A couple of weeks ago, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) filed a complaint against Zillow.com, a home valuation website, charging that the valuation estimates provided on their site mislead consumers. NCRC’s president said, “Zillow is placing the American dream of homeownership at risk for countless working families”. “If the estimate is too high, home buyers may overpay… Low estimates can depress prices in entire communities if both buyers and sellers rely on the site when pricing or shopping for homes”. Of course, we have talked about the value of Zillow’s values, here and here, for instance. In our opinion, although Zestimates have very limited practical application, Zillow is no more dangerous than the carnival fortune teller. We all know it’s just a fun exercise, right? Think again.
Now, we offer the following breaking news.
STUPID PEOPLE ZUE ZILLOW
By Kris and Steve Berg, Staff Writers
SAN DIEGO – On the heels of NCRC’s complaint against Zillow.com claiming misleading and discriminatory practices related to their home valuations or Zestimates, NCRC attorneys have filed a separate class action lawZuit against Zillow on behalf of Stupid People everywhere. Also named were the makers of the Magic 8 Ball, the Ouija Board and the little paper things found in fortune cookies.
The plaintiffs’ attorney, Mr. Chase Bucks, cited a need to protect the clueless segment of the population from themselves. He suggests that many people will logically assume the results returned from the completely impersonal, computer generated algorithm to be 100% accurate in establishing value for a personal, emotional purchase without bold disclaimers. Mr. Bucks pointed out that the government has required other big corporations to include responsible product warnings on their labels for years, and Zillow should have to play by the same rules. “Windex glass cleaner bottles, for instance, state ‘Keep out of reach of children and pets’. Clearly, a cleaning attempt on the part of the family hampster could only result in disaster”. Other examples (Editor’s note: All true) of corporate responsibility include: Heinz Ketchup (Instructions: Put on food); Rowenta Iron (Warning: Never iron clothes on the body); Sears Hairdryer (Warning: Do not use while sleeping); RCA Television Remote Control (Not Dishwasher Safe); Bic Lighter (Ignite away from face); and, Silly Putty (Do not use as earplugs) to name a few.
None of the plaintiffs were available for comment, as they were running with scissors, blowdrying their hair in the bathtub and microwaving metal utensils at the time.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Kris Berg is Co-Owner and Designated Broker of San Diego Castles Realty. If not-so static web sites are your thing, go here at once where you will find loads of real estate information including homes for sale, market trends, floor plans and more. Kris's hobbies include fencing and spot welding. She likes kittens. 
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{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
Honest to God, the sun screen that covers my car windshield to keep out the blazing Phoenix sun says “Caution: Remove Before Driving”.
Here’s my take on the whole silly NCRC/Zillow thing. I like yours better.
http://www.phoenixrealestateguy.com/howling-for-zillow/
So much for originality! Actually, Jay, I like yours better.
Magic 8 Ball LMAO.
So . . . does this mean I shouldn’t flick my Bic while filling my gas tank?
The problem with stooopid peeple is that some of dem axully beleeve them Zillow estimates.
Let’s not forget the warnings that coffee from McDonalds may actually be hot.
I’ve little sympathy for those living their lives by the Zillow estimates, not when it’s not particularly difficult to find a real estate professional who can tell you whether you are spending too much or attempting to sell too high in short order.
That was hysterical enough to make me choke over my chocolate chip cookie. No doubt God’s way of getting me to stop stuffing my face. I’ve read some of those disclaimers before. My personal favorite is the warning not to iron clothes on one’s body.
Thanks, everyone, for recognizing that this was a tongue in cheek piece. Absent the proper disclaimer, I was afraid I might be getting calls from people wanting to sign up! Jay, I had heard about the windshield screen disclaimer but never confirmed it. (We don’t need such silly things in San Diego). What a riot!
Freakin’ Hilarious!!!
Kris -
I always read your blog. Thanks for commenting on mine. I looked at Northwestern myself and I have friends in grad school up there now. Its beautiful. My sister and husband live in San Diego and they won’t visit here in the months of October thru May – so it is a bit of a shock but it is a great school. I looked there for theatre.
Keep on Blogging and please look me up in the spring.
This is absolutely brilliant, thoroughly enjoyed it.
Zillows rise and subsequent fall is an amazing story. Their much hyped introduction was featured on different real estate sites and their viral “what is zillow?” pre-launch campaign got everybody talking. Now they are facing all of these challenges based on the fact that their service model leverages tax rolls and computer algorythms. In this instance I think political groups are trying to protect the status quo in the real estate industry and attempting to eliminte zillow as a threat to the traditional real estate model.
BN
I get clients every week who either want to much for their home or want to pay to little all based of zhitty zillow zestimates. This false statistical data is often misleading and is never a good substitute for an experienced agent or appraiser.
I think zillow is a great tool. I have worked with it many times and would recommend it. I would always double check the subject property against comparable properties, the computer sometimes misses very crucial things when it comes to determining the exact true current market value. But still one of the best tools online.