Question


Michael K

Why is there such a big discrepancy between the real estate value sites?

I am in a market to sell my house and will be doing it through an agent. But I do have a question about the websites which I perused to get an idea. Why is there such a huge discrepancy in value between the different sites? Why is eappraisals.com coming up with numbers that is over 30% lower than Zillow or Yahoo Real Estate? Which would be considered more accurate? This is more out of my curiosity about how these websites operate and get their numbers.

3 weeks ago - 5 answers

Best Answer

Chosen by Asker

First thing, you can't go to a website and get the value of your home, I will say it one more time, you can't go to a website and get the value of your home. These web sites are a guess at best. They are like a blind man in a shooting contest. They all use county data and can not tell the condition or do they know the difference between a one story home or a two story with a basement. They take all the square footage and lump it together and you can not do that with basements or area below grade. They take all homes, regardless of sales date, design or style. They will compare unfinished basements with finished basements. Sorry but your not going to find the vaule of your home unless you do a appraisal. These websites are a joke.

Source(s)

Certified Appraiser

by Leo F

3 weeks ago

Asker's Rating: 

Other Answers

Not sure about the sites themselves put one seems to claim to be an appraisal site. Appraisals are taken form recent sales and should be considered more in touch with reality. The other site list homes not sold, priced with High hopes.

by Ross- 3 weeks ago

It is impossible to determine the value of your home without walking thru your home and yard and comparing the recent area sales in a very educated way. A computer program may be able to compare recent sales- but they would not be able to figure out which ones are most like yours. They also would not be able to tell if one of them (or yours) has an odor problem or a great view, or is on a busy corner, or the neighbor never mows their grass, or the floor plan is great- or chopped up. A smart buyer would never buy a home for their family without walking thru the property and peaking over the fence and driving around the neighborhood. So none of these are accurate at all.

by glenn- 3 weeks ago

Check out cyberhomes.com That will really depress you

by Eric- 3 weeks ago

The online sites use public records and maybe some MLS data. Real estate pricing is based largely upon location and condition. Location is very important. We all know of areas in our towns where homes are worth more or less than homes nearby. Often the difference in 3 or 4 blocks is extreme and pricing reflects this. The online websites just do not have the "local" knowledge. They also cannot know the condition of the "comps" they are comparing. If you want an estimate of value speak with a local real estate agent who will be able to run a comparative market analysis (CMA) of homes similar to yours in the area.

by bbbbbbbbbbbb- 3 weeks ago