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This is an article in which questions were asked of a Real Estate Appraiser (70 yrs. old), nearly 50 years of experience, located in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
I thought some may find it interesting. Below is one of seven questions that were asked:
Q: What effect, if any, do online real estate sites such as Zillow have on your appraisals? Do home sellers and others expect your appraisals to match those they see online?
A: Appraisers that I know look at these services like a comic book — amusement only. We are amused even more by anyone who would rely on them. They come out with a value, and they’ve never seen the property. How would you like to go out and appraise a Porsche, when condition means everything, and you’ve never seen it? What they take is a volume of properties in a neighborhood and boil them down, saying “this one has 2,500 square feet, these others all had that, and they sold for this.” It means nothing. The view, the condition, the remodeling, the updating, there’s not one thing in there that’s correct. It’s a joke.
From what I've seen, I certainly wouldn't rely on their "Zestimates". Other than that, it can be a good source for those people out there trying to find or sell a house on their own. Well, as long as they aren't trying to use it to get values...
what makes Zillow 'work' for many people is the ease of use and various tools. Other notable info that makes it fun is latest history of when the home was sold, tax information and other mapped location with sold, for rent and other categories for a quick comparison. Other Blog like tools also make it a good info tool.
When I use sites like Realtor, Homes.com or realty web sites, I find them significantly frustrating and with no real added value. For example, the HD Zoom link or 'virtual tool' feature that many exclusive realtors use can be quite powerful IF AND WHEN it actually works....which 9 out of 10 times, it just doesn't.
what makes Zillow 'work' for many people is the ease of use and various tools. Other notable info that makes it fun is latest history of when the home was sold, tax information and other mapped location with sold, for rent and other categories for a quick comparison. Other Blog like tools also make it a good info tool.
When I use sites like Realtor, Homes.com or realty web sites, I find them significantly frustrating and with no real added value. For example, the HD Zoom link or 'virtual tool' feature that many exclusive realtors use can be quite powerful IF AND WHEN it actually works....which 9 out of 10 times, it just doesn't.
There are limits to this... only those properties that were listed and sold on zillow are shown on their maps. Anything outside of zillow is missed and could be a very important factor in valuing properties...
Location: Mokelumne Hill, CA & El Pescadero, BCS MX.
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Zillow is a joke! I can just imagine next time I do a BPO if I answered the question "Source of data" with Zillow instead of the MLS.
I'm also thinking that banks could save themselves a bunch of time and money by just going to Zillow and using the "Zestimate" instead of having someone who has seen the subject property and give them a realistic opinion of value.
I agree, the Zestimates are worthless, except to sellers who want to believe that their house is worth more than someone is willing to pay for it. I do, however, love the sales and tax history and the comps information. I believe that if it weren't for Zillow and Trulia, Realtor.com never would have felt the pressure to start including this info on their site. I live in a state where it's difficult for the average consumer to access this information without bothering with a Realtor.
I'm also thinking that banks could save themselves a bunch of time and money by just going to Zillow and using the "Zestimate" instead of having someone who has seen the subject property and give them a realistic opinion of value.
You do realize that BofA appears to be going to this model and doing away with BPO's and appraisals in short sales, right? Lots of chatter about it right now.
Zillow's zestimate is worthless? I wish home sellers price their home based on that. It is more reflection of what is truly happening now. HomeGain, on the other hand, still thinks it is 2006.
Zillow's zestimate is worthless? I wish home sellers price their home based on that. It is more reflection of what is truly happening now. HomeGain, on the other hand, still thinks it is 2006.
I don't think that you would feel that way if you were looking in my area. There is such a wide range of property values between gated communities, lake front properties, rural properties, etc. that there's no way that they would be able to keep up with everything and be realistic. I tried running a zestimate on a property that one of my clients was looking at (just for the fun of it, thankfully) and found that the property was worth over $1M based on the zestimate that was generated... it was bought it for under $75K!!
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