Zillow talk

No, not the Doris Day movie "Pillow Talk", but Zillow talk.

This is a new site unleashed on the public two weeks ago - www.zillow.com. It provides property value information superimposed on a satellite view of homes. The concept is most interesting and will be welcomed by consumers. But it's not production-ready yet.

The dollar values it shows are almost always undervalued - often by as much as 33%. The data comes from various public record. MLS data would be more accurate. When Zillow provides estimated values, their algorithms don't appear to consider all of the necessary factors.

In one neighbor, Zillow shows the estimated prices to be $1.2M to $1.35M. One of those homes is currently on the market for $2.0M. Even if you assume that it is over-priced, there is a significant disparity between the real world and Zillow.

As an offering today, it is not providing satisfactory results. Once Zillow can get better data, this site will be a formidable entity on the Internet.

At best it provides estimates but will never replace the judgement (and the resulting accuracy) of a professional REALTOR. But this tool is going to be well received by consumers.

Keep your eyes on Zillow.