Just messing with you Prime.
Zillow is a good benchmark for home value, but isn't always accurate.
A lot goes into the sales price of a house, as you stated.
My house i lived in for 6 years in Houston, Zillow had it at 370k, but because of the subdivision i lived in and the fact it was in the back of the neighborhood surrounded by much more expensive homes, i was able to sell it for 100k over that. It was the smallest house in the area and had good "bones". People will pay a premium for that.
School districts dictate a lot too, it was in an area that had one of the best public high schools around and a very fancy private high school too, just 2 miles away.
All those things drove it up more than anticipated. I was patient and left it on the market until someone offered what i wanted. Houses were selling in days/weeks and i held for 7 months.
As you know, there are some rules of thumb for flipping houses profitably. Smallest house needing the most work in a neighborhood is a pretty sure bet. You are sure right about school districts. West Linn and Lake Oswego our neighboring suburb have the two best school districts in Oregon. What is hard to predict is the emotional side of choosing a property. Sometimes the buyer clicks with the house, maybe it reminds them of good times or their childhood home.
There is a lot of money to be made flipping houses but if you get it wrong, there is also a lot to lose. Like my parents, I bought nicer houses in better neighborhoods. One difference between us is that I invested my profits from the previous house buying the new house, so the mortgages were always manageable. My current house payment is less than what you can rent a 1-bedroom apartment for in my neighborhood. Property taxes are a whole other issue.
It just so happens that the dump I bought in a then seedy Portland neighborhood back in the 70's for which I paid $13,000, is close in value to the house I have now because it is just a couple of miles from downtown Portland. That rundown neighborhood is one of the most sought-after places to live in Portland. A couple of years ago the owners let me tour the house. It was okay, but nothing special unless you happen to love bungalows built in 1910 with original fir floors and beefed-up millwork.
There's a house for sale in West Linn with an asking price of $42,000,000. It is a Willamette riverfront house with 11 bedrooms 18 bathrooms and 51,908 sq ft. And I believe it is still under construction. Many houses in this little town sell for million or more. Looking at the big picture, my house value is quite modest. Sometimes I think a lot of my neighbors have stock in Tesla because there are so many of those over-priced cars around here. LOL! I drive a compact Mazda that's 6 years old.
(virtual exterior photo)