We get this question a lot in reference to some of the real estate websites that are relatively new on the scene. These websites attempt to assign a value to a particular property. While these websites definitely have their positives, the value assigned to a property can be problematic for buyers and sellers. For sellers it can create a problem when a buyer believes in the estimate given if the estimate is greatly off mark. For buyers it can create wildly unrealistic expectations.
We are firm believers in web advertising for our listings. We put our listings on as many websites and searches as possible. So today I thought I would put one of our higher priced listings on Zillow. When I put our listing on this popular website it had our list price... then it had their estimate for what the property was worth. After I picked myself up off of the floor, I realized that listing on this website might be a problem. On this particular property this estimate was $125,000 less than our asking price. Does that mean that our asking price is too high? That is what a buyer would be led to believe. However, before that conclusion is reached...let's chat about it a bit.
In this neighborhood there are three builders. One is a high-end builder. Then there is a middle-of-the-road builder that swings towards the high end side but isn't quite there. Then there is more of a starter-home type of builder. This particular home was built by the high end builder. Besides being widely recognized as being a better built home, this builder also really impresses with the extra touches. The house designs are awesome, the kitchens are a dream and the details are incredible. If you were led into one of these homes blindfolded, and the blindfold was subsequently removed, you would easily be able to identify the home as being from the high-end builder. (The need for the aforementioned blindfold was that I was making the assumption that you could identify the difference from the outside of the home)
To take it further, this home is on the end of a nice, quiet cul-de-sac street where the kids can play on their scooters or roller blade without watching for cars. You can probably even walk your dog down the middle of the street even if you don't have a death wish. In addition, there is a pretty preserve area on the side of the home. As a bonus you have the same type of preserve area in the back of the home. If you take the square footage and multiply it by the average price per square foot of the last two resales built by this particular builder....you come up with a price more than $220,000 more than the estimate given this home and roughly $100,000 more than the seller currently has it listed for. Now does the picture look a little bit different?
In the Jacksonville area, every time I've ever checked these websites to see what is being shown as an estimated value, I've found the number to be so low it wasn't even in the ballpark. So as a seller, do you prefer that I leave the listing on the website so you can gain additional exposure for your home...or do you prefer that the listing not be on the site as the estimate given is so much lower than what the home is really worth and could lend to very insulting offers. I'm not sure myself.
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