I still don't trust Zillow...

I've been marveling over Zillow since it first appeared back in 2005, and after moving to our new house about a year ago, I've become increasingly skeptical. Our old house was valued appropriately and even today, it's enjoying a nice bump in value along with the rest of the Seattle market.

Our new house is an entirely different story. The fact is: the Zestimate and even the "Value Range" listed on Zillow has been less than our purchase price since the day we closed. Now, I'd be fine if we purchased at the top of the market and overpaid, but similar houses in our neighborhood over the past year have been selling for between 30% and 45% higher than we paid, so I'm confident that that's not the issue. Our Zestimate is still listed around 10% lower than what we paid a year ago, and upwards of 30% lower than "like" properties are selling for today within a block of my house. Seems odd given that Zillow says their median error rate for the Seattle area is only 5.6%.

I've contacted Zillow twice about this and they've been less than helpful. And, while I've read a lot of criticism about Zillow and am starting to agree that without them improving their valuation model, it's hard to see how they are going to be successful. Sounds like StealthBucks trusts the Zillow numbers, but what about other Seattle-based bloggers -- do the numbers add up for you? What about others in different states?