Why Are Online Home Evaluations so Inaccurate?


There are many great Grass Valley area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (530) 273-0073 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

 Almost everyone uses online home evaluations when they want to know how much their home is worth. You should use these sites with caution - in rural areas like Nevada County, Zillow's algorithm can be extremely inaccurate. We have two real world examples to demonstrate this:
  1. Two homes are built in the same year, by the same builder, and in the same area. One spends $150,000 on renovations while the other does nothing -- it hasn't been upgraded since it was built. Does Zillow have a way to account for the differences in value? It does not - "Zestimates" are based on the sales values of similar homes. So, if the untouched home sells first, it is likely the estimate of the refurbished one will be hundreds of thousands of dollars too low. 
  2. It is not uncommon for a home in escrow, which had received multiple offers, to have a "Zestimate" $75,000 less than we have it under contract for. For instance, a home with panoramic views and a flat lot may be valued at the same price as a nearby home located on a steep hill with no view and no usable land.  Again, if one of these homes sells, the other's value will be based on the previous home sale.
As you can see, Zillow and other online home evaluation sites fail to take important factors into account when determining value. To avoid misleading information, it is best to work with a trusted real estate professional. We have access to the relevant data so we can give you an accurate estimate. Want to know how much your home is worth? Give us a call or shoot us an email for the service you deserve.