w...