How Much Is Your House Worth?

How Much Is Your House Worth?

New services are now available for sellers and buyers who don’t have a very good grasp on home prices. Appraisers are rivaled by real estate websites which collect data on existing homes, including photos, descriptions and prices. While the evaluations are not always accurate (up to 10% lower or higher) customers still find these websites useful.

Zillow, RealEstateabc.com, Reply.com and Eppraisal.com are on the most-discussed list and cause a lot of discontent among traditional appraisers, who claim their accurate information is being stolen by these services and that they may soon replace the old-fashioned appraisal practices. With so much information available for free on-line, the job of a Realtor is diminished to negotiating terms and arranging deals.

And while professionals murmur, the founders of these sites themselves agree that their services cannot take the place of appraisal methods and techniques. An algorithm used to calculate a home’s approximate worth can never take into account unique features like a beautiful view for example. If prices change often in the area, the evaluation will fail to reflect that. It will display outdated and inaccurate information, as is the case with many homes listed on these websites. And yet, these evaluations are available instantly and cost nothing or very little compared to the hundreds of dollars paid for a traditional appraisal that may last a week or more. On a side note, inquiries seem to indicate that sellers and buyers in their majority are still not aware of these sites’ existence – unlike agents.

Zillow.com, which was launched in February 2006, is one of the best-known websites of this class. With its modern interface and lots of available information, it attracts numerous visitors and has even been inaccessible due to high traffic. Its users can type in a particular address or search for homes in a certain area with the help of a scaleable map, or simply select specific size, price and location constraints. Comparable sales in the area can be listed along with a particular property’s price as well. It also has a section for potential sellers who want to test the market for an approximate estimation of their property without formally putting their home for sale.

Zillow is by far not the only one: numerous websites provide similar services, but Zillow seems to have a larger database and better management than most.

So, if you want to know how much your house is worth, or if you’re curious to find out the price of your neighbors’ mansion, you are likely to find the answers online, but the information you get may not match real life exactly. Still, if you have no idea whatsoever as to how much you can get from selling your house, it may be useful to look for clues on these websites, so that you can plan your next move in regard to personal finance.