6 Signs That Your Home Estimate Is Wrong

You may have questions about the value of your home. For many homeowners, the home is often the greatest financial (and emotional) investment they own! So you may find yourself in one of these scenarios:

“I think my home’s estimate on websites like Zillow is less than it’s actually worth.”

“My agent tells me my home is worth X, but the online estimate’s value is higher.”

“My recent refinance bank appraisal was lower than I expected."

All these scenarios essentially ask the same question: “Is an online estimate trustworthy?”

1. YOUR HOME IS IN AN OLDER AREA
Renovations, new permits, and evolving record keeping systems all introduce opportunity for error into public records which would cause the online estimate to be inaccurate.

2. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD IS MADE UP OF DISSIMILAR HOME TYPES
Online home estimates gather comparable data based on a geographic radius around the subject home (yours) without understanding the nuances of each specific property.

3. YOUR HOME HAS BEEN UPDATED 
Online home estimates do not reflect the ‘curb appeal’ factor that potential buyers look for when shopping for a home.

4. MARKET SEASONALITY 
Real Estate experts understand the importance of timing (such as the Spring buying season), whereas online estimates do not.

5. SPORADIC SALES ACTIVITY
There are many communities with limited sales activity including rural areas, acreage properties, etc. In these instances, the online estimates are often highly inaccurate.

6. YOUR HOME IS ‘UNIQUE’
There are certain homes and communities that simply have a stronger buyer demand for any number of reasons i.e. ‘great feng shui’, close to a park, etc. Online estimates do not reflect the value of these emotional factors.