Home Valuation Sites: Do They Add Up?

Last Updated on March 10, 2024 by Umer Malik

Are you hoping to get a home valuation done?

People get their home value assessed for a wide variety of reasons. The most common one is moving. Before selling your home, you need to figure out how much it’s worth. This will dictate how much you can list it for. You might also want to get a home valuation if you’ve done renovations so you can see how much value you’ve added to your property.

The internet has made it easy for home valuation sites to offer their services to clients. For some people, these sites work well. Yet, these might not always be your best options. Below, we’ll get into how to figure out whether a home valuation website offers great services. Keep reading to learn more!

Estimating the Value of Your Home

Home valuation sites all attempt to give you an accurate evaluation of how much your home is worth. They go about this in a variety of ways.

Zillow, one of the most popular sites, uses public data about your area. It then pairs it with user-submitted information about your home. Then, it gives you an estimated value.

The Federal Housing Finance Association (FHFA) bases its estimates on when you bought the home. Then, it looks at how much homes in your area have appreciated in value and gives you an amount.

When you use a home valuation website, you will get an estimate of your home value within a matter of seconds. Yet, sometimes, these estimates aren’t accurate. In fact, Zillow says its estimates have an error margin of 7.5% for homes that are not yet on the market.

Do Online Home Valuations Take Everything Into Account?

If you haven’t done anything to your home since you’ve purchased it, you might get a more accurate estimate from an online site.

Yet, many homeowners renovate or make changes to their homes before they sell them. This can cause the value of your home to increase. An in-person home valuation will take these aspects into account. Still, not every online site assesses these factors.

So, if you’ve done a renovation, you might not want to get an online valuation.

Likewise, online valuations might not take home damage into account. Damage brings down the value of your home. You can prevent your home value from depreciating by repairing any damage your home receives.

What Do Professionals Think About Using Home Valuation Sites?

Lenders and real estate agents don’t use online home valuation tools to get an idea of the value of your home. As such, you shouldn’t use these options if you plan to work with these professionals.

Instead, these online tools work best for people who are trying to figure out the value of their home before they try to sell it or get a loan. Once you decide to work with professional entities, you will need another assessment.

Want to work with a real estate agent? Check out Dean Miller Real Estate.

Want to Learn More?

Now that you’ve read about home valuation sites, you’re ready to get the value of your home assessed.

Regardless of whether you choose to assess your home online or in person, you should think about improving it. If you make renovations, you might be able to sell it for a higher price. You might also be able to get a better mortgage loan if you’re looking to refinance!

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