Are you an All-Star? (on Zillow)

So, the other day I’m posting yet another of our client listings to Zillow when I get an email telling me that I have become a Zillow All-Star.  I think to myself, “what the heck is that?”  So, in looking it up I find out that, according the notice posted on their site:

It’s kind of funny, really.  When Zillow first came onto the scene a lot of agents saw them as a horrible new type of competition.  We’ve never felt that way although we did make sure to try and understand what the online service was, and wasn’t, so that we could help educate our clients and the public on this new tool.  Being that the firm is locally based, I’d like to see them do well because it helps bring jobs to our local economy and I think the services they offer are valid.  There’s nothing wrong with wanting to get a bit of an idea of what your home value might be without having to get an agent involved, or to hire an appraiser.  If it’s just curiosity you’re dealing with and not a sale or a refinance, then checking this site out is not a bad thing.  It also helps people understand where their neighborhood values may be going too.

We’ve even gone so far as to include it in our marketing of properties when we have listings.  One of the tools I like on the site is the “claim my home” because we can do that and update the information on the site if there have been changes to a house. Frequently the info that Zillow is working from is incorrect or out of date – so this is a way to make the data that is publicly available match what we’ll have in our listing packages. It’s a good tool overall since we know a large number of people look here to compare Zestimates(R) with listing prices.

What is a Zestimate(R)?  Again, from the site:

” Zestimate

A Zestimate home valuation is Zillow’s estimated market value. It is not an appraisal. Use it as a starting point to determine a home’s value.
Learn more

The Value Range is the high and low estimated market value for which Zillow values a home. The more information, the smaller the range, and the more accurate the Zestimate. See data coverage and accuracy table “

For people who are relocating to a new area, Zillow helps an out-of-town buyer understand neighborhood price points and values with this information available once they go home after a whirlwind trip into a new town to look for a home.

Anyhow, I guess it feels good to be an “All-Star!”