DISQUS

Garage mats are nice, but have limitations. They don't hold up to welding very well.

Thanks. I am having trouble figuring out the clone tool on a specific image.

The power plant downstream isn't nuclear, but a small coal plant. Oddly, the same people that want more flow would love to shut down the plant.

I'm pretty sure I know the right answer...

I JEEP, therefore I am... cool. You too. My "new" toy is a 71 Jeepster Commando. It will be different if I can get it together.

I'd hate to be the "Head-On" of the real estate industry... But, I wouldn't mind having more clients than I could deal with... I can always hire people.

Thank you for posting, Thesa and Joanne. I appreciate the comments.


One of my buyers named a house "the dead guy house"... he wasn't dead, but sleeping like he might have been... on the couch... in his boxers... despite me calling and talking to his wife to let her know we were on the way.

Yes, Debbie. This beautiful property is still available.

I also have this posted on my Active Rain blog, which is an area frequented by real estate folks. I got this exchange in the comments, and thought I would pass it along.


I'm just discovering Zillow. Has Zillow been valuable to you?



09/17/2007 by Robert Monk Florida Real Estate



Robert... not at all. I like looking, but the valuations are like picking stocks by having a chimp throw darts at the stock charts...



09/17/2007 by Lane Bailey - The REALTOR for Car People



Robert I am going to answer your question from my stand point. I have used Zillow for some months now and i have not had an calls or inquiries since I started. That would be a NO at this point. Now I am not sure what Lane's answer is.......



This is a good post but Zillow is not that value added for me yet. I'll keep using until it brings me something, then my answer will change.



09/17/2007 by Rosemary Brooks -Mother & Daughter (866)-750-8282



Zippity do-da Lane. I mean Zamboni as an automobile. LOL I had a 280 Z fast fast super fast. Zillow is not much of a factor here and is usually high. Congrats on the quest.



09/17/2007 by Randy Lyon



Yes, the Internet is wonderful, but Zillow is a big joke in this area. They are so far off it could be funny. Except that some folks fall for it.



09/18/2007 by Patricia Kennedy

Robert (and others) Does that answer your questions?



09/18/2007 by Lane Bailey - The REALTOR for Car People



I'm on record here on activerain and elsewhere for giving Zillow a big thumbs down. They have been more than a 100k off on some 'zestimates' in my area. This certainly makes educating our obstinate sellers a lot more difficult. And when buyers use it, it can blow a transaction.



You called it Lane! I DO own a tig welder, but wouldn't touch it with a 10-foot pole.



09/18/2007 by Portland Oregon Real Estate Broker * Jennifer Bukaty *



I'm pretty proficient with a MIG, but I want to learn to TIG next... but I can wait a while.



09/18/2007 by Lane Bailey - The REALTOR for Car People



Hi Lane, it's David from Zillow,



Thanks for including Zillow in your series and congratulations for making it to "Z".



I wanted to highlight two resources on the site that are relevant to your post:



1) We publish our accuracy statistics here. I recommend that Realtors know what Zillow's accuracy is like in their area - there's some great data here.



2) There's a lot more to Zillow than Zestimate values. Here's a page that explains how Real estate professionals can use Zillow.com to promote themselves and their listings.



09/18/2007 by David Gibbons



Thanks David. I will certainly look over the info. I hope that the comments of others on this post will help you refine your product.



09/18/2007 by Lane Bailey - The REALTOR for Car People



Dont forget the UZ for "unzillowable"



http://tinyurl.com/2ffov5







Knowing zillow's "average or median" error rates is of no value in determining the value of "your home".



09/20/2007 by Joseph Ferrara.sellsius



Joseph, I have no issue with the link you left being live. I don't know if it requires membership to leave a live link, but I will post a link.



Joseph's Link... it lives!



David, I just looked over your accuracy statistics. In your very best market, you have a median error of 4.7%, but more telling, only 78% of the properties sell within 10% of the Zestimate. Here in Gwinnett County, the list price/sale price percentage is over 97%. That means that agents are hitting their numbers a LOT better than Zillow. Further, somewhat referencing your discussion with Joseph, I still have buyers that apparently can't find your disclaimers about the accuracy of Zestimates, because they come to me with incredibly unrealistically ideas of price... and this is a VERY stable market compared to the places that you have given higher accuracy ratings.



I don't even think that Zillow numbers in this market can really function as a starting point. For buyers, it gives them unrealistic hope for some areas, and I'm sure mentally locks them out of other areas... but they don't know which is which.



The comparison that you made to Google is pretty weak. When I search Google and have results that aren't relevant, I know pretty quick. When someone searches Zillow, they don't know that they have an irrelevant result.



I thank you for stopping by.



09/20/2007 by Lane Bailey - The REALTOR for Car People

You might be right that I haven't eaten any bugles since then... I don't recall the last time I had them... but I don't remember eating a box of them.


I didn't immortalize you, I just related a simple story.



Thanks for stopping by. I was hoping you would.

Thanks Chuck for reminding me about the legal protections from Homestead Exemption.


Blog updated.

I still think that the market for cool and functional garages is limited, but I do agree that it is growing. Of course, we enthusiasts are leading the pack.


Thanks for the comment.