San Antonio Existing Median Home Price Falls 7% in 2008 - Will 2009 Appraisals Drop? (homes, taxes)

[tekka-maki]

Originally Posted by Paka

Yes... I am certain that you, the all knowing renter who will not commit to buying a house ANYWHERE knows all about the housing market FAR better than anyone invested in it or Zillow.com. who is a company that only make their LIVING (and a damn good one at that) doing what they do compairing sales figures and market values...what the heck would they know????

Having done my comparables with Zillow in the past, I think their estimates are wacky; they've greatly fluctuated solely (it would seem) by data that I've entered myself in the past. Plus they greatly exaggerate the worth of homes in my area as a whole. Lastly, I've ran into more than one loan officer/real estate agent that also advises not to trust Zillow estimates accuracy. At first, I thought they were being snooty. Now I agree...

[ged_782]

I just checked my home's estimated value on Zillow. After peaking around December '08 - January '09, it's down about 18% now. Supposedly, BCAD estimated values for the tax year are as of January 1st of that year.

Given the mixed messages we've been getting regarding the local real estate market over the past few months, I'm anxiously awaiting my 2009 appraisal to see what BCAD has to say about it.

[tekka-maki]

I'm guessing there has been a precipitous drop in sales tax revenue, so Bexar Co. is going to have to BS us all the way to the bank.

[sinsativ]

Just let it out last night on TV, the 2009 appraisals will be out on Monday the 20th, everybody get ready. the BAD spokesperson stated that should be expecting a 2% decline. If you don't get an appraisal notice, means you didn't get a change. You may still want to dispute your value, might want to get it lowered.

[V3rtigo]

Originally Posted by tekka-maki

Having done my comparables with Zillow in the past, I think their estimates are wacky; they've greatly fluctuated solely (it would seem) by data that I've entered myself in the past. Plus they greatly exaggerate the worth of homes in my area as a whole. Lastly, I've ran into more than one loan officer/real estate agent that also advises not to trust Zillow estimates accuracy. At first, I thought they were being snooty. Now I agree...

seller agents tend to push zillow, buyers despise it. as a whole, its terribly inaccurate. a house we were looking at was "appraised" at 600+ on zillow but was listed at 379 and sold for much less. thats not an acceptable variation.

[sinsativ]

Originally Posted by tekka-maki

I'm guessing there has been a precipitous drop in sales tax revenue, so Bexar Co. is going to have to BS us all the way to the bank.

Bank? There's a bank that's still open? where? I need to go get my money! Which one? Come on now, don't be spreading rumors. You were just kidding right There's not really a bank that's open is there You probably wouldn't share the news anyway

[firstclassflyer]

Originally Posted by sinsativ

Bank? There's a bank that's still open? where? I need to go get my money! Which one? Come on now, don't be spreading rumors. You were just kidding right There's not really a bank that's open is there You probably wouldn't share the news anyway

The bank is open...but you have no money left...sorry.

[sinsativ]

Originally Posted by firstclassflyer

The bank is open...but you have no money left...sorry.

Ok, that was just MEAN

[rerockstar]

The problem with Zillow here in Texas revolves around the fact that we are a "non-disclosure" state. Our sales prices are not disclosed to the general public, so Zillow is forced to use other methods to calculate their values. Most non-disclosure states don't have very accurate info on Zillow. Plus, add in the fact that a homeowner can change info about their home (and not necessarily be truthful about it) can it make it a very hard number to peg down.

A lot of people also try and rely on BCAD for valuations of market values of their homes. That's also a bad idea, since we regularly see same floorplan on the same street at different numbers for BCAD appraisal value. One of the reasons we're a non-disclosure state is so that appraisal districts can't jack up your taxes everytime you sell your home (which is how they do it CA). There is some murmuring about trying to change that, but hopefully it won't be passed anytime soon.