You increase your Zestimate by claiming your home on Zillow, switching to owner view, and correcting the details Zillow got wrong: bedrooms, bathrooms, square footage, and any updates or upgrades you’ve made. It takes about five to ten minutes, and I’ve had clients in Montgomery County see their Zestimate jump tens of thousands of dollars within a few weeks of doing it. But here’s the honest truth I tell every client before they even open the Zillow app: a Zestimate is not an appraisal, and it’s not a CMA (comparative market analysis). It’s an automated guess built off tax records and nearby sales, and in my experience it’s wrong more often than it’s right. If you actually want to know what your home is worth, that number needs to come from someone who has walked through your house, seen your upgrades, and pulled truly comparable sales. Below, I’ll walk you through exactly how to raise your Zestimate, and why I still want you to take it with a grain of salt.

Why is my Zestimate so far off?

Your Zestimate is off because Zillow’s algorithm leans almost entirely on public tax data and recent nearby sales, not on what’s actually inside your home. I tell my clients this all the time: Zillow has never walked through your house. It doesn’t know you renovated the kitchen, refinished the hardwood floors, or added granite countertops. It also doesn’t know your backyard backs up to trees while your neighbor’s slopes down into a cliff. The “recent sales” it uses are usually just the homes physically closest to yours, not the ones that are actually comparable in size, condition, or finishes. That’s a huge blind spot in a market like Montgomery County, where a 1970s kitchen and a fully renovated one can sit two doors down from each other and sell for very different prices. In my experience, the Zestimate is inaccurate roughly nine times out of ten. That said, Zillow is a massive, trusted brand, and plenty of buyers and sellers treat that number as gospel simply because it showed up on their screen. That’s exactly why it’s worth spending a few minutes to make sure it’s working in your favor instead of against you.

How do I actually update my Zestimate?

You update it by claiming your home on Zillow and correcting the home facts section, and the whole process takes less than ten minutes. Here’s exactly how to do it:

1.Go to Zillow.comand type your address into the search bar.

2.Switch to owner view.Once you land on your listing, confirm the page is set to owner view instead of public view.

3.Confirm you’re the owner.Scroll down to the “review your home facts” section, and Zillow will ask you to verify ownership.

4.Correct the basics.Check that your bedroom and bathroom counts are accurate, and double check your square footage. These are simple fields, but I see them wrong constantly.

5.Add your updates and upgrades.This is the section that actually moves the needle. List renovations, new systems, finished basements, additions, whatever Zillow has no way of knowing about on its own.

6.Fill out the description fields.There’s a spot for a general home description, and another one I really like where you can describe what you personally love about the home. Use both.

7.Click save.You’re done.

If you want to see exactly how Zillow’s model actually works under the hood, their own explainer is worth a look here: source link

How long does it take to see the Zestimate change?

It typically takes a few weeks to about a month for your updates to show up. I’ll be straight with you, Zillow doesn’t publish an exact timeline, so I can’t give you a guaranteed date. What I can tell you is what I’ve seen firsthand. I recently walked a set of clients through this exact process, and within a few weeks their Zestimate climbed from $592,000 to just over $650,000. That’s not a small bump, and it happened just from correcting and filling in information that was already true about their home. Zillow simply didn’t know it until they told it.

Should I actually rely on my Zestimate to price my home?

No, you should never rely on your Zestimate to set your actual list price. I want to be clear about this because I think it’s the most important part of this whole conversation. Even after you raise your Zestimate, it’s still an automated estimate, not a professional valuation. It doesn’t account for your specific finishes, your lot, current buyer demand in your specific pocket of Montgomery County, or how your home compares to what’s actually competing against it right now. That’s the job of a real CMA, done by an agent who knows the neighborhood and has walked the comps in person. Where the Zestimate is genuinely useful is as a piece of social proof. If we raise it high enough that it lands above your eventual list price, that’s a detail worth drawing attention to with buyers, because it reinforces that your asking price is reasonable, or even a good deal, in the eyes of a source they already trust. If you’re weighing whether now is the right time to sell, my full walkthrough covers what actually matters: home selling guide.

What else affects my home’s value besides the Zestimate?

Real market data, current local trends, and an agent’s eyes on your specific home affect your value far more than any online estimate. Things like recent comparable sales in your specific neighborhood, current buyer demand, days on market for similar homes, and condition-adjusted pricing all matter more than a number generated by an algorithm that has never seen your house. If you want a real sense of what’s happening in Montgomery County right now, I keep updated local market numbers here: market stats.

FAQ

Does updating my Zestimate actually help me sell my home faster?

Not directly. A higher Zestimate is a nice piece of social proof for buyers browsing online, but it doesn’t replace proper pricing, staging, and marketing. It’s one small tool in a much bigger strategy.

Is the Zestimate the same as a real appraisal?

No. An appraisal is done in person by a licensed professional who physically inspects your home. A Zestimate is a computer-generated guess based on tax records and nearby sales data.

Can updating my Zestimate ever lower it?

It’s possible, though unusual. If your square footage or bed/bath count was previously overstated, correcting it to the true numbers could bring the estimate down slightly. Accuracy is still the goal.

How often should I update my home facts on Zillow?

Any time you complete a renovation or upgrade. Don’t wait until you’re ready to sell. Keeping it current means the estimate stays realistic year-round.

Do I need to do this if I’m not selling anytime soon?

It’s still worth the ten minutes. Whether you’re selling now, later, or not at all, an accurate Zestimate reflects your home more fairly to anyone who happens to look it up.

That’s the full rundown on raising your Zestimate here in Montgomery County. It’s a quick win, but don’t let it replace the real conversation about what your home is actually worth. If you’re ready to talk numbers, strategy, or timing, reach out any time: contact Kevin.

Ready to find out what your home is really worth? Book a free 30-minute call with me here.

Follow Kevin:

YouTube|Instagram|Facebook|LinkedIn

Sources and next steps

Verified local sources:Maryland REALTORS housing statistics;GCAAR housing market reports;FRED 30-year mortgage rate series;Maryland SDAT real property search.

Related Kevin guides:market stats;relocation guide;book a call.

Watch the YouTube videoorbook a 30-minute strategy call with Kevin.

Expanded local research sources:GCAAR housing market reports;Maryland REALTORS housing statistics;Realtor.com Montgomery County market data;FRED 30-year mortgage rates;Maryland SDAT real property search;Zillow Montgomery County home values;Montgomery Planning development;Montgomery Planning development review;MCATLAS zoning map;Montgomery Planning data catalog;Montgomery County permits;Visit Montgomery travel guide;Visit Montgomery restaurant directory;Tripadvisor Montgomery County things to do.

Contextual links for this video

Kevin site links:home selling guide;market stats;DMV Housing Market 2026: Is a Crash Coming or Are the Numbers Telling a Different Story?;Zillow Just Banned Private Listings — Here’s What Home Buyers and Sellers Actually Need to Know;10 Things You Should Never Say to Your Real Estate Agent When Selling Your Home.

Outside research links for this video:GCAAR housing market reports;Maryland REALTORS housing stats;Realtor.com Montgomery County market data;Reddit discussion search for this topic;Google context search for this video.

Kevin process link: why Kevin’s local process matters.