Is Zillow addiction curable?

Zillow’s home value estimates have become “like TikTok for adults,” said Kris Frieswick. The home sales site calls the number the Zestimate, and I obsessively check it every day. It’s possible you do, too—“there are lots of people like me.” Some homeowners worry about the Zestimate so much that “they have actually sued Zillow to ensure that they get the value that they are absolutely convinced they deserve.” I understand that. Sometimes, “my selfworth is defined by my Zestimate.” One day I see that my house’s Zestimate has gone up by $5,000; “For the next 24 hours, I am a good person.” When

it fell by $15,000, I moped around wondering what I had done. I check my neighbors’ Zestimates too, to “see how their per-square-foot value compares with mine.” I asked a financial psychologist, Brad Klontz, how to get out of the “Zestimate loop.” The answer wasn’t promising. “We’re wired to pay extremely close attention to how everyone else values us,” Klontz said. His advice: Don’t try to ignore it or pretend you’re not interested. Just recognize that trying to compare your value with the rest of the tribe’s is part of being human. Knowing that just might give you “the ability to transcend it.”