Zillow.com question

[Turbineguy]

I usually check the "value" of my house on Zillow at least once per month, sometimes weekly. After reaching a high during last summer it declined by some 16 or so percent. But just three days ago the value suddenly shot up 10 percent. Given what's going on out there it seems a bit strange.

Perhaps I just need to loosen the strap on my tin-foil hat.

Anybody have an opinion (OK that's a stupid question, this is DU!)?

[NMDemDist2]

1. zillow just averages out the latest sales info

somebody hit a home run in a house sale this week.

[SoCalDem]

2. Not all areas are in as bad of shape as others are..

maybe existing homes are selling well in your community vs new homes....is there a new school near you? there are intangibles that can make one area increase sometimes.

[fenriswolf]

3. a house was recently sold in your area for above median price

[Orangepeel]

4. a house in your area sold for a lot

I don't think there is anything nefarious going on. It is driven by a formula that averages comparable properties. Sales info seems to have a lag of a few months.

[Nay]

5. It's interesting, but I did the same thing and saw a decline from

about $270,000 to $255,000 from late summer to a few weeks ago. And I live in an area that is NOT one of those hard hit areas. I just checked Zillow and it has gone up to $260,000. I wonder what exactly is going on?

[Turbineguy]

6. Thanks!

I'll... eh... loosen my bullets.

[allalone]

7. they announced recently they have adjusted

their calculations to be more realistic. They were catching a lot of flak for
overvaluing homes.