dropdown, and an option titled “What Is My Home Worth” should appear), last sold for $180,000 in 1998; it was appraised for refinancing in 2015 at $275,000. In 2017, Redfin’s calculator valued this 1890 Victorian home (4 bedrooms, 1.5 baths, and 2100 sq. ft.) in a four-block area of “Grand Old Ladies” at $158,000. The apparent reason is that the six “comps” (comparable recent sales) include only 2 homes in this desirable neighborhood (over $300,000), while four others are outside this small neighborhood, although close, and sold for $150,000 to $199,000. Information that would be known to local real estate professionals with expertise is missing. These tools can be worthwhile as a starting point, but they are not highly accurate in arriving at a listing price. Zillow recently sent me their sale price "Zestimate" for my own home and it was 38% below the professionally appraised value that took place just two weeks later. Remember, Zillow is a real estate company, acquiring properties and selling them. They are a for profit company! If they were to purchase my property from me at their Zestimate price, they could then turn around and sell it for an incredible profit. A real estate professional is there to help you get the highest price for your property and the statistics prove they do.
PROFESSIONAL APPRAISAL
Nothing determines the sale price of a piece of real estate but the price at which it sells. Houses are not same-price identical tins of tuna on the grocery store shelf, nor shares of stock valued and traded every day on the stock exchange. Real estate appraisal (aka “property valuation”) is the process of developing an educated "opinion of value" for real property. This is the “market value,” i.e., what a willing and reasonable buyer would pay to purchase the property from a willing and reasonable seller. Real estate transactions almost always require
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