patrick.net

Zillow's zestimates are so far off it's unbelievable.

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/7515-Proud-Meadows-St-Las-Vegas-NV-89131/66844272_zpid/

Purchased 10/2005 $831,488
Repo'd
Sold-foreclosure 1/2010 $376,900

Zesitmate says value is $507,500 (range is $340k - $568k)

Based on that info, I'd say it's worth about $376,900; unless values have dropped again.

Are you looking at houses that are for sale? Zillow won't put up their zestimate on houses that are currently on the market.

Some states dont provide sales history so no estimates can be computed.
Its just the RE industry keeping you in the dark.

What I have seen is this, REwhores that get a propety and go onto Zillow and "claim" the home (like an owner can do on the site) and remove access to the "past sales" chart. Removing that chart removes the "Zestimate" from the homes ID and it shows "N/A". That's been what I've found. But, I would never use any Zetimate for anything anyways, just look at past sales and past property tax values. Those tax values tell the true story that REwhores do NOT want folks to look at and figure into a buying choice. You can get a full property profile from the title company and the APN tax records are at the county and only cost if you want copies - looking and writing down the info is free. Armed with this info you can then watch a house get bought for too much by someone willing to pay too much because they were able to access easy lending - same crap continues today as caused the bubble.

I humbly suggest that (other than a complete remodel) a home bought now as an REO (as is, ect. no disclosures) in California is not worth any more than the 1999 taxed value - plus 1.5% yearly inflation. Any home built after 1999 will be a gamble to place a value on, and the quality is poop - other than the windows and insulation (they are better now-a-days). The stucco is thin, the wood is crap, the designs are stupid and waste money in cubic feet of wasted heat and cooling area (you have to heat those 12' high and vaulted areas first - and since most folks are less than 6' tall that means you have to heat TWICE a much house to feel warm - that is stupid). You will notice the new designs have no over-hang along with theextra high plate lines. That means ZERO protection from after noon heat. Over-hang is a good thing, but todays crap homes are all about looks, not function.

I have noticed that in some areas of San Antonio, the values are much higher then I would have expected. One subdivision in particular has numerous foreclosures and gang activity. Yet the Zillow pricing is high (IMHO) and the local Realtors like to try and convince buyers what a great area it is.

I agree that Zillow is over generous with their Zestimate. I prefer Cyberhomes.net.

I just find it interesting that in my sister's area they have stopped providing the zestimate on all homes and just list the taxed assessed value.

Bap33 says

You can get a full property profile from the title company and the APN tax records are at the county and only cost if you want copies - looking and writing down the info is free.

Which title company do you call for that? Do they charge?

Also, tax records are good for knowing how much tax was paid, but tax can be unrelated to property value in CA because of damn Prop 13. Some people have big expensive houses but pay almost no tax. Others with smaller cheaper houses may pay much more tax, just because they bought more recently.

I use TransCounty. They have never charged me, and I always offer to pay. I just get a basic profile with sales history and legal owner and loan info. But, I have known most of the people in the office personally for 20+ years, so I may be enjoying a friendly connection. I hope putting up their name is not a bad thing. The people in there are very nice.

As for taxed values, I am sorry that I forgot to include that I was talking about the central valley. Here in the valley the historical actual value increase mirrored the Prop13 (1.5% I think) almost exactly. So, if a house was bought in 1985 and was not fixed all up or had a pool or some other big investment - the value would just match taxed value increase - or even go down due to deteriation in the home or the neighborhood. The weather paterns in the valley are pretty harsh and homes rot from the extreem hot/cold cycles very very quickly, compaired to say, Monterey, where a 100 year old house still has working 100 year old windows, original tile roof that never leaked, and all original redwood siding in perfect condition. The costal climate helps wood and roofs and paint last forever. Steel - no, but copper and brass live long.

But, I may be wrong with my taxed value thoughts. It may be just a coincidence that the values kinda match what I'm thinking right now. here in the valley.

You should be able to get a property profile from any title company. most don't charge for it - it's a marketing thing that they do for realtors who in turn bring the sale to them.

Thing is, I want hundreds of thousands of data points from the title companies. They probably won't go for that.

Maybe I can offer free advertising to them in return...