🏡 How Accurate Is Your St. Louis Zestimate? What You Should Know Before Listing
So, you’re thinking about selling your St. Louis home and want to get a sense of its value. Like many sellers, you probably turned to Zillow for a quick estimate—only to wonder, Can I actually trust this number?
Zillow’s Zestimate may give you a ballpark idea, but relying on it to price your home can cost you thousands of dollars. Here’s why Zillow estimates can be wildly inaccurate, and what to do instead.
🤖 What Is a Zestimate and How Does It Work?
Zillow uses an Automated Valuation Model (AVM) to calculate your home’s value. The algorithm pulls public data like:
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Square footage
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Number of bedrooms and bathrooms
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Lot size
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Recent sales in your area
Zillow then runs that data through a proprietary equation, layering in local trends and past sales to generate a price estimate.
Sounds smart, right? Here’s the problem.
⚠️ Why Zestimates Are Often Wrong in St. Louis
St. Louis has a unique housing market filled with custom builds, historic homes, and heavily renovated properties. Automated tools simply can’t account for:
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A fully updated kitchen vs. an original 1980s one
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A home with a river view vs. the one behind it with none
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A luxury basement remodel, new roof, or energy upgrades
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Architectural styles that vary block to block
AVMs also can’t distinguish between a short sale, foreclosure, or family transfer—they treat all these as equal “sales,” skewing the data.
🏘️ The St. Louis Market Is Too Local for a National Algorithm
Unlike tract developments in suburban metro areas, St. Louis neighborhoods vary greatly—even within a few blocks. For example:
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A Saltbox Colonial and a Mid-Century Ranch may have the same square footage but completely different value potential
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Properties in Kirkwood, Webster Groves, and Central West End each follow unique pricing trends
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Local school districts, crime stats, and even municipal tax rates can affect market value
A Zestimate doesn’t know any of that. But your local agent does.
🔍 The Better Way to Get Your Home’s True Value
Online estimates can be a starting point, but when you’re serious about selling, you need accuracy. A licensed St. Louis real estate professional can provide a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA)—which considers:
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Recent nearby sales
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Upgrades and condition
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Lot features
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Current buyer demand
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Neighborhood trends
This is the only way to get a real, data-backed valuation of your home.
💬 Final Thoughts: Don’t Price Your Home with a Guess
Zillow’s Zestimate might give you a rough idea, but it’s no substitute for a local expert. In fact, Zestimates in St. Louis can be off by tens of thousands of dollars—which could leave your home sitting unsold or selling for less than it’s worth.
If you’re thinking about selling your home in St. Louis, Missouri, reach out to a trusted local agent for a free, accurate valuation—and list with confidence.
