On-Line Pricing Is Not Accurate
Second opinions usually have the negative result of bringing confusion to an issue. For example, you know exactly what treatment to follow if you visit with doctor "A", but if you visit doctor "B" who has a different treatment program, well, now you don't know what to do.
That's the problem now being faced by people who have relied upon the website www.zillow.com to get their pricing guidelines for real estate because now there's a second and even a third entry into the on-line property valuation process.
Zillow, famous for its "zestimates" is now being challenged by insurance giant Fidelity National Information Services and their new on-line entry, www.cyberhomes.com, and by a nationally advertised service called www.HouseValues.com.
The problem with this is that now buyers, sellers and real estate agents are faced with as many as three pricing opinions -- and often these opinions differ widely.
How widely?
The Palm Beach Post did a comparative study of how the Zillow and Cyber sites valued the same properties. The paper reported that the numbers were all over the place, that the prices from Cyber were "very optimistic" and that Cyber was above the asking price for the four houses they looked at. The paper concluded that people should not take these tools too seriously.
I've been advising readers the same thing for months about Zillow. I am of the opinion that neither Zillow nor Cyber is going to give accurate pricing guidelines. I've never checked out HouseValues, but I doubt it is any more accurate than the other two.
If accurate pricing is required, I advise you to pay for a professional appraisal or have the property evaluated by a skilled real estate agent.
For more information about real estate in the Tampa Bay area, visit my website at www.TheStPeteRealEstateSite.com.
That's the problem now being faced by people who have relied upon the website www.zillow.com to get their pricing guidelines for real estate because now there's a second and even a third entry into the on-line property valuation process.
Zillow, famous for its "zestimates" is now being challenged by insurance giant Fidelity National Information Services and their new on-line entry, www.cyberhomes.com, and by a nationally advertised service called www.HouseValues.com.
The problem with this is that now buyers, sellers and real estate agents are faced with as many as three pricing opinions -- and often these opinions differ widely.
How widely?
The Palm Beach Post did a comparative study of how the Zillow and Cyber sites valued the same properties. The paper reported that the numbers were all over the place, that the prices from Cyber were "very optimistic" and that Cyber was above the asking price for the four houses they looked at. The paper concluded that people should not take these tools too seriously.
I've been advising readers the same thing for months about Zillow. I am of the opinion that neither Zillow nor Cyber is going to give accurate pricing guidelines. I've never checked out HouseValues, but I doubt it is any more accurate than the other two.
If accurate pricing is required, I advise you to pay for a professional appraisal or have the property evaluated by a skilled real estate agent.
For more information about real estate in the Tampa Bay area, visit my website at www.TheStPeteRealEstateSite.com.
-30-
posted by Terry Ward at 8:46 AM
1 Comments:
Good post showing the basic problem with any AVM---since there is no physical examination of the property (house & land) the valuation is very likely to be fatally flawed. There is no accounting for the current market pool and other unzillowables (views, neighbors, traffic, noise & the other stuff that doesn't get in the number cruncher), including any local news likely to affect property values---higher taxes, rezoning, etc. Only pros on the ground know what's happening in the local market on a day-to-day basis.
Since pricing is the key to marketing and selling a home, using an AVM to set a price is the WORST thing you can do. Too high & you won't sell, too low and you lose money.
Remember Zillow's pitch is "a" starting point NOT a "good" or "best" starting point.
The only thing these sites are good for is the "data" & "comps"(not the valuation, which is a red herring to draw visitors to the site) but even those need to be double checked for accuracy, completeness and freshness.
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