There are a variety of ways to look at real estate values, and changing real estate markets.
The general public uses Zillow a lot for this purpose. Zillow is about big data, and uses a variety of data feeds to arrive at a value. I track what Zillow says as compared to actual sale prices of transactions in which I am involved. Sometimes Zillow is spot on, and some times Zillow is in left field.
Realtors have a similar tool which provides an automated home valuation. The system, allows us to customize the valuation by adding information specific to the subject property. We also use our Multiple Listing Service and a variety of programs to arrive at home values.
As many real estate websites do, mine has a pricing calculator . Click the "sell" tab and enter your address. It will give you both the Zillow and SmartZip value estimations.
In a quickly changing market, pricing is tricky. No doubt.
The FHFA (Federal Housing Finance Agency) tool helps get at value a different way. It looks at the Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA's), the quarter in which the property was purchased and quarter in which one is looking for a value. It projects what a given house purchased at a point in time would be worth if it appreciated at the average appreciation rate of all homes in the area. This isn't the end all, be all of pricing. But I do find it to be a good data point in a pricing strategy.
Play around with the FHFA Home Pricing Calculator. What do you think? Does it seem to reflect reality?
The Federal Housing Finance Agency website has a variety of other tools and data. I also like the Four Quarter Appreciation Map. Holy Cow, look at Austin, TX with 35.1% appreciation over the previous 4 quarters, and Boise, ID at 41.1%. Makes the Portland metro area's 18.3% four quarter appreciation look downright reasonable!
If you want a more accurate value estimation, give me a call, text or email. I'd be glad to come by and work up a market analysis. leslievjones@gmail.com 503-312-8038
