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Should I take any stock in what Zillow has to say about what my property value is,it is listed with them,they just crunch numbers and say what there price is,giveaway,as far as I am concerned.
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Zillow calculates its 'zestimate' primarily based on 2 key set of parameters:
1. The data about the house itself: square footage, lot size, number of bedrooms, bathrooms etc.
2. The 'comps' - comparable houses sold or being currently listed for sale nearby.
The second factor is the dominant one. So, take a look around and see what is the real estate activity in your area.
If there are a lot of houses sold\listed for sale, then the 'zestimate' is fairly accurate (say +- 10%), like it or not.
Otherwise, it may be way off.
Don't forget that almost all house owners display the Endowment effect - ascribe more value to their house than the real market value of the house actually is.
As an example: Zillow has a feature called "make me an offer". The prices listed there are almost always quite laughable.
There are HUGE problems with Zillow's "algorithms" and it's alleged "data source". It is bad enough in areas with similar homes that sell frequently but in areas with wide variation in home age / size / quality or relatively infrequent sales it is nightmare!
Zillow is pure nonsense. I've said this before on here. . Zillow has my current home listed as a two family. It is not now and has never been a two family. Although we haven't lived in it since it was built, I've know the neighborhood since it was developed.
Data is only as good as the data collectors. Their method of choosing comparable sales is also suspect. They do not take " comparables" - apples to apples. They simply take everything that has been sold in an area and compare apples to oranges to kiwi fruit.
Hire a local appraiser if you want to know what a house is worth and use that appraisal if you want to put your home on the market. You can show it to prospective buyers. .
The only thing to look at is sold comps. The "worth" is really nothing more than a opinion. The only opinion that maters is what a buyer is willing to pay.
In our area, there are lots of resources -- municipal web sites, multiple listing sites, etc. -- where you can determine the real value of a home by finding out square footage, number of rooms, upgrades, taxes, etc. You can also go to weekend open houses in your neighborhood to see what the competition looks like.
If you want professional help, spend the money for an appraiser. Do not use real estate agents, who, based on my experience, will lowball the value of your home to get it sold for a quicker commission. Either that, or they will overvalue your home to get the listing and then suggest you take a price reduction after they've hooked you.
Zillow and other such sites try to value your home from a distance. The information is often wrong.
Location: Winter nightime low 60,summer daytime high 85, sunny 300 days/year, no hablamos ingles aquÃ
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Zillow "A pure nonsense"? "A big joke"? "Hire an appraiser, he will tell you the 'truth'"!
Really?
Actually, Zillow creates its estimates exactly the same way as an appraiser - looks at the comps, and calculates the approximate value. The more similar comps, the more precise the estimate. The main difference is that Zillow uses an automated process that allows it go through more comps faster than an appraiser ever will. On the downside, as it has been correctly pointed out, sometime the data Zillow gets is inaccurate, and results in faulty appraisal. As any techie will tell you "garbage in, garbage out"
But the vitriolic reaction towards Zillow is to be expected.
Sellers complain "How dare you Zillow to appraise my beautiful castle so low!"
Buyers complain "Zillow in cahoots with the sellers artificially inflates the home prices!"
Ignore Zillow at your own peril. Zestimate is among the first things potential buyer looks at when they become seriously interested in your house. Over-inflate your price and they will turn in disgust from the "greedy seller".
Zillow is great for neighborhood averages and trends. They are worthless for specific home estimates. They have no idea if your home of the comps are filled with mold or gold. No idea if you have a flat usable lot or a cliff behind your house. Cul de sac vs. busy street. Train track vs pure quiet location. Desireable floor plan vs crazy layout. Thus, worthless.
Should I take any stock in what Zillow has to say about what my property value is,it is listed with them,they just crunch numbers and say what there price is,giveaway,as far as I am concerned.
Zestimates are crap!
Crap, I tell you.
I like Zillow for lots of things, but Zestimates are crap.
We live in a duplex built in 2011.
For a long time, our side's Zestimate was $100K below our neighbor's. Identical sides.
Until recently, our house appeared twice on our street in Zillow. Two separate entries for the same unit.
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No!
