Fortunately, Zillow is not in Canada!

My stock answer is that is very general information and not customized to their particular home or our area. It takes a local real estate expert to know the local market and all its influences and to properly evaluate real estate and I know how to do that not Zillow.

STOP, STOP, STOP! The biggest reason to STOP in my area is that our MLS does NOT syndicate to Zillow and has no contract with them. That means that Zillow has only a very small percentage of our listings on their site and buyers are not getting the full picture. If they insist on using a major portal like this instead of my website(s) I send them to realtor.com. At least they have all the listings.

That it is inaccurate and that out here, the boards do not cooperate with them, so they do not have substantial amounts of data (listings, pricing histories, etc.).

I really don't need to answer after I stop laughing.

NM is a non-disclosure state so there is no way Z can be correct on sale prices.

I do not mind. Those website give a general idea so they can decide where, how much, what they want to buy. 

    I do NOT bad mouth Zillow, because that may be taken as an insult.  "Show me what you are looking at on Zillow... give me the Link".  Then I take the conversation from that point. 

That it is not all that accurate.

Anthony,
I assume they will use Zillow, Trulia, etc. so I just educate them about the pro’s and con’s and we do fine.

I tell them that the most accurate information is through the MLS and that they need a REALTOR to help them understand the nuances of the market.

I always tell my customers to check out Realtor.com for the most current information. 

Lots of people follow zillow but there are upgrades that zillow does not take into figuring prices.

Look at those pretty women from Realtors.com

Fred Griffin  Awesome answer!  Use it to your advantage.   "That is great, I see you are checking out the competion and you have a great idea on what is out there. Most consumers start their search on the internet . I then tell them how an appraiser works and where they get their info from. Also throwing in there that they have never been in their home to see what sets it apart. "

I wait.

Eventually they will tell me WHY they turn to 'The Darkside.'

If an agent responds before getting to the client's real why the agent not only INVALIDATES the client, the agent does not allow themself the opportunity to 'listen' to their clients perception regarding the voids of service delivered by our industry.

Then I casually ask, "Do you watch the Kardasians also?"

They all look, so it's good to be prepared with an answer. Zillow numbers are a very broad and general indication, but lack up-to-date detailed information and accuracy, so cannot be relied on. We all know they are ususally way off. Best to show real examples of how inaccurate their values are, which are based on purely public data (may be dated), without the intangibles such as area amenities, location or other features of what constitutes a neighborhood.

We live in a non disclosure state. Zillo does not have assess to our sold data so they inaccurate by 20-30% . I explain this fact to my clients.

Dumb Ass!

That it's not a tool real estate professionals, particularly appraisers, use.

I tell them that zillow zestimates are crap, inaccurate, and misleading, and that they either need to use our site or Realtor.com to search for homes.  No point in beating around the bush.  

I tell my clients that Zillow is a great benchmark to get an idea of neighborhoods, prices, etc, but it will never be equivalent to an actual agent.

Zillow can provide an overview,  but sometimes the lack of local knowledge will put things out of whack! Be careful out there!

 generalized information at best as gleaned from the local MLS.

Zillow is only for American properties, not Canadian properties.

Anthony Acosta - The truth and the whole truth!

I share with them the Zestimate on my house.

nothing.  I show them the listing on the MLS, sometimes it's available, sometimes it's sold.  Eventually they all get it.

Zillow is not current.  

- A listing that you fall in love with may be already under contract.  

-Estimates are really questimates.

That it is not the most accurate source of information.  Especially don't use for the valuations.  I can't complain much, as our MLS isn't the most accurate when it comes to accepted offers.

I explain what Zillow does, and why accuracy may not be a priority for them.

That Zillow information is inaccurate in most cases. I just learned some new information in a meeting I attend yesterday. I'll be using it from now on!

Just the opposite. I tell them that Zillow is a joke.

Anthony - I let them know that there is a lot of information that is not accurate and out-dated on the site. I would recommend that they use information through our MLS, but some still like to use Zillow, Trulia, etc. Then I have to be the bad guy and tell them, "That home already sold".

Anthony,

Every market is unique, and Zillow is giving very generalized opinion.  A

The will probably use Zillow regardless of what you tell them.

It is easy to simply advise them not to rely upon Zillow figures for their important decisions.

That zillow has very outdated data info.  And it's true listings are pending show active, listings sold show active ect

I email them listings and offer them ability to search on my website.

Its part of the vast sea of Real Estate. Now, lets set sail for destination

that's discussed during a pre-listing presentation.... we're listing agents....

I tell them that Disneyland is a nice place to visit but I don't want to live there.

Further response depends on Seller or Buyer, I always point out to Sellers that the Zillow site itself claims that they are only within 5% of actual value approximately a third of the time.

Zillow accuracy rate

Zthe Zbest zanswer zis Zit Zdepends.   

I explain they do not have access to sold data.  Give them a CMA and say here are the facts.

A place to find some of the most inaccurate real estate information

Good morning Anthony. That the information can't be trusted.