While I'm not the greatest fan of Zillow, they occasionally do interesting things that are worthy of reporting on. I thought you would be interested in seeing the results of a poll they took last month regarding homeowner's perception of their home's value. They broke the data into regions, which is what I find most interesting. Here's the chart:
What I find noteworthy is that 23%, or almost a quarter, of homeowners in the Northeast still think that their home has increased over the past year. In addition, another 19% think that nothing has changed. That adds up to fully 43% of the market. This does seem to bear out what I've been saying in these pages about the "price gap" that exists in Lancaster County - sellers listing their homes for tens of thousands more than homes are actually selling for. If the Zillow data is accurate, then it's likely that homeowner perceptions are to blame. Note that, out West, sellers have gotten the message.
Why does all this matter? Because I firmly believe that when Lancaster Countians (both agents and sellers) really start knocking down the lists prices we'll see our market jump again. Buyers aren't deaf, dumb & blind - they are patiently out there, waiting...
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Zillow and accurate in the same sentance is an oxymoron.
Actually, I believe that so many home owners owe so much more than market, they are unable to lower prices whether they would or would not.
I agree with your estimate of the situation with Zillow, Lenn. Also, I know that something is driving the chronic overpricing here in our area. These numbers tend to support my suspicion that, generally speaking, there are those who still think their home has increased in value this year. I meet them every week, actually. I think the trend identified in the Zillow study makes some sense. Speaking of the "underwater" homeowners, that is the subject of my post today!
As always, thanks for the comment Lenn!
I just listed a town home, where the seller had done a lot up-dating. The average sales price in the community is around $158K, but because this one had been practically re-built we stretched our asking price to $168K. Zillow showed most of these units at $159K, but once the seller had logged on and inputted all the up-grades he had done, Zillow showed the prices at $189K. There's no way this home would sell at the Zillow price. Thank heaven the seller agreeded with me. I think every agent should have several Zillow stories in their repertoire to use on sellers who think Zillow is the Holly Grail of real estate.
Thanks for the comments Jerry - as I've always said, Zillow's achillies heel is that it can't possibly replicate the on-the-spot intuition of a seasoned agent when setting a market price. Zillow is blind to features and drawbacks that are not recorded on the deed information. I'll be curious as to what your listing sells for!