We are currently in an interesting housing market where interest rates are double what they were 1 year ago, and homes for sale are sitting on the market for more than 30 days on average.
In some markets, sellers are having to consider taking lower offer prices because of softening demand in the housing market.
Because of these recent changes, many homeowners are concerned about the value of their own homes. Using a well-known tool provided on www.zillow.com like the "Zestimator ." Zestimator is a home price calculator that can provide instant estimates of your home's value.
How Accurate is Zillow for Calculating My Home's Market Value?
To answer your question quickly - generally speaking, Zillow provides an accurate estimate of a home's current market value.
How Does Zillow Calculate my Home's value?
Zillow uses a variety of data sources to provide an estimate of a home’s worth including:
Home details like square footage, location, the number of bedrooms and bathrooms.
On-market data such as listing price, description, comparable homes in the area and days on the market.
Off-market data such as tax assessments, prior sales and other publicly available records
Market trends, such as seasonal changes in demand.
What are the Pros of using Zillow to calculate the value of my home?
Ease of Use - Zestomator is a simple and intuitive tool that homeowners can use to quickly assess a home’s value.
Instant Calculation - Users get an instant price estimate on a home just by entering basic address information.
Accuracy - Zillow's formula for calculating home values is widely considered reliable and accurate. One of the reasons for this is that it pulls information from recent sales, public records, and market trends to run its calculations on your home.
What are the Cons of using Zillow to Calculate The Value of My Home?
Human judgment - Zillow does not know the condition of your home. Agents must still use their own judgment and experience to assess the condition of the home compared to similar homes sold in the same market. These factors can be used to make adjustments to the estimated value.
Recent Updates - Zillow doesn't account for recent upgrades to the home such as kitchen and bath renovations or value add improvements like additional bedrooms and other additions that increase the size and square footage of the home.
Lack of Local Market Understanding - Some homes sell for a premium because of certain desirable features and characteristics that home buyers might be looking for. One example might be that a buyer might be willing to pay more for a victorian style home with original wood paneling. These are features that Zillow can't account for in your estimate. Another example might be geographical factors that might affect desirability such as homes located next to a busy train track, on a very steep hill (This matters a lot in markets that have snow and ice) or on a busy street corner. Agents can use judgment to assess the home's marketability and value based on these factors.
To learn more about your home's market value please feel free to contact me at 617-483-2089 or email me at iamjeanrobert@gmail.com for a free Comparative Market Analysis.
Jean Robert
Real Estate Agent
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