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Maybe one of the RE Agents on the forum can speak to this -- or other people can check out their own homes (?). How accurate are zillow.com (also yahoo, and the rest of the sites that appraise homes)? I just looked at Zillow for our home's estimate and was surprised to see that, though it reports de-valuing in the past 30 days, is still higher than I'd have thought.
I realize that only a real live human can truly help assess our property, but we're not yet ready to sell, I figured I'd just have a look at what Zillow was reporting, and that was what I saw.
So, how accurate do you find it assesses the value of your home or, if you are in the real estate business, how accurate do you find these sites to be?
Maybe one of the RE Agents on the forum can speak to this -- or other people can check out their own homes (?). How accurate are zillow.com (also yahoo, and the rest of the sites that appraise homes)? I just looked at Zillow for our home's estimate and was surprised to see that, though it reports de-valuing in the past 30 days, is still higher than I'd have thought.
I realize that only a real live human can truly help assess our property, but we're not yet ready to sell, I figured I'd just have a look at what Zillow was reporting, and that was what I saw.
So, how accurate do you find it assesses the value of your home or, if you are in the real estate business, how accurate do you find these sites to be?
Thanks.
I just zillowed my home and had a huge laugh. The house next door (which is 1/3 the size and on a postage stamp lot) was valuated as $43,000 less than mine -- which was way undervalued. My land alone (3/4 acre) is worth more to someone looking to build than what my house and it were valued at.
I just zillowed my home and had a huge laugh. The house next door (which is 1/3 the size and on a postage stamp lot) was valuated as $43,000 less than mine -- which was way undervalued. My land alone (3/4 acre) is worth more to someone looking to build than what my house and it were valued at.
You can edit the details of your own home if it is outdated or incorrect. Did you check the "details" section to see if they're right about your square footage, lot size, number of rooms, baths, updates, etc? You'd need to claim the home as your own, then go to edit.
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I had a teeny house in East Setauket about 25 years ago and I zillowed it and was told that it is now worth $1,450,000 . That is soooo not true. It is worth less than $400,000. (It is not in a good area of East Setuaket at all) . Someone was just joking around.
Last edited by nancy thereader; 05-12-2008 at 07:07 PM..
You can edit the details of your own home if it is outdated or incorrect. Did you check the "details" section to see if they're right about your square footage, lot size, number of rooms, baths, updates, etc? You'd need to claim the home as your own, then go to edit.
Jen
I did a blind test -- in other words, I merely plugged in the address as if I were parked out front a house listed for sale, had no idea of the home's details & updates, but wanted an idea of the house's value.
It undervalued my home by $300,000. When corrected by editing the details, it brought my value to a level more consistent with other comps in the area.
I didn't save the edits because I thought the undervaluation was hysterical and I wanted to keep nosybodies guessing.
It really isn't accurate at all. We did the same thing, zillowed our house and it is way undervalued. Our neighbors next door have a smaller house on a smaller lot and it is appraised higher than our house. The reason zillow is so inaccurate is because it bases its values solely on what other homes in a certain radius sold for. Therefore if a rundown house around the block sells for 250k, your house will drastically drop. If you look at the list of houses they say are similar to yours, you have to laugh because very few will even come close to being similar to your home. It's one thing if you live in an architecturally homogenous neighborhood, but if you are in a non-devolopment setting with varying homes, zillow is useless in determining your home value.
I just zillowed my home and had a huge laugh. The house next door (which is 1/3 the size and on a postage stamp lot) was valuated as $43,000 less than mine -- which was way undervalued. My land alone (3/4 acre) is worth more to someone looking to build than what my house and it were valued at.
its very useful for images & recent home sales, not useful at all for home values IMO. Many towns on LI still aren't even listed with a value.
My house was about 80k MORE than what I'd expect anyone to pay last year even in a hot market. Now its still high but somewhat reasonable.
It really isn't accurate at all. We did the same thing, zillowed our house and it is way undervalued. Our neighbors next door have a smaller house on a smaller lot and it is appraised higher than our house. The reason zillow is so inaccurate is because it bases its values solely on what other homes in a certain radius sold for. Therefore if a rundown house around the block sells for 250k, your house will drastically drop. If you look at the list of houses they say are similar to yours, you have to laugh because very few will even come close to being similar to your home. It's one thing if you live in an architecturally homogenous neighborhood, but if you are in a non-devolopment setting with varying homes, zillow is useless in determining your home value.
That's true. I live in an area which has gradually been built up over time -- a very long time!
Looking at the recent home sales, down the street from me one little cottage on a postage stamp lot sold for $381,000 while my neighbor's 2500 sf house on .4 acre just went for $750,000. Around the corner a ranch on .4 with no garage sold for $400K and a block away another cottage on a postage stamp sold for $450K -- and it needed lots of work. There is little or no uniformity in homes, whatsoever, and as you've written, zillow is rendered useless -- unless there is current/recent sale data on that particular home.
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Zillow
