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Zillow value

June 15th, 2016 at 05:51 am

I never know how seriously to take Zillow, so I rarely check it. But it seems like every house in our area gets snapped up within a week or two (or less) of the "for sale" sign going up. So I decided to check our property's estimated value.

When we bought in late 2014, Zillow valued it at $369K and we got it for $465K (only a bit less than it was listed at). Does that get used as a baseline measurement for Zillow then? Because it seems like it's been a constant climb from that price point (with just a few dips) and the property is now valued at $530K.

Overall the value has stayed above $500K except for three small dips since Sept. 2014. I don't know whether that's a safe value or not. Anyway, it doesn't really matter, but I'm curious.

Posted in Uncategorized | 5 Comments »

5 Responses to “Zillow value”

  1. AnotherReader Says:
    June 15th, 2016 at 01:10 pm 1465992628
    1465992628

    Zillow is not particularly reliable in neighborhoods with a large range of age, size, condition, etc., because it does not adjust for those variables well if at all. It may also not know that you gave a second living unit.

    Looking directly at the comparable properties in the area, which Zillow should allow you to do, and making sure the attributes of your property are correct should help you assess the value accurately.

    Curious what has happened to your condo. Has the value of that gone up?

  2. ceejay74 Says:
    June 15th, 2016 at 01:46 pm 1465994806
    1465994806

    What's interesting is that we're valued much higher than anything on the block, including the triplex next door. I'm not sure how many single-family vs. multifamily there are in our area but I know it's a good mix.

    I never even thought to look at the condo! It's valued at $156K. When we sold it was valued at $143K, but we sold for $133K.

  3. snafu Says:
    June 15th, 2016 at 03:24 pm 1466000643
    1466000643

    Zillow bases it's evaluation on public numbers, like tax assessment, size of property, size of structure, sf, and out building, number of bathrms as compared to others sold in a given district whose parameters it chooses. There is no access to internal factors like condition, accoutrements, windows, furnace, AC, appliances, decor etc. that realtors use. They don't consider what is adjacent, traffic, materials [brick/siding/clapboard] landscaping, school rating, access to services and the details that are important to buyers.

    As I understand it, Zillow valuation is based on recent neighborhood 'solds' usingle available public data. Realtors seem to base pricing on neighborhood 'solds' and listings, with points given for appearance and appliances. Housing still is very capitalistic, based on what a willing seller and buyer agree upon based on their circumstances. Would you feel ok using Zillow's evaluation for your home in a Net Worth statement? It likely reflects the status of the housing market in your community.

  4. ceejay74 Says:
    June 15th, 2016 at 04:00 pm 1466002846
    1466002846

    I'm considering moving it up in my calculations. I had based it on Redfin's valuation ($467K) at the time we bought it, minus 6% since it would cost at least that much to sell it, so $440K. I could move it up to $500,000, which is between my current valuation and Zillow's, minus 6% which would equal $470K.

  5. LivingAlmostLarge Says:
    June 15th, 2016 at 08:23 pm 1466018634
    1466018634

    I think $500k is fine. There is some lag. I am a bad judge however of RE.

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