Should I Trust Zillow to Determine My House Value in Stockton

December 15, 2017

There’s an old adage in real estate “your home is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.” This means that there are many factors, some subjective that go into the valuing of a home. But also know that even if you get an offer, if its not all cash, the appraisal may kill the sale.

In today’s online, instant access world, many home buyers look to Zillow, Realtor.com and Trulia for buying and selling information first. Gone are the days that buyers and sellers consult their real estate agent first. But the questions is, “Should I Trust Zillow to Determine My House Value in Stockton?”

The Real Answer is No.

You can’t trust Zillow or any other computer Algorithm for valuing your home. Think I am wrong?

Should I Trust Zillow to Determine My House Value in Stockton

Zillow has a Margin for Error

We Buy Houses Stockton — 2016 Home Sales in Stockton Outpace 2015

Zillow is known to be off anywhere from 18 to 20 percent higher or lower in home valuations for years. There are even reports of home values on Zillow climbing in declining market areas and declining in other markets that are booming.

Let’s think about this for a second. For a $200,000 home, a 20 percent deviation is $40,000. For higher-priced markets like San Francisco or San Jose, a $1 million home could see unrealistic estimations varying from $180,000 to $200,000 or more. That’s a huge discrepancy in pricing.

So What About Stockton?

For Stockton, Zillow is no different. While Stockton has seen a resurgence in real estate prices and home sales with values that continue to outpace other central valley cities, Zillow still cant tell the difference between one neighborhood and another.

Zillow estimates have discouraged potential buyers who might think a home is well out of their price range while giving sellers an unrealistic target selling price point. In the end, this is the starting point of many disagreements homeowners are having with their real estate agents regarding properly pricing a home.

But you cant take the real estate agents data as the gospel either. Many real estate agents leave a lot of your money on the table when they price a house, because an unsold house earns no one a commission. Real Estate Agents notoriously price homes low to sell fast. The best and most accurate way to arrive at a reliable value is to have the house appraised by a certified appraiser.

Simply put: homeowners see the price on Zillow and think that is the starting point for their home.

How Does Zillow Create Estimates

Zillow calls its proprietary software for estimating a “Zestimate.” Even with all the pricing factors placed into the formula, there is still a high margin of error because Zillow isn’t actually looking at your home and does not have access to all of the sales data in every city, county and state.

The computer algorithm at the county records of sales and market pricing in the area. It will factor in the size of the house, the lot and all features of the home including the number of bedrooms, bathrooms, pools and highlighted features. However, even Zillow will say this is a starting point for a true valuation of your home and should not be considered an appraisal or true value.

Here’s why: Zillow’s information is reliant on incomplete public records and user input such as realtor sales. But, Zillow cannot discern if your home is the dilapidated eyesore in the community or the completely redone and upgraded home everyone is envious of.

Additionally, Zillow can not discern specific neighborhoods within cities. So while a house within a quarter mile of the your house may be of the same square footage and age, it doesn’t take into consideration a privately gated community or a stately mansion. These are very common in larger cities where you can have a higher end housing development just blocks from a mid or lower-end one. These “pockets” can skew or be skewed by larger metro data that Zillow factors in that aren’t pertinent.

The More Accurate Model

The most accurate way to value a house is via an appraisal from a Certified Appraiser. Certified Appraisers charge any where between $350 and $550 to appraise a house and its considered the most trust worthy.

But even appraisers make mistakes and its not uncommon for banks to require 2 appraisals on certain FHA and VHA properties.

Any experienced real estate agent will tell you that pricing a home to sell requires a full understanding of the home itself, the location and current market conditions in that area. In fact, most realtors look at Zillow pricing with a bit of disdain because it does make pricing and managing realistic client expectation more difficult.

A realtor will create a competitive market analysis by looking at sales in the specific area, creating a geographic radius based on the neighborhood rather than an entire zip code. They will then compare your home based on size, features, and upgrades to those homes that were recently sold, thus appraised, in the previous 3 to 6 months. This range is contingent on how the real estate market is in the area.

They will then compare this information to existing homes on the market, looking at how your home compares to what else buyers are seeing on the market. After all, if yours is a well-kept home without updates being sold next to a completely remodeled home, you might not be able to get the same price per square foot as the other.

Additionally, realtors will consider whether it is a buyer’s or seller’s market. There are ways to create a bidding war of sorts, with a lot of eyes on your property in a seller’s market, you can under price the home and let the bidding begin. This tactic can work in many markets, especially Stockton, where supply is short, but it does not work well with all types of homes in those markets.

There are always exceptions and other factors that come into play. Distressed or homes with a lot of deferred maintenance will not create a lot of buyer interest.

IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A FAST WAY TO SELL YOUR HOME, GIVE US A CALL AT 209-481-7780 OR FILL OUT OUR ONLINE FORM TODAY!

We Buy Houses Stockton, The Man Behind the Sign

I Buy Houses Stockton Introduction (209) 481-7780 We buy Houses Stockton

My name is Peter Westbrook and I am a local real estate investor and the owner of We Buy Houses Stockton and Westbrook Real Estate Investments in Stockton, California. I am NOT a Real Estate Agent or Broker and for good reason. I purchase real estate and I am NOT going to ask you to pay a commission or a fee.…I pay CASH and because I do, I can close on the day that I tell you.

