SNL's Zillow Bit

The recent Zillow sketch on SNL was amusing. Dan Levy (Eugene Levy’s son, star, Schitt’s Creek) is a great comedic mind. His bit captures the essence of “real estate porn.” If you missed it, check it out here.

It was funny and we all had a good laugh. That’s the comedy side of Zillow, but there’s a tragedy side, too. Zillow isn’t perfect. People flock to Zillow and dream about owning their perfect house, but this is the internet and things are rarely as they appear. 

In addition to the visual discrepancies, there are financial ones. Estimates of your home’s value online are created by AI. Can an algorithm or software program make an accurate assessment of your home without seeing it? A seller might be disheartened when Zillow’s “Zestimate” indicates their home is worth far less than what they think. It can work the other way, too. Early on in Zillow’s existence in 2007, the Wall Street Journal wrote Zillow’s Zestimates were “often very good, frequently within a few percentage points of the actual price paid. But when Zillow is bad, it can be terrible.” According to Real Estate Decoded Using data published on the Zillow website, the typical Zestimate error in the United States in July 2016 was $14,000. Another problem is websites communicating with MLS (Multiple Listing Services) all over the country in a timely fashion. This aspect of the operation is where buyers can really get their hearts broken. Imagine seeing a great home online only to discover it was sold a month ago. These are just a few of the problems sites like this pass along to property hungry consumers around the country. 

Here are 7 things you need to know before you start looking for a home on Zillow.