Humility is a fine, fine attribute and Zillow deserves compliments for being humble. I know I'm not perfect in my evaluations of property values and my subjective opinion always factors in. Zillow, to their credit, explains their process of price evaluation via algorithms and they admit the system isn't without flaws. What Is a Zestimate? My trust in Zillow as a responsible real estate partner is high because they acknowledge their weaknesses and give people an opportunity to improve the results.
Starting the process of buying or selling, looking at homes through the eyes of Zillow is a good idea. The more we know the more competent we are. Competency translates to confidence and we know the competent confident consumer is in a strong position to have favorable results.
Zillow is a good place to start sharpening skills to prepare for your real estate adventure.
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Smoking Hot Seller's Market, The Near Westside of Madison
A lawyer was giving his client some negotiating advice regarding a near west side property the other day. He said, "It's a buyer's market. Come in low with your offer and see what the seller does." What the seller did was they took another offer.... and the lawyer's client is still looking. Time to get out and take a walk around the block. It's a new day out there. OK, there are buyer's markets but not in the near west side of Madison. Those tried and true neighborhoods located close to everything, with well built older homes are selling like it's 1999...or 2005. You know the neighborhoods, Westlawn, Nakoma, University Heights, Sunset Village, Westmoreland, Midvale Heights, University Hill Farms to name a few.
Forty eight out of ninety six homes listed on the South Central WI MLS have accepted offers. * That's an incredible number... and not just because the sold homes are exactly one-half of the total. If you own a near west home you can make an offer on another house without selling your house first and know you're moving. Your house is probably money in the bank. Be careful when you put that sign in the front yard; the couple driving by are probably going to run you over to get inside before the next couple comes down the road and beats them to the door.
Hey, what about the 48 that aren't sold? To live like the other half, the lower 48 need to look close at Price, Condition, and Location. If the condition isn't GREAT, fix it. Smart buyers today are not settling for work you should have done. If the location in the neighborhood isn't ideal....well, you can't move off of an unattractive street, but you can move off of an unattractive price. There are buyers in the near west neighborhoods for every house. There will be a buyer for the less attractive neighborhood locations--like busy streets, or crummy lots on corners of two streets with double sidewalks to shovel. They maybe can't afford the better locations but they want the neighborhoods and the quality of the house. Check your price if your home isn't sold and you've been on the market 21 days.
*Data is based on active and pending listings of single family homes in areas w11, w12, w13, w14 of the RASCWMLS at 3:30 PM 3/13/13.
Forty eight out of ninety six homes listed on the South Central WI MLS have accepted offers. * That's an incredible number... and not just because the sold homes are exactly one-half of the total. If you own a near west home you can make an offer on another house without selling your house first and know you're moving. Your house is probably money in the bank. Be careful when you put that sign in the front yard; the couple driving by are probably going to run you over to get inside before the next couple comes down the road and beats them to the door.
Hey, what about the 48 that aren't sold? To live like the other half, the lower 48 need to look close at Price, Condition, and Location. If the condition isn't GREAT, fix it. Smart buyers today are not settling for work you should have done. If the location in the neighborhood isn't ideal....well, you can't move off of an unattractive street, but you can move off of an unattractive price. There are buyers in the near west neighborhoods for every house. There will be a buyer for the less attractive neighborhood locations--like busy streets, or crummy lots on corners of two streets with double sidewalks to shovel. They maybe can't afford the better locations but they want the neighborhoods and the quality of the house. Check your price if your home isn't sold and you've been on the market 21 days.
*Data is based on active and pending listings of single family homes in areas w11, w12, w13, w14 of the RASCWMLS at 3:30 PM 3/13/13.
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Zillow Zestimates, A Good Starting Point
Informed people are happy people...provided the information is accurate. Real estate buyers have loads more information to process today and the value of that info is directly related to how much effort is put into the processing. Zillow.com is one source of the new information home owners and buyers are looking to for real estate values. I'm a fan of Zillow for it's value as a starting point in the real estate pricing conversation.
Zillow calls their value estimate a Zestimate. It's a number arrived at using automated software designed to be neutral and unbiased. The Zestimate may factor in too much information, such as too broad of an area crossing neighborhood and school district boundaries. On the other side Zillow may have considered too little information, such as overlooking location in a neighborhood, or improvements.
Zillow does a terrific job of cautioning the user of their site and disclosing their limitations on accuracy. For example, go to Zillow.com and scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on: Zestimate. Selecting Wisconsin, and then Dane County, I see they disclose that their data includes 165,400 property sales. They claim their Zestimate is within 5% of the sale price for 42.5% of the properties. However, they are within 20% on 84% of the properties. If your goal is to not overpay for a property or to not leave too much on the table when pricing to sell, you will want to fine tune that 20% in Dane County where ten and twenty percent can mean twenty and forty thousand dollars.
Realtors and appraisers who know the market area and know how to make adjustments for the differences of value between neighborhoods, streets, homes, and amenities can get the price zeroed in the way a telescope brings into focus the fine details.
This is Zillow's explanation (copied from their web site) of a Zestimate:
The Zestimate® (pronounced ZEST-ti-met, rhymes with estimate) home valuation is Zillow's estimated market value, computed using a proprietary formula. It is not an appraisal. It is a starting point in determining a home's value. The Zestimate is calculated from public and user submitted data; your real estate agent or appraiser physically inspects the home and takes special features, location, and market conditions into account. We encourage buyers, sellers, and homeowners to supplement Zillow's information by doing other research such as:
Zillow calls their value estimate a Zestimate. It's a number arrived at using automated software designed to be neutral and unbiased. The Zestimate may factor in too much information, such as too broad of an area crossing neighborhood and school district boundaries. On the other side Zillow may have considered too little information, such as overlooking location in a neighborhood, or improvements.
