FRU News · Answers
Why Does My Home's Value Differ From Zillow?
Why an online home value estimate differs from a lender appraisal, how recent sales lag, and which value sizes your loan.
48 sec · Captions available on the player · Presented by AI-generated presenters, with every line taken from the FreeRateUpdate page it answers.
Source: FreeRateUpdate answer page, Sept. 29, 2026; CFPB and Fannie Mae
Transcript
This is FreeRateUpdate News. I'm Edmund Ledger. Today's question: why does my home's value differ from Zillow?
Because online estimates come from a formula, not an appraisal, built from public records and past sales.
They can't see your home's condition or recent updates, and the sites call them a starting point, not an appraisal.
They use sales that already closed, so in a rising market they can trail current prices by weeks or months.
Your loan is sized on your lender's own appraisal or approved automated value, not on any website's number.
The CFPB notes it's common to see several different values during a mortgage.
I'm Edmund Ledger, for FreeRateUpdate News.
What the charts show
Table, Online estimate vs. lender appraisal: Built from, Online estimate: Public records, past sales, Lender appraisal: An appraiser or an approved model; Sizes your loan, Online estimate: No, Lender appraisal: Yes. The narration adds that an online estimate does not see the home's condition or recent updates.