How reliable do you think zoopla and similar are ?

[Newbrummie]

Massive discrepency between all estate agents figures and zoopla estimate. According to one agent a 10% increase since 2004. Other figures just random
Tia

It's a formula based on average sales price in the area, not taking into account extensions, improvements etc. If you bought fairly recently and haven't done any work then it will be fairly accurate, otherwise it could be way out.

No it was bought it 2007 and had a complete Reno. Trying to decide if it's way out in my favour or not.

It has my house listed as a detached 3 bed. It's a 4 bed semi so I don't trust it at all.

You can you update the extra bedroom etc

I know but I can't be bothered. No plans to ever move or sell. Just amuses me how it's so wrong.

Fair enough ... There's £60,000 between the top figure and bottom for my house. Am keen to get that right as you can imagine

Of course. Wow, that's a lot!!

Estate agents have more experience of the local area, so know what will sell and (to an extent) how much people are willing to pay for a house in a particular area. For example in my area 3 bed detached houses sell like hot cakes, but 4+ beds don't. (Not a great area, starter homes, eventually people move on). Zoopla just looks at average prices & doesn't know anything about what people are prepared to pay.

It's not accurate at all. Our house is worth in the region of £400k plus and its listed on zoopla as worth £250k or there abouts. Bought it for very cheap, for various reasons I won't go into, so I assume it just adds a percentage to the last sale value.

It depends on what type of houses are available locally. In my village, there are 2 bedroom ex council semis and 2 bedroom nice period properties, which are worth a bit more, but Zoopla would lump in together.

Agree with asking an estate agent with local knowledge. They are always happy to advise/give ball park valuations and you would want to consult at least 3 anyway so they wouldn't think anything of valuing your house and then not getting the business.

So according to the estate agents, £70,000 spent on renovations, bought nearly 10 years ago and just a 10% increase ? It seems strange.

Ours is 420 on zoopla and 425 on mouse price. I think we could get around 410 for it if we want to sell reasonably quickly. This is based on my observations on houses that have sold in the last few months and those that havent

Not all renovations add value - and without knowing the valuation it's not clear anyway - for some houses 70K would be more than 10%

It's all subject to area, fashion/popularity etc.

Are you selling? If so you can ask what you like - maybe someone will pay it, maybe they won't.

FWIW I think the Zoopla figure hugely overestimates the gain (they say) my house has made in 10 years - but there are no two houses alike in my road so any maths-based formula is never going to be much use.

So according to the estate agents, £70,000 spent on renovations, bought nearly 10 years ago and just a 10% increase ? It seems strange

It depends where you are in the country. Prices have fallen and risen again and in many places are only just getting back to peak levels.

In 2006 we paid £110k for a 2 bed semi in West Yorkshire. We've put in new central heating and spent about £50k on a large single storey extension.

We could probably sell today for around £130k max so fairly in line with your example and effectively losing money - obviously to us the intention is to remain living in the house and enjoy the extension and better heating.

It was all moving walls, redoing the kitchen and bathroom to a high standard, adding an extra bedroom ... I guess I'm just surprised. Beyond caring but surprised

Around here you add an additional 30k per extra double bedroom past 3 but after 5 bedrooms it becomes pointless as nobody who wants such a large house would live in my area. You also add 30k for detached properties and an additional 2-3k for an ensuite. So for example, if I did a loft conversion for an extra bedroom (with ensuite) it would only add max 33k to my property value but would cost a lot more.

Zoopla had our flat listed for the cost of the lease we had just extended (about 25% of the value!)

Zoopla had our three-bed linked detached estimated at 415k, and we just sold for 425k (south east)

I've gone for the middle ground, if I get 40 viewings in the first week then I'll know it's under valued and go with the zoopla estimate ... I bloody hope it's right !

Good luck, but I wouldn't rely on zoopla too much. It reckons our house is 140k more expensive than our neighbours identical (but reversed) house.

The reason - she inherited hers and only bought half.

It can be a general outline, but I wouldn't take it too seriously.

Zoopla isn't particularly reliable for houses that have been done up or extentended or were previously bought cheaply from relatives. For example we bought oir house for 230k in 2007. According to zoopla it should now be worth 275k. However we sold it for 416k because we had enveloped it throughout including going up into the attic. The zoopla estimate of 275k would buy you a much smaller characterless property.

Zoopla might ge more relatable with a non developed modern house?

Also it can be unreliable if someone over paid for a property years ago. Zoopla might give a unrealistic higher prediction. Also if someone bought a house in good condition, then let it date/get run down, their zoopla estimation might be unrealistically high.

It's a load of rubbish, I live in a semi detatched new build, my house and the neighbours are identical, obviously slightly different decor. There's a 50,000 difference between the two! They haven't updated or modified their house in any way, yet zoopla say theirs is worth more! Xxx

Ha e you looked at how much other houses in your road go for?