It can be fun to go to Zillow and check to see what they say your Tamaqua home is worth in today’s market. It can also be fun to check and see what they have to say about a Tamaqua house you’re considering as a purchase.
But please – be aware that their numbers are only somewhere within a very large ballpark. Their Zestimates can be as much as 30% off – one way or the other.
How can they be so far off?
Easily – because they don’t know the difference between neighborhoods and they have never been in the home.
You know that there are huge differences in value between neighborhoods – even those that are geographically near each other. It might be the school district or it might be the general upkeep of the other homes nearby, but there can be tens of thousands of dollars difference between homes of a similar size and age in two neighborhoods just a half mile apart.
Similarly, the difference between a house that has had careful maintenance is worth more than one that has had none. And… a house with recent updates and expensive finishes is worth much more than one with plywood floors and 1960’s appliances.
Zillow doesn’t know which has which, so all Tamaqua homes of a similar size get lumped together for averages.
The inaccuracy of Zillow Zestimates has become such a problem that one homeowner has sued them for putting a roadblock in her efforts to sell her home. They undervalued it, so buyers hesitated to make market value offers. Indications are that this may become a class-action suit.
In other cases, sellers see a 20 or 30% over-valued estimate on Zillow and insist on an unrealistic price – causing their homes to sit on the market unsold.
If you want to know the true value of your home, call your real estate professional and ask for a market analysis.
We know the market here in Tamaqua and we know the difference between values in various neighborhoods. We’ve also been inside the homes we use for comparison, so we won’t compare a home that was updated in 2017 with one that was last updated in 1990.
The bottom line: Zillow is a toy, not a tool. If you want accuracy, call your agent.
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