2007-10-28 07:45:43 · 4 answers · asked by Julie R 1 in Business & Finance ➔ Renting & Real Estate
Go to http://www.zillow.com/ and enter your street address and zipcode. You'll find your neighbors' estimated values too.
2007-10-28 07:56:34 · answer #1 · answered by Mike Y 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Depends upon how hard you want to work. If you want something for your own amusement, completely worthless if you're lucky, go to zillow.com and plug in your address. But if you try to use it for anything, you'll need to be very lucky for a 'zestimate' to be worth what it costs (which is to say nothing)
Many agents will do free Comparative Market Analyses. The major problems with this are two: It takes judgment honed by the market to arrive at valid numbers, and too many agents don't know the market well enough (the only way to get good numbers is looking at both your property and the similar ones in the area that have already sold - something you can't do retroactively), because the only time they're in properties is taking a listing or showing one to clients. Someone who specializes in helping buyers will likely come closer than the average listing agent.
The second major issue has to do with things like habitability and showing restrictions. A vacant property on lockbox with unlimited access for agents will show more often, and better, than one where there's three kids, two dogs, a perpetual whirlwind in progress, and folks need an appointment to see it. Even though the second may be a better, more valuable property, the first may fetch a higher price. A good agent learns to take all that into account.
Evaluating properties is contingent upon a lot of factors, and dependent upon what you're going to use that evaluation for: sale, refinance, your own amusement, whatever.
2007-10-28 08:20:52 · answer #2 · answered by Searchlight Crusade 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
A licensed Realtor will give you a free estimate. Make appointments with several and tell them that you are doing so. Make sure they bring you the listings for comparable properties - things that have sold in the last six months, what's under contract, how many listings are available currently. If you have the time go and see the competition.
If you buy new construction and have a home sale contingency they might pay for an assessment, and will probably ask you to price the home within a certain percentage of that price.
2007-10-28 08:33:58 · answer #3 · answered by Carolyn 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
From my experience, the numbers at Zillow are a joke. And a bad one at that. I sold some property in San Antonio a little while ago and Zillow showed the value at nearly 20% higher than the sale price just a few weeks after the sale, even though they did have accurate numbers on the sale price! Talk about dumb!
If you want a reasonalbe estimate of your home's value, contact a licensed Realtor and tell them you're considering selling your home. They'll work up a comparative market analysis that will give you a good idea about the potential value of your home that will be far more accurate than anything you'll see on Zillow.
2007-10-28 08:02:52 · answer #4 · answered by Bostonian In MO 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