For those of you who are just joining us, this is the second post in a two-part blog series on how real estate mega sites like Zillow and Trulia assess home values. Click here to the read the first post.
These sites’ algorithms couldn’t have come close to taking into account the lack of uniformity in the neighborhood in terms of types and styles of homes, nor the fact that our three bedroom two bath home was one of the few homes under four bedrooms in this area. This vital fact made our home all the more desirable to buyers as an “entry level” home in this area - a way for people who couldn’t normally afford a home in this area to finally be able to purchase one.
Factors like these make this particular neighborhood, as well as many other neighborhoods in the country, especially difficult to comp. Because of the high demand of our neighborhood, there weren’t a lot of comparable sales in our specific area to draw from. As a result, Zillow and Trulia kept bringing up recent home sales from over a mile away, apparently assigning equal weight to these comps. Their software had no way of knowing that comparable sales that far outside our home’s neighborhood instantly became a lot less relevant because they were in a much less desirable neighborhood.
It takes a great real estate agent to understand these kinds of specific factors that have the potential to so greatly impact a home’s value. If you’re thinking of selling your home in Northern Virginia and you’d like a free, no obligation estimate of your home’s value, call me on my cell phone at 703-462-0700 or email me at darren@darrenrobertsonhomes.com. Real estate is my passion, and I’d love to speak with you!
If you’re considering buying a home in Northern Virginia, you need a great buyer agent who will negotiate aggressively on your behalf. I’m an experienced agent who grew up in Falls Church City and knows the Northern Virginia real estate market very well. It would be my pleasure to help you find your dream home!