Accuracy of Zoopla Valutions?

bossdog

I've been looking at a 4bed detached house in a rural but not particuarly desirable area. It's on for £225k but the Zoopla valuation puts a maximum figure of £160K -£190k and it was desribed by the agent as "well presented" with a "south facing garden" so I thought I'd have a look. We viewed on Saturday and the place was a mess, extremly dated (pure 1980's and dirty with it) and needs a complete repaint, all new carpets and new shower cubicles. I'm not squeamish but I had wash my clothes after because the smell clung so badly. Oh, and the garden is most definatly north facing!!

So, with the Zoopla valuation in mind I offered £150k, it was rejected with the assurance they would not accept less than £200k, which is way way more than it's worth.

So, I am considering offering £175k as my final offer but I am wondering about how accurate Zoopla valuations are, I input all the extra details and TBH, the valuation sounded about right to me but has anyone used it and had something wildly wrong?

Sorry for the essay, didn't mean to write so much!!

Bossdog x

bobmoo79

I have found that Zoopla estimations are heavily dependant on the last sale price of any given property.
I have experimented with different properties in the same road, entering identical parameters for the ‘revised estimate’ and the last sale price seems to have too much influence IMO. The algorithim Zoopla uses to determine property value doesn’t seem to take into account (or place enough emphasis on) when the last sale was, which is probably the main problem here. 2 identical properties with different last sale dates (i.e. one sold in 1999 and one sold in 2006) would have much different estimates, despite them being worth the virtually the same amount in reality.


For example,

If a property last sold for 55k then Zoopla’s estimated may be 150k, but if the identical property last sold for 130k, the valuation may be more like 170k.

Try it yourself and see if you find a similar result.

Gwhiz

Trouble with any website is they are based on averages which can be way out. The only way to tell the market value is to research your local area for real sale prices and go from there.

pinkshoes

It's mainly based on statistics and averages, so should only be taken with a pinch of salt, as most are highly unaccurate (selling price as well as rent estimate).

princeofpounds

Firstly, ignore what it's on for. The only price that matters is the price you are willing to pay, and what the vendors will sell for is totally out of your control.

Asking prices at the moment are especially manipulated to try to squeeze people who think that 'asking price - x%' represents a good deal, regardless of what asking prices are! This is evidenced by the fact that the rightmove index of *asking* house prices is up three months in a row, when every index that actually looks at transactions (or likely transactions) is down.

Focusing on an asking price is a psychological mistake called 'anchoring' - google it.

Question 2 is how accurate is zoopla? Answer is, not very, though it will probably put you in the right *wide* ballpark unless the property or road is slightly unusual.

There are many ways to price an asset like a house. The 'proper' financial way to do it is as a stream of future cashflows discounted to the present. But you won't know how to do that and even if you did it involves so many assumptions that you'd only get in the ballpark again anyway.

The other method is comparatives, which is what zoopla uses. If you look back at specific transactions in the area you might be able to refine this logic. This tells you nothing about the actual value of the house in absolute terms but might inform you on what people may be prepared to pay for such an asset.

gratefulforhelp_2

I'd suggest looking at mouseprice too. Their valuations are consistently higher. I'd also agree that what is important is what you're prepared to pay - though I can see you don't want survey to downvalue it so mortgage co. lend less, and you don't want to end up in negative equity.

SouthCoast

Zoopla valuation of four identical flats:

£258, £222, £265, £219k.

Property-Bee is a more reliable research tool.

michael1983l

I found zoopla to be well off

00ec25

zoopla is not accurate

In our street (15 houses) zoopla values 2 at the same price as the others yet they are semi and all others are detached,

a x ref to the council tax banding would show that the 2 semis are in a lower band than the others and also that a further 2 are in a higher band than the remaining ones.

zoopla is a computer so is not clever, all it can do is apply an average to the data it holds and if that data lacks relevant details then it's not going to be accurate. Only 4 of the 15 houses have sold since records began and these 15 houses are an order of magnitude different to the rest of that postcode so applying averages for the postcode is wrong and 4 prices since 2001 is not statistically good enough to base an averaging for our street on either

the only good thing about zoopla is the land registry values for the prices of stuff that actually sold, base your assessments on that data and your knowledge of whether the house you are interested in is absolutely identifcal to the the most recent sold one (bet it isn't)

whathavewedone

In terms of what a surveyor would value a property at, I find Mouseprice to be extremely accurate. The valuation of our house in October 2008 came in at 415k, the mortgage company surveyor valued it at 417k. Zoopla valued it at 385k in October 2008, a lot less than the surveyor considered it to be worth.

BUT: whatever the state of the market, a house is only worth what someone is prepared to pay for it. Doesn't sound like you love the house (neither would I if I came away having to wash my clothes because of the offensive and pungent smell of it) so in your shoes I would either (a) keep looking or (b) offer what I was prepared to pay (within reason, £1.47p might be a bit insulting) and then walk away if the offer was rejected.

topazmp

Zooplar I know can be way out. Property at the moment is a difficult one but the old saying goes " it is worth what someone will pay for it " Well that is if you will sell it low but at auction previously it could go higher. The local agents & what else is for sale in you area ( like for like ) sould be a guide. If a property you viewed is not as descibed let your agent know. Good luck with the house hunting !