Part 2: How Zillow Anchored Sellers to the Wrong Price

Written by Devone Richard

Sellers don’t lose money when the market slows.
They lose money before the home even hits the market.

The problem starts with one number.

Zillow didn’t just introduce online home values—it anchored sellers to the wrong price before strategy ever entered the conversation. When a seller sees a Zestimate, it becomes emotional truth, not a data point. That number feels official. Definite. Earned.

But real estate pricing doesn’t work that way.

Homes don’t sell for what a website says they’re worth.
They sell for what buyers are willing to compete for in real time.

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The Anchor Effect That’s Costing Sellers Millions

Zillow created a public pricing anchor that sellers can’t unsee. Even when a broker explains market conditions, absorption rates, buyer demand, and timing, the seller is already negotiating against an algorithm.

This leads to:

• Overpricing on day one
• Lost momentum in the first 14 days
• Price reductions that signal weakness
• Fewer offers, not better ones

By the time the price is corrected, leverage is gone.

The market never forgets a stale listing.

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Overpricing Is the Most Expensive Mistake

Zillow normalized overpricing by making sellers believe there’s a “right” number independent of strategy. But pricing is not about ego—it’s about positioning.

A well-priced home creates urgency.
Urgency creates competition.
Competition creates higher net results.

Zillow skips that entire process.

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What Algorithms Can’t See

No algorithm understands:

• Seller motivation
• Buyer psychology
• Market momentum
• Negotiation leverage
• Timing windows

That’s why sellers who price to Zestimates don’t just miss the market—they chase it downward.

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The Professional Difference

A strong broker doesn’t fight the market.
They engineer demand inside it.

At Next Real Estate Advisors, pricing is a strategy—not a screenshot. We use data, but we don’t surrender judgment to it. Because once a home is overpriced, the damage is already done.

Zillow didn’t just change how sellers see value.
It changed how they lose leverage before the first showing.

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Devone Richard, Real Estate Broker