Today we are excited to be discussing Zillow’s Zestimates and their accuracy here in Boston. Zillow has become the #1 online resource for online home valuations, and many people log on to get an idea of what their home is worth through their very own automated “Zestimate.” But how accurate is this estimation really? In Boston, the median error on Zestimates is an astonishing 8%, a pretty wide margin for error. By taking your Zestimate to heart, you could be costing yourself thousands of dollars, and seriously under or over-valuing your home. In fact, 65% of the values you see on Zilllow are off by at least 5%. The way a Zestimate gets your home’s value is by using an algorithm that includes things like the number of bedrooms, number of bathrooms, and square footage.
Those are all good ways to determine a home’s value, but they are leaving out some crucial aspects in their formula. Home improvements and renovations can drastically improve the value of the house, as can its location. Zillow doesn’t take that into account, so they have no idea what your home is really worth, hence the 8% median error. If you’d like to get the true market value of your home, please give me a call or send me an email. I’d be happy to help you out.
Receiving an offer on your home early in the selling process is a great problem to have. However, it's not always easy to know what to do. Our market has been very strong recently, as homes have been moving fast and bidding wars are the norm. In these situations, buyers are more likely to submit a strong offer quickly to avoid getting outbid by another buyer.
When you receive a quick offer on your property, the first thing to do is be excited. Secondly, you need to work with an agent you can feel comfortable relying on. A good agent will know what's going on with the market and what to expect from it. They should be able to help you make decisions that are beneficial to you! When an offer comes in quickly, many sellers wonder if it's a sign that there will be more and better offers. An agent will know whether that first offer is worth taking. It can be risky to drag out the process after receiving an offer, as it may lead the sellers to make negative associations with your property if their offer isn't accepted or negotiated promptly. Overall, working with an experienced agent is crucial if you want to get the best results when selling in this market. If you have any questions about what you should do with your first offer, or if you need real estate assistance of any kind, please don't hesitate to reach out to us. We would love to hear from you!
