How to Increase Your Zestimate

Practical ways to nudge your online home value in the right direction.

If you've ever looked up your home on Zillow and thought that number can't be right, you're not alone. This guide is for homeowners getting ready to sell who want their online estimate to reflect the home they actually live in, since plenty of buyers check it before they ever schedule a showing.

It explains where the Zestimate comes from, why it misses things, and how to update your home's details as the owner. One thing up front: you can correct the information Zillow uses, but you don't control the number itself.

Where the number comes from

The Zestimate is an automated estimate. Zillow builds it from the data it can find, like county tax assessor records and recent sales pulled from public records and listing data.

What it can't see is everything that's happened inside your walls. Zillow has never been in your house. It doesn't know you finished the basement, remodeled the kitchen, updated the bathrooms or added a bedroom. It can't tell that your backyard is nice and level, or that you rebuilt part of the house with better materials. So the estimate can lag well behind the home you've created.

How to correct your home's facts

Zillow lets owners claim their home and review its details. The guide walks through it: look up your address on Zillow's site (it may say the home is off the market, which is fine), switch to the owner view, verify that you're the owner, then go through the property details and fix anything that's missing or wrong. Zillow changes its screens now and then, so the buttons may look a little different.

Enter the real square footage, bedroom and bathroom count, and the upgrades you've made, and nothing you can't back up. Once the home is listed, buyers and the appraiser will see the actual house.

Keep a record of what you've improved

Before you sit down to update anything, make a list of the projects you've done and roughly when, with receipts or photos if you have them. That list makes the online update easier, and it's the same information I'd want when it's time to set a price.

Why the Zestimate isn't the final word

A lot of buyers treat what they see online as the truth, so it's worth getting your facts right. But the Zestimate isn't an appraisal, and it isn't a prediction of what your home will sell for. Correcting your facts can move it up, move it down or barely change it at all.

When you're ready to list, I'll price your home from recent comparable sales and a walk-through of the house itself, which is the information an online estimate never has.

The free guide has the full step-by-step instructions so you can update everything in one sitting.

Common questions about your Zestimate

Why is my Zestimate so far off?

Because it's built from public records and recent sales, not from a visit. Upgrades like a remodeled kitchen or a finished basement often aren't in the data Zillow relies on.

Can I raise my Zestimate?

You can't set it, but as the verified owner you can correct your home's details, and Zillow takes those into account when it recalculates. Whether the number goes up depends on what was missing.