zoopla, how accurate is their housing estimate?

hazyjo

davidwiggins01 wrote: »

We've just sold our house for £370k. Zoopla estimate: £369k
Next door is identical to our except EOT rather than mid. Zoopla estimate: £320k (it should be a bit more than ours)
Next door the other side is identical to ours. Zoopla estimate: £374k (so not far off)
Estate agents valued ours between £350k and £400k.

Zoopla has the house we are buying at £441k and we are paying (asking price of) £425k.

Make of all of that what you will.

When you say sold, do you mean under offer? If actually sold, they amend their prices very quickly to that which it has just sold for. Mine that was £100k over one day was bang on what we paid once the price was noted by them.

If something has very recently sold in the street, it will be far more accurate, especially if they are all similar properties.

Jx

googler

kingstreet wrote: »

Hometrack.

£20

https://www.hometrack.com/uk/products/market-intelligence/property-valuation-report

Sorry, that doesn't strike me as any more scientific than taking Zoopla's data, picking some comparables and averaging them, then pinch images from Google Streetview of the comparables.

When a buyer can walk/drive along the street and see the comparables for themselves.....

dc197

Part of the inaccuracy is that zoopla can get confused between properties on a street.
On my road number 29 is a flat and number 9 is a large detached house. It lists 9 well under value because it believes it is the flat.

indianabones

Don't use Zoopla or Rightmove for their market estimations. But definitely use both and Land Registry for sold house prices for the road you're looking at and nearby roads.

An example. My road has a Zoopla estimation of 115k. That isn't too bad you know. Last 3 houses sold on our road for 118k, 127k and 125k. All same age and build type. They have sold in the last 12 months.

2 houses are on the market right now priced at 155k and 145k. Both owners expect within 5k of the asking prices, based on the sold house prices on those website they're dreaming.

So use these sites, but definitely go by sold house prices.

phoebe1989seb

Admittedly our house is unique so difficult for Zoopla to value, but prior to purchase they had it *valued* at £210k more than it was on the market for

At a previous location Zoopla had our next door neighbour's house *valued* at approximately £90k, due I guess to the fact it had been a self-build on a plot of land he already owned (actually the garden of our house which he once owned, but that's another story;)) fifteen years previously. It sold a few months later for £250k.......

Mrs.CJP

As everyone has said take Zoopla with a pinch of salt.

Zoopla was completely out on our estimation of our old house compared to what it sold for.

I was told that Zoopla bases the prices

- on the last sold house with the road,
- how many doors, windows, rooms and chimneys it has
- the 'typical' percentage rises for the area.

All the above is good when lots of houses have been sold in the area but when the prices have been judge on the last sale (ours was 2009) the price really can't be reliable.

Clutterfree

I'd say Zoopla *may* be more accurate at predicting the value of houses on an estate in which the houses are pretty much the same style, all built at the same time.
However, they are usually way out if they are estimating the value of houses on a street where every house is different and were built hundreds of years apart. How can they work out a correct average value if a 2 bed terrace sold on the street at the same time as a 5 bed Georgian detached?
The terrace would be vastly over valued and the Georgian property under valued.

According to Zoopla, our house was worth £50k less than what we have just sold it for.

Take the prices with a HUGE pinch of salt.

eddddy

aviii wrote: »

I notice most of there estimate were way under what was being asked - so was wondering how a vendor or EA comes up with theres.

EAs will focus on what is happening in the local market when making valuations.

For example, if there is heavy competition for 2 bed garden flats in an area - lots of enquiries, lots of viewings, lots of competing offers etc - the EAs will start adjusting their valuations upwards (or vice versa).

As you might expect, EAs are more focused on what people are prepared to pay. That tends to be based on feedback from buyers, competitive market intelligence etc - rather than 'mathematical pricing models'.

Grenage

It's a pretty good indicator when you're talking about estate houses, where every house within 1km is a carbon copy.

Gets substantially less reliable when you're talking about older, non-estate homes, or other factors (massive garden, etc etc).

googler

Mrs.CJP wrote: »

I was told that Zoopla bases the prices

- on the last sold house with the road,
- how many doors, windows, rooms and chimneys it has
- the 'typical' percentage rises for the area.

Who would tell Zoopla this, for every house in the country?