Has anyone use Zoopla?

dottiepeas

Hello,

Has anyone used Zoopla to check on the house price of the property you are interested in buying?

We have seen a 3 bed semi that we are interested in making an offer on- the advertised price of the house is £224k. But when I checked on Zoopla, the free valuation they provide on there comes in from 149k- 178k. I can see the owner purchased the house back in 1999 for £87k. Do you think the agent/owner is over-pricing the property- in the current market?

The has had some cosmetic touchups inside, but rooms/doors are unfinished and there has been no major improvements to the house, like extensions etc....its in ok condition- all walls have been painted.

Am thinking of putting a low offer in....but not sure how accurate the zoopla valuation is!..Has anyone else used Zoopla to determine their offer price?.....

Thanks!

breadlinebetty

Zoopla's not very good to be honest. Some of these websites haven't got a clue- they guess at the current price. They haven't been INSIDE the property and know nothing whatsoever about it.

Take it with a pinch of salt.

The 1999 price is going be loads less than now anyway, credit crunch included.

googler

The trouble with Zoopla is it doesn't know anything about the houses in the street APART FROM the previously sold prices, and the information that's been completed in the 'details' of each home by the owners, neighbours and agents.

If there are radically different house styles in the street (such as one not too far from me; 2 bed flats, 2 bed mid and end terraced, 3 bed end terraced, through 3 bed semi to 5-beds detached over 3 floors), Zoopla won't have a clue which is which, and the guesstimates will be way off. I get the impression that once more and more folk fill in the correct detail for each house, it'll get more accurate.

For the time being, you need to get the sold prices from Zoopla, and establish which ones previously sold that are the same style, layout etc as your target property. Extrapolate a likely price from this data yourself.

molong

It's a bit hit and miss, not really accurate I'm afraid.

dottiepeas

Thanks for the replies...

zoopla probably are abit out....though it is very interesting to see their figures. I think its made me more confused about the house prices round here! Well, we've put in an offer for 200k to start (of 224k).....will see what she says!....I know it's a good area and close to shops etc...so the extra is probably more in the location rather than the standards in the house.....

Thanks anyway!...

poppysarah

houseprices.co.uk gives you by postcode, & street lists of prices sold.
no guesswork - just data.

moggylover

molong wrote: »

It's a bit hit and miss, not really accurate I'm afraid.

Hey Up molong! Long time no see! You never did come back to update us all as to whether your poor, long-suffering landlady had actually thrown you out - we all assumed that you were deservedly living in a bus shelter:D .

Jelliebeen

I found Zoopla a bit rubbish too. It had no records for the house we bought a couple of months ago I'd suggest houseprices.co.uk too.

Credit_Check_Services

I agree with Poppysarah and Jelliebeen, houseprices.co.uk

Check for actual sold prices. My estimate is the prices today are around 2005 sold prices, in some areas maybe as low 2004, others maybe as high as 2006 prices.

But remember you need to be comparing like with like ... you can use houseprices.co.uk map/satelite view to see what the solds houses look like ... size of gardens, extensions etc. Its a very good facility to help work out (approximate) prices.

wheresmydoshat

zoopla will work pretty well in ten years time, when more property has been sold. at the moment tho it is going on scraps of information.

pawpurrs

zoopla values my house at 20k more than its on the market at.