Which real estate website has the most accurate estimate (prices, property, value)
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The fact that the question just keeps coming up supports the fact that online appraisals beg for regulation.
Mortgage companies use online resources to get the fair market value of a property for HELOCs. It isn't that difficult to comprehend, it's based on statistics and property taxes. I've seen homes in our area get listed and sold, and Zillow's estimate of the market value was only within a few thousand dollars. If you asked five realtors to give you the fair market value, you are going to get five different answers.
In the last year or so, there was a thread here where posters looked up an address on all four sites. There was no consensus on prices and no one site was consistently always high or always low. In other words, there is no rhyme or reason.
If you understood statistics and read how they determine value of a property, you'd clearly see they all have a method. Five realtors will give you five different answers, so it stands to reason that each website will have their own algorithm and data sources to use.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rummage
Mortgage companies use online resources to get the fair market value of a property for HELOCs. It isn't that difficult to comprehend, it's based on statistics and property taxes. I've seen homes in our area get listed and sold, and Zillow's estimate of the market value was only within a few thousand dollars. If you asked five realtors to give you the fair market value, you are going to get five different answers.
If you ask 5 agents to give you "fair market value," you have asked the wrong question and should get NO numbers.
Now, if you ask 5 agents to give you a "likely sales price," you have asked the right question and should get answers.
Sales prices include strategies.
Valuation is licensed appraiser territory, and, well golly, they are regulated!
As with anything else of value in life, if you want a true, unbiased opinion of value....ie, Appraisal, of your property, then you have to pay for it by contacting an MAI appraiser. "Master of the Appraisal Institute". They will have no allegiance to a bank, or a mortgage company or a municipality. They will give you a determination of the value of your property …"that day". But this can cost you $450 to $550 depending upon your property, etc. No one seems to want to pay that so you get a "free market analysis" from a realtor who wants your listing or from a valuation service online. Or from a bank appraiser who wants to keep his/her job and knows the bank has lending limits on your property. As has been said before, 5 realtors, 5 different valuations...also 5 bank appraisers, 5 different valuations. You be the judge.
Mortgage companies use online resources to get the fair market value of a property for HELOCs. It isn't that difficult to comprehend, it's based on statistics and property taxes. I've seen homes in our area get listed and sold, and Zillow's estimate of the market value was only within a few thousand dollars. If you asked five realtors to give you the fair market value, you are going to get five different answers.
1. what % of HELOC's are opened without obtaining an appraisal
2. was the Zestimate within a few thousand the month before the house was put on the market? Or you're just saying that after they sold, you looked them up, and the Zestimate was within a few thousand of sales price?
3. what % of the homes did you look at, and compare the Zestimate a month before it was put onto the market to the sales price?
As with anything else of value in life, if you want a true, unbiased opinion of value....ie, Appraisal, of your property, then you have to pay for it by contacting an MAI appraiser. "Master of the Appraisal Institute". They will have no allegiance to a bank, or a mortgage company or a municipality. They will give you a determination of the value of your property …"that day". But this can cost you $450 to $550 depending upon your property, etc. No one seems to want to pay that so you get a "free market analysis" from a realtor who wants your listing or from a valuation service online. Or from a bank appraiser who wants to keep his/her job and knows the bank has lending limits on your property. As has been said before, 5 realtors, 5 different valuations...also 5 bank appraisers, 5 different valuations. You be the judge.
Just a few corrections:
MAI is a 3 letter designation given to appraisers who have passed the requirements. The letters haven't stood for anything in ages.
Appraisers that do work for lenders (including MAIs) have to be unbiased. Appraising to keep a client is illegal on both sides. And appraisers don't know about lending limits on the property.
5 good realtors and/or 5 good appraisers will give you very similar values. Unless it's a truly unique property where there is not good market data available.
Appraisers that do work for lenders (including MAIs) have to be unbiased. Appraising to keep a client is illegal on both sides. And appraisers don't know about lending limits on the property.
5 good realtors and/or 5 good appraisers will give you very similar values. Unless it's a truly unique property where there is not good market data available.
FWIW, I will accept the stipulation that appraisers try to be as accurate as they can. They do though, know the contract price for the property, and the amount of the loan. Those are, FWIW, the limits the banks care about.
Out of Zillow Redfin Realtor.com and others which one of these sites has the most accurate home estimate?
The specs on my house, and my Dad's house are wrong and have been as long as I've been looking at online RE sites - so I don't know how they could be accurate. I assume they're only accurate if there's been a recent transaction, and even then maybe not...
Out of curiosity, I just looked and there is about a 10% range in values on my home. Unfortunately, I know that the lower end is the more accurate amount, and if I were to sell right now, I wouldn't get another 10% on top of that although of course that would be nice!
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