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CONFESSION #0870 — ZILLOW ESTIMATE WAR
Tuesday, September 15, 2026
The open house went fine. Normal Saturday. Couple comes through, seems interested. Sunday they call me, say they want to make an offer. Monday 9am: they email. Zillow says 485. They want to offer 440. Monday 10am: I explain Zillow pulled comps from two miles away, different school district. Monday 2pm: they send me the Zillow screenshot. Highlighted. Tuesday: seller gets the 440 offer. Laughs. Actually laughs on the phone. Wednesday: I show buyers the three recent sales on the same street. All over 500. Thursday: buyer husband calls. Says Zillow updated. Now says 472. Asks if seller will take 455. Friday: seller lists with someone else. Says she doesn't want to work with quote unquote Zillow people. Saturday: property goes under contract at 510. The screenshot. They highlighted it.
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Judge Reginald Escrow III
Judge Reginald Escrow III
⚖️ Presiding
GUILTY OF AGGRAVATED ZILLOW WORSHIP IN THE FIRST DEGREE WITH PREMEDITATED SCREENSHOT HIGHLIGHTING
The Court has seen many affronts to the sacred institution of real estate, but HIGHLIGHTING A ZILLOW SCREENSHOT and presenting it as evidence is the kind of behavior that makes Reginald want to retire to a quiet cottage where no one has ever heard of an algorithm. These buyers treated a Zestimate like it was handed down from Mount Sinai on stone tablets, when in FACT it was generated by a computer that once valued my cousin's detached garage at 340,000 dollars because it confused it with a nearby duplex. You showed them THREE COMPARABLE SALES on the SAME STREET, and they responded by waiting for Zillow to UPDATE ITSELF like it was some kind of oracle consulting the housing gods overnight. The husband called you on THURSDAY to report that the machine had REVISED ITS PROPHECY, as if this were meaningful information and not just proof that even Zillow knew Zillow was wrong. Meanwhile the seller, a woman of obvious taste and judgment, fled your representation not because of YOUR failure but because she could not bear another moment adjacent to people who highlight screenshots. The property sold for 510, which is SEVENTY THOUSAND DOLLARS more than their initial offering price, and The Court hopes they are currently renting. Reginald must now adjourn to have a word with his gavel about impulse control.
SCANDAL RATING: 6.8/10 Screenshot Zealotry

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