Zillow does a terrific job of cautioning the user of their site and disclosing their limitations on accuracy. For example, go to Zillow.com and scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on: Zestimate. Selecting Wisconsin, and then Dane County, I see they disclose that their data includes 165,400 property sales. They claim their Zestimate is within 5% of the sale price for 42.5% of the properties. However, they are within 20% on 84% of the properties. If your goal is to not overpay for a property or to not leave too much on the table when pricing to sell, you will want to fine tune that 20% in Dane County where ten and twenty percent can mean twenty and forty thousand dollars.
Realtors and appraisers who know the market area and know how to make adjustments for the differences of value between neighborhoods, streets, homes, and amenities can get the price zeroed in the way a telescope brings into focus the fine details.
This is Zillow's explanation (copied from their web site) of a Zestimate:
The Zestimate® (pronounced ZEST-ti-met, rhymes with estimate) home valuation is Zillow's estimated market value, computed using a proprietary formula. It is not an appraisal. It is a starting point in determining a home's value. The Zestimate is calculated from public and user submitted data; your real estate agent or appraiser physically inspects the home and takes special features, location, and market conditions into account. We encourage buyers, sellers, and homeowners to supplement Zillow's information by doing other research such as:
- Getting a comparative market analysis (CMA) from a real estate agent
- Getting an appraisal from a professional appraiser
- Visiting the house (whenever possible)
Friday, February 1, 2013
Spring Market 2013 is Underway and It's Still Deep Winter
I've always known the spring real estate market to start in Madison on the first day of business after New Year's Day. That's when people who are thinking of selling start to ask about making plans to be on the market in March and when people who want to buy start planning to look at homes in February. The eagerness of people this year is surprising---buyers are fast out of the gate and way ahead of the sellers.
A recent report on homes for sale showed the inventory of available homes is down all over Dane County and December sales were higher than previous years. I know that's carrying over into January. Buyers I'm working with are having a tough time finding homes in some of the historically higher demand neighborhoods. The homes that have lingered on the market are getting offers finally--not close to the original asking price, but with price reductions and some concessions, there are buyers who don't want to wait for the higher priced spring market homes to come on.
The best prepared buyers will have the best chance of getting their offers accepted this year. Sellers want security and price in the hot markets. For security give the seller an offer with a rock solid pre-approval letter. No wishy washy language such as "appear to be qualified" or "information not yet verified" will cut it. If the owner is asking $200,000 and you are approved to buy up to $250,000 tell the owner. Hold nothing back. Let them know you are WELL qualified, not just getting by. If you are in competition, be aggressive with giving the owner what they want--peace of mind. Sure they want price too. But there you are wise to be careful. Make sure that the price you are willing to pay is verifiable. If there is no evidence to support the asking price and you have to offer that price to get your offer accepted, make sure to include an appraisal contingency. That might give you the ability to open up negotiations on price.
Owners might be smart to move up their time frame this year. March is typically a key date for placing homes on the market. With as much demand as we are seeing this spring (winter) I think February could give you an advantage. Buyer numbers are up, inventory is down, and inventory will rise in March---looks like February is a gap month favoring owners of well priced, well conditioned homes.
A recent report on homes for sale showed the inventory of available homes is down all over Dane County and December sales were higher than previous years. I know that's carrying over into January. Buyers I'm working with are having a tough time finding homes in some of the historically higher demand neighborhoods. The homes that have lingered on the market are getting offers finally--not close to the original asking price, but with price reductions and some concessions, there are buyers who don't want to wait for the higher priced spring market homes to come on.
The best prepared buyers will have the best chance of getting their offers accepted this year. Sellers want security and price in the hot markets. For security give the seller an offer with a rock solid pre-approval letter. No wishy washy language such as "appear to be qualified" or "information not yet verified" will cut it. If the owner is asking $200,000 and you are approved to buy up to $250,000 tell the owner. Hold nothing back. Let them know you are WELL qualified, not just getting by. If you are in competition, be aggressive with giving the owner what they want--peace of mind. Sure they want price too. But there you are wise to be careful. Make sure that the price you are willing to pay is verifiable. If there is no evidence to support the asking price and you have to offer that price to get your offer accepted, make sure to include an appraisal contingency. That might give you the ability to open up negotiations on price.
Owners might be smart to move up their time frame this year. March is typically a key date for placing homes on the market. With as much demand as we are seeing this spring (winter) I think February could give you an advantage. Buyer numbers are up, inventory is down, and inventory will rise in March---looks like February is a gap month favoring owners of well priced, well conditioned homes.
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Where The Mad Men Grandchildren Want to Live
Don and Betty Draper, married in 1953, divorced in season three, lived in Ossining, NY a city comparable to Madison, WI in its housing stock; modest to luxurious. The Draper home is a style common to Nakoma, Maple Bluff, Shorewood Hills, University Heights, Vilas, and University Hill Farms.
The attraction of these neighborhoods is the same today as when the Drapers were raising their 3 children...proximity to quality schools, shopping, work, and parks. With modern updates like thermopane windows, high efficiency furnaces, central air conditioning, and added insulation, to complement the plaster walls, wood floors, and large yards, a 1950's house may be as wonderful to own as any home built in the last 10 years.
With an eye on family life, ease of getting to work and children's schools, without long commutes, we're seeing young people (30 somethings) looking close at the classic Madison neighborhoods where their grandparents lived. The move to inside of the Beltline is good news for home sellers who may have taken a beating on their retirement funds. Competition is good for prices and it certainly will make it easier to make that commitment to get on with downsizing when you can see that some of your lost equity in your home is back.
After a string of maddening years of down markets and slow activity, 2013 may be the year to cash out on the recovered equity and take advantage of still low interest rates.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)