Naples, Florida Real Estate and Zillow

There's no mystery that Zillow has had their fair share of challenges when attempting to accurately provide real estate estimates for Naples, Florida real estate. But before anyone gets too excited, this is not a Zillow bashing post...just an update. Besides, I'd like to give a special high five to that Zillow representative who admittedly said they had been faced with the challenge down here. It was quite some time ago and they explained that they were "working on it" so I thought I would double check again to see what has improved especially since I recently wrote an offer with a very tech savvy buyer who tried to use Zillow as a point of reference. After explaining what I knew she quickly changed direction and successfully put an Old Naples condo under contract....yaeee for her!

So back to the latest comparison. What I did was pulled 3 closed sales today in our local MLS. I cross referenced the sales price and then pulled the addresses up on Zillow. Here's what I found:

8930 Bay Colony Drive #1504 - Salerno at Bay Colony - Listed for $2,295,000 sold by a fellow John R. Wood agent for $2,125,000 It took just under two months to go under contract...not bad market time! So, I pulled up the address in Zillow where it said there were 26 matching properties for that address and then another link directly under it said 44 matching properties for that address. When I click the first link a fast list of addresses show up and then disappear. I tried to open the link in another window and it wouldn't load. Hmmm.... I tried several times...holding my mouth differently each time...still no dice. So I clicked on the second link. Same results. I am happy to report that I did click on the building in the aerial shot and the building with the zestimates pulled up. Zillow shows #1504 worth $2,511,000. Was this a fire sale? No, did the buyer get a great ridiculous deal. Not in my opinion. The neighborhood is doing very well and has not been in depreciating mode so I don't know why there's a difference of that magnitude.

Difference between reality and Zillow= $386,000

2040 Sandpiper St. - Royal Harbor - Listed for $979,000 Sold for $850,000. It took just over 3 months for it to sell. The Zestimate for this home is $1,466,500. What I find curious is right under the Zestimate it shows $979,000 (what the house was listed for). This neighborhood has done well this year too...no huge difference in market value to point to.Difference between reality and Zillow = $616,500

8463 Abbington Circle #1021 - Crescent at Pelican Bay - Listed for $699,000, Sold for $600,000. It was on the market since last August with two price reductions. 17 days from 2nd price reduction in went under contract....and just as a coincidence...it was listed and sold by John R. Wood Inc. REALTORS...no kidding! Zillow says, $731,000...again, this neighborhood has remained the same in value for the last 24 months.

Difference between reality and Zillow = $131,000....we're getting closer.

I should include the fact that Zillow is not overpricing every property in Naples. In fact, while I was in the process of helping my client purchase in Old Naples, the unit she was interested in was showing it was worth substantially less. Just as I have seen on other Naples properties in the past. Again, this isn't because Old Naples properties have seen a significant depreciation...it's just that Zillow doesn't have their magic Zestimates down quite yet for our area.

From what I understand, Zillow is spot on in areas across the country and there's no doubt in my mind that Zillow Zestimates will get much better here in Naples down the road but as it stands today, your best resource to find out if you're overpaying as a buyer or under-listing as a seller is to contact a Smart Girl to help you know for sure!

Best Regards, Shannon