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Answers (3)
- ruby41
- Contributions:4
The problem is Real Estate Agents ( I used to have my license) tend to lean towards high end comps. I am currently a buyer however I refuse to buy at these artificially over inflated prices. A year ago I saw comps all day long in mid 200s. Now this year although the market and home values have been tanking for quite some time, I'm seeing comparable homes in mid 300s. Help me make sense of this? By the way there are comps this year of homes that have sold in mid to low 200s, the problem is agents refuse to use them. So you have them selectively pricing properties not based on a fair representation of comps but to their liking being driven by commission. I could tell you some stories about the unethical behavior in this market that would curl your hair. The rule of thumb in my area is use the two year old assessment as a price point and pull in the highest sold comps to support your price. If they were smart they would concentrate on volume and not holding the over inflated price point.
- Pat Pribisko, "Pat Pribisko"
- Contributions:1426
Zillow readily admits that its Zestimates are merely estimates based upon public records. As a Realtor, I don't use Zestimates or real estate assessments to determine a listing price. I do a CRM (Comparative Market Analysis).
- Ed Lyon, "Newton EcoBroker"
- Contributions:21
Zillow's estimates have a fairly broad range, it is true. To my knowledge, Zillow is not in cahoots with NAR. I would say they are trying to work on making an imperfect system, their Zestimate, better through time. They do rely on each towns' assessed value, which trails market information by a year or more, depending on assessment frequency. Zestimates also factor in other information, such as owner comments and corrections and some recent sales information, but inaccuracies often creep in along the way. Without a 'boots on the ground' approach, I think it is hard to get a true valuation model. Assessed values takes the 'boots' approach, but unless homes are assessed monthly, those numbers will almost always be inaccurate measures. In a rising market, buyers look to assessed values as they are lower than market. In a sinking market, sellers hold onto assessed values because they are higher than market. Neither approach is accurate or advisable.
Values
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