Skip the ‘Zestimate’ and get an ‘Xactimate’

A few weeks ago, Zillow announced that it was shutting down its Zillow Offers program of buying homes for cash.

As a result, Zillow is selling the homes it recently bought, some at a loss.

Some analysts portrayed this move as a shift in the real estate market.

It’s true that real estate is now selling at all-time highs, but Zillow’s latest move has little to do with the market and a lot more to do with its own actions.

In essence, they used flawed ‘Zestimates.’

A good example came in August, when an agent in my office listed a property in Homestead for $465K.

After 30 days, the price had been lowered to $440K. Then Zillow came in and offers $473K, or $33k over the asking price, with no other competing offers. Zillow proceeded to close, and is now trying to sell the property for $494K. They will likely have a hard time getting that price, as I estimate the current market value to be around $440-450K.

Third party estimates often use algorithms, which can be very inaccurate.

These companies very seldom have anyone on the ground in these markets where they are offering estimates of property value.

Want another example?

As of today, Zillow estimates my home to be worth $536K, while Redfin has it at $573K. Both are using the same data.

Why would you put yourself in a position where you must guess which one of these estimates are correct?

Don’t settle for a “Zestimate,” call a Realtor for a “Xactimate.”

They can tour your home and provide comparable prices of similar homes local to your’s, so you can list with confidence and know you are getting the right price.

There are so many factors to weigh that can’t be included in an algorithm.

Consider the difference in price between a one-story and a two-story home. Or what about the difference in price between a home with a pool, or no pool?

There are other factors to take into account, including the year the home was built, upgrades/condition, garage count, bedroom and bath count, lot size, lot premiums, and the date of sale.

A local realtor considers all these issues.

An online outfit? Not so much.

Zillow used its own algorithms to purchase houses and we are now seeing the results.

Dayv Morgan is a Maricopa Realtor and owner of HomeSmart Success.

480-251-4231
[email protected]
MaricopaHomeSmart.com

This sponsored article was first published in the December edition of InMaricopa magazine.