Asking price way above Zoopla maximum estimate.

Gavin83

RelievedSheff said:

K_S said:

buythedip said:

Evening guys. We are first time buyers struggling to work out why some asking prices are so far above estimates on Zoopla. I understand that the latter are ignorant of home improvements etc. 

For what it’s worth we are cash buyers, so won’t have the feedback from our bank in assessing the house for mortgage purposes. Maybe we are simply being paranoid but the general trend appears to be that such examples go unsold. 

@buythedip You could try Mouseprice, they're more reliable better than Zoopla on value estimates (at least from a lender pov). A few lenders even use the underlying engine for their automated valuations. Needless to say, it may not be accurate if the property is unique, significantly upgraded/extended, etc. 

Mouseprice grossly underestimates what our house is worth when you compare with what is on the market right now in the area and what they are selling for.

On the other hand Zoopla while closer to the right figure, we think over estimates what it should be worth.

Mouseprice doesn't even seem to know how many bedrooms our house has!

Honestly though I couldn't tell you what our house is worth. We bought it 6 months ago and it hasn't been valued since. Mouseprice interestingly values it at the price we paid. Zooplas lower estimate is £10k higher than our purchase price and the higher is £60k more than we paid. Whenever we get it valued next I'll compare and see which is closest.

phoebe1989seb

Mouseprice values ours at just £25k more than we paid four years ago (when we bought it as a repossession), whereas Zoopla's middle estimate is 2x that and is roughly inline with a recent(ish) valuation we had done by the same EA we purchased through.

There are no similar properties nearby and only two others share our postcode.

Since purchasing we have (almost) completed a comprehensive, sympathetic upgrade of the 400 year old property and plan to extend in the near future.

Otoh, Zoopla valued a previous house we owned at more than £200k above the price we paid.

Obviously the only thing that counts is the actual sold price.

buythedip

Ramouth said:

What a lovely house!  Hope it all goes smoothly for you.

Cheers Ramouth, we had an offer accepted with the owners moving locally. We’ve also sorted a survey out as recommended in this thread. 

Grumpy_chap

RoyalDad said:

Zoopla were very accurate for us - average (middle) estimate was £461k and we just accepted an offer of £467k. We bought house 3 years ago for £365 and thought that was a crazy increase - it was right.

That is not asking Zoopla to do a great deal - there is a fixed and accurate data point three years ago and standard indices for the area can be applied over three years very simply - three years is nothing in terms of property cycles.  Assuming you did not do anything to change the value of the property (massive extension), then the price movement will be pretty much bang on whatever the index says, which you found to be true.

pleasedelete

Never heard of mouse price before but looked at mine:

The current sale valuation for this property is £754,000, and the current rental valuation is £1,224 pcm.

Just had it valued at £1.2 million by mortgage company but they sent a surveyor oddly not just a valuer who was great and knew the area  very well  (4 on road sold for that in past 3 months- non on land registry yet) and the rental is about £5k a month (next door rents for that and ours is nicer and bigger) 

Zoopla says £900,000 - £1,100,000 which is slightly lower than last year 

MobileSaver

RoyalDad said:

Zoopla were very accurate for us - average (middle) estimate was £461k and we just accepted an offer of £467k.

The problem is, as the saying goes, even a stopped clock is right twice a day...

There's no way of knowing beforehand whether Zoopla's estimate is accurate or ridiculously inaccurate which is why many people think they're as useful as a chocolate teapot. I and others would literally laugh at any buyer or seller who tried to use a Zoopla estimate as a negotiating tool.

I've just checked my nearest neighbour's property; Mouseprices estimate £110,000 while Zoopla estimate £125,000 - if he got less than £500,000 for it I would be amazed.

Ibrahim5

When we moved into our house we had a Premier League footballer next door. He changed clubs and disappeared fast. He sold his house for about £100k less than it was worth. It caused mayhem with Zoopla etc and it's taken years to get back to normal. People wouldn't pay the full value because previous buyers had got a bargain.