What's My Home Worth?

The Comparable Sales Method

Your home's market value is determined by what similar homes in your area have sold for recently. This is called the Comparative Market Analysis (CMA).

What makes a good comp:

• Sold within the last 90 days (ideally 60)
• Within 0.5 miles of your home (1 mile max in rural areas)
• Similar square footage (within 15–20%)
• Similar bedroom and bathroom count, age, and construction type

How agents adjust comps: No two homes are identical. Agents and appraisers make adjustments for differences, additional bathroom (+$5,000–$15,000), garage vs. no garage (+$10,000–$25,000), updated kitchen (+$10,000–$30,000), pool (+$15,000–$50,000), busy road vs. quiet cul-de-sac (−$5,000–$20,000).

The appraisal: When a buyer finances the purchase, their lender orders an independent appraisal using the same comparable sales method. If it comes in below your contract price, the deal can fall apart unless someone closes the gap. This is why pricing based on real comps, not hope, is critical.

The Zestimate Problem

Zillow's Zestimate is a useful starting point. It is not an accurate valuation of your specific home.

Why Zestimates are inaccurate:

• Zillow doesn't know your home's interior condition
• It can't account for recent renovations or deferred maintenance
• It uses broad neighborhood averages, not specific street-level comparables
• In low-transaction markets, there simply aren't enough data points

Zillow's own admission: Zillow publicly reports its Zestimate median error rate at approximately 2–3% for on-market homes and 6–7% for off-market homes. On a $400,000 home, that's a $24,000–$28,000 margin of error.

What to use instead: A Comparative Market Analysis from a local real estate agent, a pre-listing appraisal from a licensed appraiser ($300–$500), or multiple agent opinions, get 2–3 CMAs and compare.

The danger of Zillow for sellers: Overpriced homes sit on the market. Every week on market signals to buyers that something is wrong, and they offer less. Pricing based on an inflated Zestimate can cost you far more than the overvaluation itself.