For those of you that already know me or have already called me you can attest that I answer my own phone and I return all phone calls. When you call me at 209-481-7780 you are calling me on the same number that my mother and my closest friends call me at.

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What Customers Say

The City of Stockton was getting ready to tear down my old house. I was no longer able to maintain the Stockton House and after years of trying to keep up with code violations, needed repairs and vandalism, I finally called Peter

Westbrook. He came right out and told me what he could do. He contacted the city and county and even cleaned up the property before he bought it. He paid the back taxes for me and gave me an advance on the purchase of the house. Without his help I would have lost everything. I called real estate agents and other investors but no one wanted to help and no one offered to pay as much as Peter Westbrook. He completely remodeled the house and I smile every time I go by. Thank you Peter.

Leonard S

We inherited our parents house with one of our brothers living there . The property taxes had not been paid and it was in Tax default. We called Peter Westbrook and he found that the title was still in our parents name, so the Stockton House never went through probate. Peter also found that there was an old auto loan that had a lien on the

title and an old bankruptcy ruling to take care of that lien had never been filed with the courts. Peter handled everything including paying the back taxes, paying for the hiring a Probate Attorney and filing the probate and paying for and hiring a Bankruptcy Attorney to finalize the removal of the lien. He was patient, understanding and he took care of everything including evicting the tenants that were living in the house. We talked to real estate agents and other I buy house people. None of them had the answers for our situation. Without peter we would have lost everything. We got paid cash.

Steve H

We inherited my parents Stockton house with a mortgage. We decided to rent it out. The tenants destroyed the house. I didn’t know what to do, I didn’t have the money to fix it and the city had already issued code violations.. I called an “I Buy Houses Stockton Sign” on a telephone pole and Peter Westbrook answered. In 4 days he paid the bank and bought my house. We would have lost everything if it weren’t for Peter Westbrook.

Mike B

I inherited my mothers house with a mortgage. When my husband and I lost our jobs, we got behind in payments. Then the Bank posted a default with a auction date we didn’t know what to do.

We didn’t have the $15,000.00 and we only had two weeks to do something. We called Peter Westbrook and form the beginning he was confident he could stop the bank. Within 4 days he bought the house with cash, paid off the bank and stopped the Foreclosure. Without Peter we would have lost everything.

Brenda T

I saw a sign on a telephone pole and against my better judgement I called. The last thing I expected was a person answering the phone. I was surprised, Peter Westbrook answered the phone. I had a lot of questions and Peter had the right answers. My mother needed to get as much as possible out of the house and we had talked to several real estate agents and they all wanted to sell it cheap and wanted a 6% commission. They all told us unless we put thousands of dollars into it could not be sold for what we wanted. Not Peter. He made a fair cash offer and since then we have sold him another house. Peter and the title company handled everything. I couldn’t be happier and I would recommend Peter Westbrook to anyone.

Cathy W

I needed to sell my Stockton House. I called a phone number I saw on a sign and talked to Peter Westbrook. The City of Stockton said that they were going to take away my vacant Stockton house, knock it down and send me the

bill to do it. I did everything that I could to try to make them happy. A neighbor offered to buy the house and then Peter offered me twice as much. He did everything he said he would do and I just had to go to the Title Company and sign the papers. He did all of the work and now the City of Stockton is his problem. Thank you Peter.

Ann C

I inherited my Fathers Stockton house. The front porch was falling in, the walls had holes from being vacant and vandalized. The City of Stockton fined us, red tagged the property and forced us to put on a new roof so we had to get loans and we still couldn’t rent it out.

I called one of those “I Buy Houses” signs and Peter Westbrook came out and made a cash offer. The House closed escrow and we got our money for a house we though was worthless. Thanks Peter!”

Broderick R.

“Our Grandfather passed away and my brother, sister and I inherited his Stockton house. He was a junkman and hoarder. He was also 90 years old and had not made a repair to the house in years. He had garage sales almost every day. The house and the yard were full of junk. We tried to get everything out so we could just see the house. We had family and friends come over on the weekends but the cost and effort was consuming all of our time.The house was a mess.

I called Peter Westbrook and he made us a cash offer for the house and he said he would take care of all of the clean up. Thank God I called. The City had issued code violations and fines on the property and even before we closed escrow Peter and his crew had the house and yard cleaned (4 large Dumpsters later) . I recommend Peter Westbrook to anyone that has a problem house. They were fast and professional”

Connie J.

“I had tried to sell my Mothers Stockton house for two years. Realtor’s told me to tear it down. I didn’t have the money for that and my Brother and his family were living there. Peter Westbrook made me a cash offer and closed escrow with my brother still in the house. Peter Westbrook is my savior. I don’t have to worry about the house any more. If you have a Stockton house that has become a burden and you don’t have the money to fix it to sell it, call Peter Westbrook.”

Rosemary R.