VOTE: Home Value Websites vs Realtor Comps
Instant home value websites do have their appeal. As an investor, you need property value answers quick. Otherwise, you'll be in analysis paralysis and never get an actual deal done.
But how accurate are they? Not very, according to many online reviews comparing various home value websites. Here's an article by U.S. News that sums up the reasons why you get a wide range of values from these sites on the very same home: https://realestate.usnews.com/real-estate/articles...
I did a test on my own home using my recent appraisal as the accurate value. Then I compared the values from 7 popular home value websites. I recently refinanced my home so I had an appraisal and a CMA from my realtor to compare the website values to. Here are the results . . .
$514,651 CMA Before Appraisal
$500,000 Actual Value Confirmed by Appraisal
Automated Home Value Estimation Sites
$606,483 Zillow Zestimate - 82% Accurate - $106,483 Potential Loss
$682,000 Chase Home Value Estimator - 73% Accurate - $182,000 Potential Loss
$588,078 ForSaleByOwner Pricing Scout - 85% Accurate - $88,078 Potential Loss
$622,000 Eppraisal.com - 80% Accurate - $122,000 Potential Loss
$606,259 Trulia Estimate - 82% Accurate - $106,259 Potential Loss
$700,000 Realtor.com - 71% Accurate - $200,000 Potential Loss
$718,000 Remax Home Estimate - 70% Accurate - $218,000 Potential Loss
As you can see, there is a huge difference between the instant estimated values for my house but the CMA, done from a human being, a knowledgeable agent in my area, came the closest.
So, there's really just one question: How important is your real estate investing career to you? Are you willing to gamble on the potential loss of thousands of dollars just to get an instant value?
I know it can sometimes take a while to get comps from an agent. But now there is a faster way. If you can't get good comps from your agent right away, you can now simply order them online from RealEstateCompsToday.com. It only takes 2 minutes to order and costs 5 bucks.
They have agents in every market in the U.S., even rural areas. They can even run comps on land and on commercial properties.
Your order will be immediately given to a local agent who is knowledgeable in the neighborhood market of your subject property. The agent will pull your comps and email them to you within about 1 business day. Real Estate Comps Today will follow through with you and the agent to make sure you received the very best comps.
Isn't your investing career worth a day? It could save you thousands of dollars and so much frustration. Now the easy way is also the most accurate way.
What's your vote? Instant Home Value Websites or Real MLS Comps. We want to know your opinion.