Zoopla "current Home Values"

[morbotheterrible]

(This may be old news to some) Whilst browsing Zoopla I found this house: House

Zoopla has functionality whereby it gives an estimate of what a house is worth, presumably based on the last sale price recorded at the land registry and then adjusted by the national average change in house prices. By using street view I can tell that this is number 4, which according to the land registry sold in 2007 for £142,000. The current vendors are prepared to take £2000 less than they paid for it.

More interesting than that, is that Zoopla has current house values in this road on a link part way down the page Current Values where the current value of number 4 is stated as £128,761.

I wonder if the estate agents and vendor are aware that the website they listed on is undermining their asking price.

[Caveat Mortgagor]

Its not just Zoopla that undermines their asking price.

Their price aspirations are more under threat from common sense, limited mortgage availability, the ratio of their asking price to average wage of the locals etc.

[morbotheterrible]

Its not just Zoopla that undermines their asking price.

Their price aspirations are more under threat from common sense, limited mortgage availability, the ratio of their asking price to average wage of the locals etc.

Very true, however, the above has been the case for a while. I am currently working in a temporary position, and so I went to talk to a a financial advisor about the problems I would face obtaining a mortgage. Apparently if I 'know someone' who owns a business who is prepared to say they were offering me a job at £x p.a. this would rectify the situation as no payslips or work history are necessary. Apparently he knows "a lot of people who are doing it."

Edit: spelling

Edited August 6, 2010 by morbotheterrible

[Pent Up]

I'd say zoopla are very optimistic with the valuations they give. Many of the houses I have 'valued' using it come out very high even taking into account today's ridiculously over-inflated prices!

[The Preacherman]

I think that Zoopla is starting to come in to its own. Take this example:

On sale for £280K

Zoopla estimate £236K

The estimate is a fair price for a 4 bed in Droitwich.

The Zoopla estimates will get more and more accurate, the more data that is entered. Therefore, I urge HPCers to input info in to Zoopla particularly on any overpriced shitholes that you see.

[The Preacherman]

Here's another one.

On sale for £230K

Zoopla estimate £178K

Can't believe that this has SSTC. You need to see it to understand how small and poorly built the property is. Hope that its sold for a low ball offer as vendor may be desperate as they've moved away from the area and already had one sale fall through.

[Mikhail Liebenstein]

To be fair to Zoopla, it is a bit like an economist, in that it tends to track the past events and then extrapolates.

I have found homes both under and overvalued.

The overvalued ones are typically where the current owner has paid too much at the height of the boom, Zoopla then moves that down a little, but leaves it still over valued.  A house I know near Tadworth suffers from this, the guy paid £1.3m (after a bidding war) for it in 2007 (because it had a loft conversion and an extension and a wooden outbuilding masquerading as a fitness room), but the highest price ever on the road at that time was about £800k. The house next door just sold for £850k, same basic spec, but with only the loft conversion.  So in essence the extra £450k bought a wooden log cabin and crap extension. Of course Zoopla doesn't realise this and so is still "valuing" the house at £1.2m.

At the other end of the scale and in true HPC style is my own house. All the houses in my close have sold for over £900k at some point (including mine),  however I got it for just £750k and guess what Zoopla puts its value at about  £870k whilst all the neighbours are close to £1m - the houses essentially identical.

To a degree I expect this is a bit like how HPI happens. People keep referencing the recent old prices and adding a bit, and adding a bit, and adding a bit.  I remember buying my first house in 2000 and the agents saying things like the one down the road went for £x six months ago, so now this must be worth £x+10% - I don't recall the economy growing by 10% in that 6 month period, nor indeed the money supply

[Bootsox]

(This may be old news to some) Whilst browsing Zoopla I found this house: HouseZoopla has functionality whereby it gives an estimate of what a house is worth, presumably based on the last sale price recorded at the land registry and then adjusted by the national average change in house prices.

Sorry for being Mr Thicky but where on the Zoopla website is this functionality you speak of?

[Mikhail Liebenstein]

Sorry for being Mr Thicky but where on the Zoopla website is this functionality you speak of?

Go to the home values tab, and then enter a post code. It will give an estimated value on the right hand side and you can refine this by adding details about rooms, extensions etc.

[The Preacherman]

To be fair to Zoopla, it is a bit like an economist, in that it tends to track the past events and then extrapolates.

I have found homes both under and overvalued.

I agree that Zoopla is only a good as the data available, therefore I urge all HPCers to fill in the missing bits.

And if you see a house that is ridiculously overvalued use the feedback form to tell them why.

[Bootsox]

Go to the home values tab, and then enter a post code. It will give an estimated value on the right hand side and you can refine this by adding details about rooms, extensions etc.

Cheers found it!

Edited August 8, 2010 by Bootsox

[happy_renting]

If Zoopla are using Land registry prices I would expect them to be reasonably accurate.

