Florida Home Buyers, Sellers, lenders and Real Estate Professionals are curious to know: who is the best on line web site "appraiser".How accurate are they? How friendly is the site? If buyers wantto purchase a home in Lee County, can they rely on Zillow?  

    First http://zillow.com/ which comparable comes in Hybrid, Aerial and Street maps style has come a long way. Well, they had a long way to go.They used to stink.Provided by  http://globexplorer.com/ and a list of interesting search buttons the format is pleasant. The plus : for professionals or sellers you may adjust the price for upgrades and the likes.

219 Fairweather Ln Fort Myers Beach FL 33931

3 beds, 2.0 baths, 1,568 sq ft

Zestimate^®: $369,500

    A Zestimate home valuation is Zillow's estimated market value. It is not an appraisal. Use it as a starting point to determine a home's value.( at least they are honest in this case: it is a starting point )

    The satellite view comes pretty fast and you has a decent zoom. I took as an example a home which sold recently at 219 Fairweather Lane Fort Myers Beach with 1568 square feet, build in 1990 with 3 bedrooms and 2 baths on 2 stories with a deck on each floor, hurricane construction timber, custom build by a local builder, with a garage large enough for at least 2 cars and a speed boat, and 4500 square which is the norm on this street except for a few. It looks a bit like a Key West Home.

  As I live in Fort Myers Beach and know the house personally I have a very good idea of its market value.It sold a few weeks ago for $290,000 which is considered almost a steal for the island.The pricing history of the property  is quite drastic. It was first listed at $480,000 in April 2007( they were dreaming ), then $380,000( still dreaming ) in dec 2007 and finally at $330,000 in January 2008.

 I know for a fact that the Fort Myers Beach sellers were, at least in 2008,more then "motivated". In my calculations the property has a market value of $329,000.

 Zillow came with an estimated valueof $369,500. Not a terrific estimation but if you consider that a home listed at $369,500 may very well sell at $345-$350,000 its not bad at all. Someone got a deal.I always knew that Zillow has a tendency to be a tad over the market value ( that is why people and specially sellers like them!), but they are getting closer. I'll give them a B-. Not more because overpriced homes do not sell very well.

      http://eppraisal.com/  eppraisal web site which does estimates has a nice looking web site with recent sales, market Ijnsights, Schools, Employement but it was way off and you have to pay for each appraisal as they have a price range from $227 to $307,000. They were not even close. One cannot compare oranges to apples and anything out of the island is not the island. They took most properties in their comprables from outside Fort Myers Beach. Not to good. Awful in fact.Granted they may do better once you order the so called appraisal. Its an estimate and no, they are NOT going to pay a pro to do a formal BPO or Appraisal. I don't think  so. They would be bankrupt by now. Real Estate Professionals are the ones who do have the inside scoop about Lee County home market value.

eppraisal for: 219 FAIRWEATHER LN, FORT MYERS BEACH, FL 33931 value range: $227,287 $267,397 $307,506     The conclusion: FL investors, new homesteaders and sellers can use these sights and get an "idea" of the value of a particular home. That is all they will be getting. Consult a Real Estate agent for BPO's, CMA's or get an Apprasisal for the real thing. These sites are fun and fancy with interesting info about the area ( thought not like http://localism.com/ which is done by real agents ) But its not the real world of Real Estate. If you were viewing 219 Fairweather your agent would have told you that it was a deal. A very good one.