- Find a Real Estate Professional
- Realtors®
- Mortgage Lenders
- Home Improvement Pros
- Other Real Estate Services
- Review an Agent, Lender or Pro
- Marketing on Zillow
- Real Estate Agent Advertising
- Join the Professional Directory
- Popular
- Real Estate Market Reports
- More
Answers (15)
- sunnyview
- Contributions:25139
"Just because the appraiser says its not worth 95k doesnt mean that its worth 95k. Appraisals are off quite often."
Maybe, but your opinion as an agent and the owners opinion as the seller does not mean much. The bank is going to by the the appraisal for the mortgage and for any refi down the line.
Most appraisals are not "off" by 25% so a buyer better think carefully before they buy for that much over the appraisal. Not just buy and hope the market gets better.
Maybe, but your opinion as an agent and the owners opinion as the seller does not mean much. The bank is going to by the the appraisal for the mortgage and for any refi down the line.
Most appraisals are not "off" by 25% so a buyer better think carefully before they buy for that much over the appraisal. Not just buy and hope the market gets better.
- meadowcove
- Contributions:9
there is a home i am looking at for sale at $400k it is valued as follows
Zillow $389.674 $533.800 $731,306
Eppraisal $296,435 $348.748 $401.060
As you can see Zillow is a joke nearly $200k over its worth and every day it loses more and more credibility. I use eppraisal now as Zillow has become a shill for RE
- Sean Glaze, "Sean Glaze"
- Contributions:402
The zestimate is not always off by any exact number or they would just change it to make it more accurate. The zestimate suffers from the same flaws as any CMA or appriser local comps (comparable sales) the difference is an appraiser can look at the comps and say this one is not a good match and this one is more similar so I will add this one where the computer has no way of doing that. But be assured appraisals make mistakes as well if your Realtor feels the value is a fair one they should be able to provide comps to the appraiser to justify the value. Bank appraisers or overly conservative right now, as they should always be, so we do not get huge jumps in value is short periods of time.
- ricon
- Contributions:31
It is not true that you should knock 30% off. I bought house in 2009 for 220k Just did my refi appraisal was for 270k Zestimate is 230k.
So i guess I should say that add10-25% to estimate to get real value.
But I do not live in some kind of shitty place(no short sale or foreclosure)
So i guess I should say that add10-25% to estimate to get real value.
But I do not live in some kind of shitty place(no short sale or foreclosure)
- Rita Dickinson, "Rita40ocean"
- Contributions:68
Appraiser are not always correct. Double check the most recent sales in your condominum which you should find in the public record. Bank foreclosure should not be factored in on an appraisal.You can always request a second appraisal if you find sales that are higher than your recent appraisal. I often find Zillow on the low side on value. Remember zillow does not see the interior of a home and any improvement that may be made. If you are upside down on your mortgage than consider a bank short sale.
- Patrick Lydon, "PatrickLydon"
- Contributions:9
Just because the appraiser says its not worth 95k doesnt mean that its worth 95k. Appraisals are off quite often.
Think about it. Your buyer probably searched very hard before coming to your place to buy it. Unless they fell off the turnip truck they know the market (most likely better than homesellers and appraisers, because the scour the internet daily until they find a home). See if they will go to another bank andd get another appraiser.
Good Luck
Think about it. Your buyer probably searched very hard before coming to your place to buy it. Unless they fell off the turnip truck they know the market (most likely better than homesellers and appraisers, because the scour the internet daily until they find a home). See if they will go to another bank andd get another appraiser.
Good Luck
- sunnyview
- Contributions:25139
"If the buyer wants the property & can come up with more money down there should not be a problem as the market is rising slowly & it still will be a great long term investment. "
Of course a buyer can come up with more money down, but I have to disagree that putting 25K more into a house than it appraises for is a good long term investment. That would mean that the day the buyer closes they are already a minimum of 20% underwater. Swimming and waiting for the market to come back up is not a good place to start being a homeowner.
Of course a buyer can come up with more money down, but I have to disagree that putting 25K more into a house than it appraises for is a good long term investment. That would mean that the day the buyer closes they are already a minimum of 20% underwater. Swimming and waiting for the market to come back up is not a good place to start being a homeowner.
- Theresa Puglia, "TheresaPuglia"
- Contributions:13
I don't know all the details however,
With all due respect, how long was it from the time you saw the Zestimate(only an estimate at that time) & the actual appraisal. It changes day to day as a bank only likes to look back technically every 30, 60, and 90 days. An appraisal is much more detailed than an estimate/Zestimate.
Did you use a realtor?
If the buyer wants the property & can come up with more money down there should not be a problem as the market is rising slowly & it still will be a great long term investment. The bank is only able to view it "at this time".
I wish you all the best.
With all due respect, how long was it from the time you saw the Zestimate(only an estimate at that time) & the actual appraisal. It changes day to day as a bank only likes to look back technically every 30, 60, and 90 days. An appraisal is much more detailed than an estimate/Zestimate.