I used to live on an estate which included about 25 houses of the same design as mine.

I went through all the sales recorded since around 1990, and compared the actual sale prices with the Land Registry price index. Prices varied in close relationship with the house price index +/- 5%. Even that variance might be explained by delays in completion, and extras like conservatories, garden size, one or two extensions, double glazing, etc.

I regard the Land Registry as the reliable starting place for valuing a property, as long as you can find comparable properties.

[chips]

Our house is on Zoopla, we are also trying to sell our house too. Our estate agents have valued it between such and such an amount, most of the similar properties to ours in our town are selling for this kind of asking price too. When we look up our house on Zoopla though, it is way under any estimate 3 estate agents valued our house at.

Also, all this refine you estimate on Zoopla is unreliable, I have tweaked our information many times, I find the less information you put in, the more the value goes up, the more comprehensive information you input, and your house price goes down. This is very strange and not reliable at all. The estimates, well I do not know what they base them on, but based on my dealing there, refining our information, it is all very random and like roulette. Not to be trusted, and their estimates are undervaluing properties, which buyers may think is the going rate, and you end up selling your house for peanuts.

Local estate agents know the area and know the rough value of houses locally, zoopla do not, they just go off one big database of outdated information.

Edited September 4, 2010 by chips

[Brightwell]

Our house is on Zoopla, we are also trying to sell our house too. Our estate agents have valued it between such and such an amount, most of the similar properties to ours in our town are selling for this kind of asking price too. When we look up our house on Zoopla though, it is way under any estimate 3 estate agents valued our house at.

Also, all this refine you estimate on Zoopla is unreliable, I have tweaked our information many times, I find the less information you put in, the more the value goes up, the more comprehensive information you input, and your house price goes down. This is very strange and not reliable at all. The estimates, well I do not know what they base them on, but based on my dealing there, refining our information, it is all very random and like roulette. Not to be trusted, and their estimates are undervaluing properties, which buyers may think is the going rate, and you end up selling your house for peanuts.

Be sure to let us know when your house sells for the amount you think it is worth (rather than Zoopla's 'under-valuation').

[Timm]

Our house is on Zoopla, we are also trying to sell our house too. Our estate agents have valued it between such and such an amount, most of the similar properties to ours in our town are selling for this kind of asking price too. When we look up our house on Zoopla though, it is way under any estimate 3 estate agents valued our house at.

(...)

How long have you been trying to sell?

[Redcellar]

Our house is on Zoopla, we are also trying to sell our house too. Our estate agents have valued it between such and such an amount, most of the similar properties to ours in our town are selling for this kind of asking price too. When we look up our house on Zoopla though, it is way under any estimate 3 estate agents valued our house at.

Also, all this refine you estimate on Zoopla is unreliable, I have tweaked our information many times, I find the less information you put in, the more the value goes up, the more comprehensive information you input, and your house price goes down. This is very strange and not reliable at all. The estimates, well I do not know what they base them on, but based on my dealing there, refining our information, it is all very random and like roulette. Not to be trusted, and their estimates are undervaluing properties, which buyers may think is the going rate, and you end up selling your house for peanuts.

Local estate agents know the area and know the rough value of houses locally, zoopla do not, they just go off one big database of outdated information.

The problem is though, if Zoopla undervalues a property (rightly or wrongly) and a potential buyer sees this, then you are going to have a hard time convincing them otherwise. Words alone won't suffice. Think about the time you bought products and ask if you would pay 5 or 10% over the odds just because a shop said it was a fair price. Unlikely you did.

People are tight with money, and something that makes you question the value of a product, especially a high value purchase, is a big thing to overcome.

[hpc-craig]

The problem is though, if Zoopla undervalues a property (rightly or wrongly) and a potential buyer sees this, then you are going to have a hard time convincing them otherwise. Words alone won't suffice. Think about the time you bought products and ask if you would pay 5 or 10% over the odds just because a shop said it was a fair price. Unlikely you did.

People are tight with money, and something that makes you question the value of a product, especially a high value purchase, is a big thing to overcome.

Zoopla have just started a National TV advertising campaign. I've seen the ad a few times, on Comedy Central or some such channel.

If a buyer sees the ad and heads to the site and see Zoopla are valuing a potential purchase at £150k but the vendor is asking £170k, then they will surely be reluctant to offer much over the 150k (except for the 'dream house' brigade -anyone who watched LLL this week will have 2 couples who fit this category).

[dnjc]

Those are the SLOWEST ones to reflect a market fall, I believe?

they are going to be hopelessly out of date in the sort of market we are headed into, I reckon

Dear Dr,

I have not seen one of your predictions for a while. I am in the middle of buying somewhere and would appreciate words/charts of wisdom. I am getting mighty nervous that I am buying at the wrong time. I followed your posts with some interest for a while whilst you were arguing against the flow, now surely some update?

DNJC