Madison Wisconsin Homes and Real Estate: algorithm

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Zillow's Zestimate is a Good Starting Point

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.

If Not Sold in the First 30 Days, Successful Sellers Conceded The Price

Through Mid-September, thirty seven percent (37%) of 126 home owners who sold in 2010 sold without making a single price concession. They typically attracted a buyer within 40 days of going on to the market. These successful owners conceded little on price as they sold for about 97%-98% of asking price.

Those who counted time on the market by months or even quarters eventually sold for an average of 91% of their initial asking price. Price reductions improved their success opportunity. Once their price was reduced to a price favorable to a buyer, the time on the market was short--about 34 days from last price change to accepted offer.

See September 20, Buyer Enticing Pricing

Disclosure

The source of data: South Central WI MLS Type of data: Single family homes and maybe condos and maybe other Areas: Madison and other areas such as McFarland, Shorewood Hills, Middleton, Maple Bluff, Oregon, DeForest, Cross Plains, Dane County, Fitchburg, Verona, did I say Middleton? Dates covered in these blog posts: January 2010 and continuing.

All comments are the relatively well thought out opinions of Tom Meyer. Those opinions are not necessarily shared by Restaino & Associates, other brokers, or the national, local, or state associations of Realtors... in fact, they may be significantly different.