What’s Your Take On Online Real Estate Information?
I was just wondering about this – in part because I just caught an article on the Daily Breeze that talks about the availability of market information obtained via online sites like Zillow and Cyberhomes. Our own Redfin was mentioned as well.
Alas, the article says that due to the lack of information on key factors in valuing a home such as remodeling upgrades and errors on pubic information used to assess property taxes, home valuations can be rather skewed.
Still, the different models can lead to disparities – sometimes by tens of thousands of dollars – from one site to the next.
That’s because relevant data, such as whether a homeowner has made significant improvements, like a state-of-the-art kitchen, can be missing. Or sometimes there are errors in key information, such as county assessor data used to collect property taxes – something many sites bake into their estimates.
The article even cites discrepancies between sites when comparing basic information on the stats of a home. (And yes, Redfin was included.)
I cross-checked a few properties on several popular real estate research sites – Cyberhomes.com, Zillow.com, Redfin.com and RealEstateABC.com – and spotted some inconsistencies.
In the case of one house currently for sale in Riverside, Calif., for example, Cyberhomes and RealEstateABC had it listed as having three bedrooms and two baths, while Zillow and Redfin describe it as a four-bedroom home with two and a half baths.
Obviously, I’ve looked at the Redfin stats quite a bit. I use it for research when I’m writing about properties. And I’ve also used it for personal use in pricing my home for sale. And to be honest, I have found a few inconsistencies in homes. The MLS listing from my agent might have a home as a four-bedroom property, while the Redfin listing pegs it as a three-bedroom property.
But before you think I’m bashing the system, I do have to add that overall, the stats that I’ve come up with when valuing my home are very closely in line with my real estate agent’s. So the Redfin system isn’t perfect, but I’ve found it to be a pretty resourceful tool overall.
What about you? Any thoughts on the public sites that you use for valuing a home? What’s good? What’s bad? What frustrates you?
Please share.
By the way…
Here are some new on the market properties in the LAX area.
Playa Del Rey
8601 Falmouth Ave., #215/2bd, 2bth/$559,000
Playa Vista
13044 Pacific Promenade, #417/2bd, 3bth/$744,900
Westchester
7830 McConnell Ave./2bd, 2bth/$759,000