Did you use a realtor?
If the buyer wants the property & can come up with more money down there should not be a problem as the market is rising slowly & it still will be a great long term investment. The bank is only able to view it "at this time".
I wish you all the best.
- Wade Kawahara, "Wade Kawahara"
- Contributions:69
I'm not sure exactly what your situation is but I am curious if you had a real estate agent help you sell your condo. An agent most likely would have given you a CMA to help you asess the value of your home the way an appraiser would. If you were just depending on the accuracy of a Zestimate, you found out the hard way that it was a critical mistake. I understand that people like to save money by trying to sell homes by themselves but this is a good example of why hiring a professional is critical. Especially when you are dealing with large amounts of money.
- wetdawgs
- Contributions:26833
Zillow's FAQ on "What is a Zestimate?" offers the following:
The Zestimate (pronounced ZEST-ti-met, rhymes with estimate) home valuation is Zillow's estimated market value, computed using a proprietary formula. It is not an appraisal. It is a starting point in determining a home's value. The Zestimate is pulled from data; your real estate agent or appraiser physically inspects the home and takes special features, location, and market conditions into account. We encourage buyers, sellers, and homeowners to supplement Zillow's information by doing other research such as:
* Getting a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) from a real estate agent
* Getting an appraisal from a professional appraiser
* Visiting the house (whenever possible)
I'm sadden to hear the consequences when these steps are skipped.
The Zestimate (pronounced ZEST-ti-met, rhymes with estimate) home valuation is Zillow's estimated market value, computed using a proprietary formula. It is not an appraisal. It is a starting point in determining a home's value. The Zestimate is pulled from data; your real estate agent or appraiser physically inspects the home and takes special features, location, and market conditions into account. We encourage buyers, sellers, and homeowners to supplement Zillow's information by doing other research such as:
* Getting a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) from a real estate agent
* Getting an appraisal from a professional appraiser
* Visiting the house (whenever possible)
I'm sadden to hear the consequences when these steps are skipped.
- Jeanne Feenick, "TopNJAgent"
- Contributions:149
Agree with Sunnyview - though Zillow, or any other automated source is an interesting touch point, it is not an appraisal. An agent's assessment should be closer, because it reflects local knowledge.
Analysis for pricing a home or making an offer should be based on a thorough analysis with the assistance of local pros.
And do check your contract/mortgage language - if the underappraisal stands in the way of securing your financing, you may be protected by the mortgage contingency.
Analysis for pricing a home or making an offer should be based on a thorough analysis with the assistance of local pros.
And do check your contract/mortgage language - if the underappraisal stands in the way of securing your financing, you may be protected by the mortgage contingency.
- Amy Mateus, "Amy Mateus"
- Contributions:39
You should review your Purchase and Sales Agreement...there usually is a clause in it that addresses what your options are if the appraisal value falls short of the sale price.
Good Luck!
- sunnyview
- Contributions:25139
You should not be relying on any automated valuation for value as all of them are 3 weeks to 3 months behind the curve on local values. If you are working with an agent, they can pull the local recent sales, current listings and the trends in the market to help you make an offer that is reasonable, but supportable.
Zillow should not be used to make offers. IT is a great tool, but the range is too wide for hanging a house purchase on.
Zillow should not be used to make offers. IT is a great tool, but the range is too wide for hanging a house purchase on.
- Amy Mullen, "amyullenremax"
- Contributions:173
Ursomniac,
Unfortunately this is very true about Zillow's values and something I battle with every day.
This is not shameless self promotion but a statement about any Realtor who is a true full time professional and takes their work seriously - when buying or selling or home the internet is great resource - I rely heavily on it - but it's not an end-all. Nothing will take the place of a true market valuation performed by a real person.
That being said - are the sellers willing to reduce their price to the appraisal considering they will hit this same issue with the next buyer and extend their selling process? OR is their agent going to challenge the appraisal and possibly get it recalculated?
Amy
Unfortunately this is very true about Zillow's values and something I battle with every day.
This is not shameless self promotion but a statement about any Realtor who is a true full time professional and takes their work seriously - when buying or selling or home the internet is great resource - I rely heavily on it - but it's not an end-all. Nothing will take the place of a true market valuation performed by a real person.
That being said - are the sellers willing to reduce their price to the appraisal considering they will hit this same issue with the next buyer and extend their selling process? OR is their agent going to challenge the appraisal and possibly get it recalculated?
Amy
My appraisal just came in 30% lower than the zestimate. As a result I'm about to lose everything.
Stating a discriminatory preference in an advertisement for housing is illegal. If you think this content is discriminatory or otherwise inappropriate and feel it should be removed from Zillow, please let us know by completing the information above.
We will review this content. Thanks for helping make the site more useful to everyone. To learn more, read Zillow's Good Neighbor Policy.