Recent Comments:
Congress looks again at Cash for Clunkers program {Autoblog Green}
Jan 16th 2009 5:02PM TB -
People are keeping their cars for a VERY long time - average age of cars on the road in the US is around 9 years and growing annually. If nothing is done about the existing gas guzzlers then there is little chance that green car sales will have an impact on the environment in our lifetime.
Congress looks again at Cash for Clunkers program {Autoblog Green}
Jan 16th 2009 3:58PM In the 80's I lived in South Africa and violent crime was exploding partly because AK47's were plentiful after the Angolan wars. So the government, in all their wisdom, offered cash for guns and were paying 6,000 South African Rand ($600) for an AK. The problem is that the guns only cost R1,000 on the black market and so one AK quickly became 6, 36, 216 ... the program didn't last long. This policy is just as stupid.
Here's the thing though ... to make a real impact on the environment in the next two decades, something must be done about the klunkers. Tesla roadsters ain't the answer. So I can empathize with this idea but IMO, the right approach is for Obama to extend tax subsidies to EV conversions. Such policy, if managed correctly, could have a greater environmental impact than all other green initiatives planned for the next decade combined.
Tony Danza's Home, Estate of the Day {Luxist}
Nov 6th 2007 4:49PM Dan -
Hi, it's David from Zillow. We don't update historic Zestimate values when Zestimates refresh. If you send me your address, I'll look into it for you. (davidg AT zillow DOTCOM)
Can Zillow Be Trusted? {Luxist}
Feb 19th 2007 3:44PM Hi, it's David from Zillow.com
Brian -
We only show tax values in areas where we don't have sufficient data to calculate Zestimates. The most common occurrence of this is in non-disclosure states where sales transactions are not public records.
Most homes on Zillow have Zestimates.
Zillow's real estate estimates can be very (in)accurate {BloggingStocks}
Feb 14th 2007 11:16PM Hi Brian, it's David from Zillow.
You're right, county tax assessor's have a bias for lower values (typically by 20% to 10%), largely because no-one likes to be overtaxed. We primarily use the recorder's recent sales data as the primary input to calculate the value of the Zestimate. The assessor's data is important though -- the attributes (bed, baths, view etc.) from the appraisal are used to infer the value of the home and to pick its comps from recent sales. When next you encounter a "miss", it could help to note that those attributes can be incomplete -- check whether the home's facts are correct and the basics are complete -- and if not, use the tool we provide to calculate your own estimate using the correct inputs.
FYI - Zillow's accuracy varies by region. Accuracy reporting by state and county can be found here: http://www.zillow.com/howto/DataCoverageZestimateAccuracy.htm
