Before you decide to throw down your hard earned money to pay for an appraisal, you may want to do some research. Here are 6 sites that will help you find out how much your home may be worth for the purpose of selling your home, or refinancing your home mortgage. These property evaluations only provide an estimate of the property value that you are researching. The list of websites below will help you determine a value range for a home in Phoenix and surrounding areas.
•· http://www.zillow.com/ - Zillow is a free online real estate site where you can research homes values, view recently sold homes, and search for homes currently on the market.
•· http://www.maricopa.gov/ - Maricopa County's website will provide you with closed sales within the last year of similar homes located within the surrounding neighborhood of your search.
•· http://www.eppraisal.com/ - eppraisal.com provides home values, neighborhood information, and real estate market analysis to consumers. Homeowners, buyers, and sellers can take the next step by connecting with local real estate professionals, such as Realtors, Home Inspectors, and Appraisers.
•· http://realestate.yahoo.com/Homevalues - Yahoo offers a look at recently sold homes, as well as similar nearby homes for sale. Yahoo will also answer questions regarding home values from people and professionals around the world.
•· http://www.freecompcheck.com/ -FreeCompCheck allows you to perform a variety of different services such as listing your property for sale, searching MLS and, most of all, checking the value of your home and comparing it with top search engines - all on one page.
•· http://www.cyberhomes.com/ - Cyberhome allows you access to the same information that real estate professionals use to evaluate homes. It also provides first-hand knowledge of surrounding schools, neighborhoods and distressed properties.
For more information you should contact the Krushinsky Team at 602-695-7575 or david@dkhomeloans.com.
How accurate are these sites in estimating the value? I have checked the zillow site a few times and I am surprised at the price. I realize condition of property, extras and amenities, and comps will factor in on true value, but as a general guideline I am wondering which one to look at.
Hey Jerry! Thanks for the question. First of all, typically all six of these sites provide you with a different value. The same would usually hold true if you ordered six full appraisals, they would all probably come in at six different values but in a much tighter range. In my experience, Zillow tends to provide the highest estimated value and eppraisals usually the lower. Each different home will have more or less accuracy, depending on how the surrounding houses were built. If the area mostly consists of tract homes then the range should be much closer. If the area is mostly custom homes the range will have a higher probability for inaccuracy.
Great post, people are always wondering about their value. I agree with your analysis about tract & custom homes & the degree of accuracy of these type of services. I also add that the age of a home will make a big difference too. As houses & neighborhoods age, the homes in the neighborhoods experience different degrees of maintenance, updating & additions. In some ways older neigborhoods that were originally tract can become as complex to value as a custom home. Once a person gets a range from some of these services, they can get a good agent or appraiser to narrow it down for them. I've been a residential appraiser here in the Phx metro area since 1987 & have been active selling for about 10 years. Craig - the value guy www.MesaHouselistings.com