Buyers and sellers often turn to Zillow’s Zestimate to estimate their home’s value, but it’s important to understand there’s a lot more to predicting prices & market Value.
A Zestimate is Zillow’s attempt to use algorithms and publicly available data points that affect home prices to estimate a home’s value at a given time. While this is a good idea, it is important for buyers and sellers to realize that there’s a bit more to estimating market value.
When it comes to what a home actually sells for in the State of Texas, it is important to know Texas is a Non-Disclosure State, meaning home sale prices are not available to the public therefore not considered in Zillow’s Zestimate which could drastically affect the value.
Real estate becomes a very emotional & personal purchase. Two houses with a similar floor plan, but different styles of brick or curb appeal can have different value to the actual buyer. The value to the buyer is what is most important. In the end, a home is only worth what a market will support and what a buyer is willing to pay.
Zestimates are popular because other than an appraisal or comparative market analysis generated by an experienced Realtor, it is hard to determine your homes value.
Even before Zillow, homeowners used tax appraisals to determine their homes value. This tax value is typically based on outdated information, collected during the initial construction of the home and updated based on average inflation.
Zestimates can give you a general idea about the value of a home, but they aren’t appraisals. The only way to know a home’s actual value is to reach out to a home professional for their formal opinion.
If you plan to purchase a home or plan to sell a home in the next 12 months and want an accurate Market Estimate fill out the form below for your complimentary Comparative Market Analysis.
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