New real-estate site lists heady prices
You might have heard this piece of wisdom: A man with
one clock always knows what time it is. A man with
two clocks is never sure.
The old saw applies to the rapidly expanding number
of sites that estimate your home's value.
First came Zillow and its "Zestimates,"
which launched with a splash earlier this year. Realtors
and consumer advocates gripe that Zillow's estimates
are inaccurate and confusing.
Now comes CyberHomes , the Zillow-like site just
launched by title insurance giant Fidelity National
Information Services.
Both sites make it nearly effortless to look up home
values. So, we ran some homes currently listed for
sale and compared the prices to the valuations offered
by Zillow, CyberHomes and county property appraisers'
sites.
The results? The numbers are all over the place,
with CyberHomes offering especially optimistic values.
CyberHomes was above the asking price for four homes
we looked at.
The lesson? Don't take these tools too seriously.
