With so much of our personal data up for grabs, many homeowners may find themselves wondering: “Should I claim my home on Zillow?” Claiming your home on the popular real estate website puts homeowners in control of the data surrounding their home.
What Does It Mean to “Claim Your Home” on Zillow?
If you enter your address into Zillow, you’ll find an entry for your property, even if it’s not for sale. Zillow is a robust platform that houses data from virtually every home in America. Zillow also gives you the option to “claim” your home. This means that you can enter some information to confirm that you are the owner of the home. Once you claim your home, you’ll be able to edit some of the property details. The Owner Dashboard will also give you access to some other benefits that can be helpful if you’re selling your home.
Benefits of Claiming Home on Zillow
Claiming your home will provide you with some notable advantages.
Maintain Accurate Records
The primary benefit of claiming your home on Zillow is the ability to edit the information about your home online. Zillow typically pulls data about your home from public records. As the owner, you can provide the most up-to-date information.
This is vital if you’re considering selling your home in the immediate future. The information you provide will affect the Zestimate, which gives prospective buyers an estimated price on your home. Even if you’re not planning to sell your home immediately, having accurate information can streamline the selling process when the day eventually comes that you decide to sell.
Influence the Values in Your Neighborhood
Home estimates are partly influenced by the price of comparable homes in the surrounding neighborhood or region. If you’re considering selling your home and relocating to another home in the same area, claiming your home can affect the relative estimates of other homes. But even if you’re relocating across the country, claiming your home will give prospective buyers a better understanding of the home estimates in your area.
Access to Home Seller Tools
When you claim your home on Zillow, you gain access to the Owner Dashboard. This dashboard will give you tools to track your home’s value and set a fair selling price. Zillow can also help you decide the best time of year to sell based on historical data.
Zillow has done away with its once popular “Make Me Move” feature. “Make Me Move” alerted potential buyers that you would be willing to move if a qualified buyer came on and met your price. Bluebid, an off-market platform where owners and buyers privately explore deals is filling this void in the market. Bluebid operates separate from traditional listing services and allows sellers to privately explore deals without the pressure of published price history, days on the market, or open houses. Sellers can list this their price and wait for the deal that is right for them. Sellers that provide a price on their home are able to message with potential buyers and find a deal that works – without a shot clock.
Downsides to Claiming Home on Zillow
Despite these clear advantages, there’s some potential downside to claiming your home on Zillow. Here are a few drawbacks to keep in mind.
Privacy Concerns
Technically, much of the information found on Zillow is already a matter of public record. But by claiming your home and updating your details, the specifics of your property will be more visible to web visitors — including the Zestimate of your home.
Granted, none of this information is confidential, at least not in the same sense other personal information. However, some homeowners may prefer to keep such data out of the hands of friends, family, or neighbors.
Estimates Aren’t Always Accurate
The Zestimate is intended to provide a general idea of the value of a home. But these rough estimates are not intended to carry the same weight as a home appraisal or a formal price recommendation, nor is a Zestimate always a reliable indicator of fair market value. While claiming your home on Zillow can influence the Zestimates of other homes in your community, none of these estimated prices will be as valuable as an appraisal. Still, these figures can help prospective buyers compile a list of homes in their price range. It is also helpful to assess estimate data from various sources. Bluebid, an off-market housing platform where owners and buyers privately explore deals, allows homeowners to unlock an estimate on their home value, much like Zillow, Redfin, and Realtor.com.
Decision Time: Should I Claim My Home on Zillow?
Overall, many homeowners choose to claim their homes on Zillow, mainly in preparation to sell their property. Given how heavily buyers rely on online tools to find the ideal home, it makes sense to keep your home’s public profile as accurate as possible. Keep in mind that you can “unclaim” your home if you have privacy concerns. Zillow allows you to “release ownership claim,” though any information you changed will remain. Careful consideration of the aforementioned pros and cons will help you make the best choice about claiming your home on Zillow - and when to do so. In addition to Zillow, Bluebid allows homeowners to claim their home and receive ongoing market value estimates, and let buyers know the price (optional) at which they would consider a private sale. Homeowners can review real buyer inquiries with zero obligation to sell. No for sale signs, no open houses, no published price history, or days on the market. Homeowners can privately explore selling on their own schedule.