Have you seen Zillow.com? The latest in “useful web apps” type sites that have been popping up for the last year Zillow.com allows you to search by address for the value of your home. It also offers the values of your neighbors homes! So you can get a pretty good idea of where you stand in keeping up with the Jones’.
Zillow: “Until now, finding out a current market value of any home — whether it’s yours or one you want to bid on — has been quite difficult,” said Rich Barton, Zillow chairman and CEO. “We believe you shouldn’t need a computer science degree or a real estate license to find out what a home is worth. That’s why we created Zestimate values, providing free and instant valuations for millions of homes in America. This beta is just the beginning… Zillow will continue adding tools and services to empower consumers to make smarter real estate decisions.”
Zestimate values are updated daily, allowing homeowners to track the value of their largest investment, and giving both buyers and sellers an updated view of the real estate market and individual homes.
Additionally, Zillow’s My Zestimator™ tool allows users to refine the value of a home for their own use, based on changes or additions to that home. For example, a seller with a recently remodeled kitchen can refine her value based on this change. Zillow calculates the remodel value for her area based on local remodel data and depreciation.”
Not everyone’s home is in Zillow yet but there are quite a few. I, myself, wasn’t surprised at the value of my home but the value of my neighbors in comparison seemed a little off. It also listed my mothers house, located in a more economically depressed area, as being higher in value. Take it as you will.
Thanks, Dane.