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Top 3 Reasons to Use an Orlando Realtor to Value Your Home!
Many homeowners love to use online estimating tools, because the computer gives you’re a quick estimate. It is very convenient to be able to know your home's "value" within seconds from the comfort of your couch. There is a myriad of online estimating tools out there. A few of the most popular ones include Zillow, RedFin Estimate, and Realtor.com.
The question that you really should be asking yourself is - Are the values given by online estimating tools accurate? There is a simple answer to this question and its "no". Modern technology has made it easy to keep up with the value of your home. Modern technology in this aspect, however, is highly fallible.
Let us give you a quick illustration. A two bedroom home in Orlando was estimated to sell for between $146,000 - $161,000. A local realtor with top experience in the area, however, valued the same home at around $138, 000 - $163,000. That represents an 8.7 percent error rate.
Why are these online estimating tools wrong?
- The data is missing the reason behind the sales price. These tools use a multiple data sources including public service records, the price of neighboring homes and the price of the last sale to make their estimates. However, the data is missing the story behind the sales prices. For example, the data does not take into account recent upgrades, water or park views, lot premiums, and how well the home was maintained.
A walk through your home by a local Central Florida Realtor can be influential on the value of your property. A broken banister, loose floorboards, leaky pipes, and upgraded water heating system will undoubtedly affect the price of your home.
- Public records usually don't have vital information about homes. Some counties, for instance, their records do not include the square footage of homes. How then can Zillow or other estimating tools give you a reasonable value for your home?
- Changes in the market. Online estimating tools make use of records of past sales. However, we all know that the market changes rapidly. Depending on how hot or cold the market is, the current value of your home will definitely change.
If a lot of homes in your neighborhood haven't sold in the last few months, it is likely that any online valuation of your home will be wrong. The higher the number of homes sold, the more MLS (Multiple Listing Service) data and sale prices for the computers to work with.
Online estimates of your properties are shaky at best. Ditch online estimating tools and use a local Realtor today. Give me a call if you would like an estimate of what your home could sell for in the Orlando market.
