To Determine a Home’s Value, Scoot Away from the Keyboard & Just ask Your Realtor
Written by Jennifer Cox on October 1, 2008
The popularity of zillow.com and other home valuation web sites, including auditor’s sites and realtor.com, has raised a new issue of what data is reliable when determining a home’s market value. Before a listing appointment, or when assisting a buyer with an offer, I pour over stats, and prepare information. I am secure in my evaluation. I combine the stats with good old fashioned market knowledge. There is a good chance that I have shown or sold homes in the neighborhood, only to have a customer or client negate my hard work and knowledge by playing “the zillow card”.
Let’s take the house that Randy and I call home. The auditor’s site is correct. The above grade square footage is accurate. They are also allowing a little less than 1/3 of the total finished basement, about 600 square feet, as we have a side walkout. The lot size is correct. The assessed value, in ratio to current market value, appears valid.
However, a site accessed from Greater Cincinnati Multiple Listing Service, called Realist, used by many agents in the area, including yours truly, is incorrect. It has the square footage listed correctly, but the lot size is inaccurate. We have just over a 1/2 acre lot, and Realist states that we have a .25 acre lot.
If our home were on the market, and a buyer that didn’t know any better went by zillow.com, they would not have the correct square footage information (no finished basement square footage noted) to make a decent evaluation. To complicate matters, they have our home in the wrong school district……not even close.
Poor information at best!
If you formed an offer on our home, per www.zillow.com information, I would have to run you off my front sidewalk!
Now, on the other hand, if you recently visited www.realtor.com, then to Find Home Values, and brought us an offer based on their valuation….well, you have yourself a deal!!! Randy and I can be moved by the end of the month!!
There was a $40,000 difference in those two sites alone. Personally, I prefered the www.realtor.com numbers, but I have to confess, as a full time working agent, I knew that “there ain’t no way” my home was worth that much. 2005 yes, 2008 no.
So, all that being said, who do you trust?
Do you trust a web site that is only as good as the information entered by humans, filled with human errors? A web site that doesn’t know that all the lots in that subdivision are ½ acre minimum, so this stated .25 acre is incorrect? A web site that doesn’t know that when the buyers had this home built, they added a two foot bump, so this square foot information is incorrect? A web site that did not step foot inside these 5 comps, or last week drove out of town buyers to homes that are priced exactly the same as yours, and know what buyers expect for a $200,000, $350,000, or $500,000 home?
If you want an honest and complete Home Evaluation, give me a call or send me an email at jcox@realcincy.com. Randy can help you in Kentucky. rhibbard@realcincy.com
Our promise: we may not always tell you what you want to hear, but we will tell you what you need to know!
