The spring real estate market is in sight and a popular question is “Are Zestimates accurate?†Many potential sellers rely on Zillow to provide a “Zestimate†of their home’s value. Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff is quoted as saying that the Zestimates are “a good starting point,†but that nationwide Zestimates have a “median error rate†of about 8%. In our opinion, 8% is a big variance. It equals $40,000 on a $500,000 home!
In a non-scientific study of local New Albany home prices vs. their Zillow Zestimates, we found that homes priced under $500,000 had, on average, a 10% variance from their actual sales price, while the New Albany homes that sold above $500,000 had an astonishing 20% discrepency (on average) from their actual sales price.* Those numbers are troubling, and are one of the reasons we don’t ever recommend using Zillow to price your home or to determine a fair price to pay for a home.
The LA Times recently published an article about Zillow Zestimates. You can read the entire article here. https://www.latimes.com/business/realestate/la-fi-harney-20150208-story.html
To summarize, Zillow can be a decent place to start when determining a home’s value, but homeowners and home buyers should look to a qualified Realtor for a more accurate valuation. Kate & Tony and Thomas & Company have specialized in residential home sales in New Albany for 19 years. We are happy to assist you with determining a home’s true value as you consider possible moves in 2016! Reach out to us anytime at 614-939-1234 or newalbanyohio.com.