April 16th, 2007 Yong
If you’ve been following along you’ve probably noticed that Real-a-Save is about more than just selling and buying houses. It’s about
- improving the entire real estate transaction process
- empowering our customers to do more with less
- delivering real value in the form of direct cost savings
- streamlining the chore of buying or selling a property
From a software perspective, this is reflected in our goal to create simple tools that let our customers get things done and then “get out of the way” — and that’s just what we’re doing with “My Real-a-Save.”
My Real-a-Save is a set of online tools designed to assist our customers in purchasing and selling real estate. We keep track of documents and contracts; help save your property searches; keep you informed of important dates; and more. So not only are you saving money with Real-a-Save, you’re saving time and avoiding the typical hassles of a real estate transaction — just by signing up and using our tools.
And this is just the beginning. We can hardly wait to show you what’s next! (hint)
Share This
Posted in Colorado Real Estate, Our Company | No Comments »
April 12th, 2007 Bob
Here’s my latest analysis of Zestimate accuracy for the 80303 zip code during the month of March, 2007.
I’ve got a complete post on my Active Rain blog if you’d like some really exciting nighttime reading.
Otherwise, here’s the latest spreadshet with my numbers.
The basic gist is:
Zestimates were within 5% of the sales price 60% of the time, and were within 10% of the sales price 70% of the time. Realtors scored within 5% of the sales price 90% of the time and within 10% of the sales price 90% of the time.
I believe that the trend continues for Boulder real estate prices and Zillow. Zillow continues to offer a good starting point for valuation, but consumers must simply remember that Zillow’s Zestimates are based on a formula that uses public records. If any of that information is incomplete or inaccurate, then the Zestimates will likely be way off.
Things like:
- Recent upgrades
- Lot size inaccuracies
- Multiple lots that are buildable
- Total remodels
- Fixing and flipping within a few months
You get the picture. I think that Zillow remains a good place for Boulder residents to go to get a general idea of what prices are in their area, but you still need a professional opinion when it comes to pricing your home for sale, especially if any of the above is true.
And remember: Zillow doesn’t claim to be the place to come to find out how much you need to sell your house for. They claim that they are a good starting place for pricing. They also happen to keep very accurate internal statistics on how well their Zestimates are performing in every region of the country.
Share This
Posted in Colorado Real Estate, Boulder, CO | 1 Comment »
April 6th, 2007 Bob
The views from outside and inside the St. Julien Hotel in Boulder are just breathtaking. For a great article on Boulder and the St. Julien go to Offbeat Travel.
n 
This world-class hotel is smack in the middle of one of the coolest cities in America.
Boulder is not necessarily a place where you imagine a weekend getaway at a luxurious hotel, it’s more the kind of town where you imagine incredibly fit people running at 5am, or aging hippies singing in the open-air splendor of Pearl Street Mall. Ok. You got me. That is one side of Boulder. It’s an incredibly athletic town, what with the Flatiron Mountains looming overhead, ski towns right up the road, best of the best mountain biking trails, and hiking trails around every corner–it’s no wonder that folks in these parts stay in pretty good shape.
But it ain’t too hard to go off the diet here either. You can be pampered like royalty in the Spa at the St. Julien, dine at Jill’s for Food Network-quality meals, and get some crazy-good cocktails at Rhumba just as easily as you could head out the door to climb a 14-er.
My wife and I recently did a weekend getaway at the St. Julien and we can’t wait to go back. While we both love the Broadmoor, it’ so wonderful to be within walking distance of all the restaurants and shops that make Boulder such a unique place.
Next time you’re in the mood for a weekend getaway why not give Boulder a try?
Share This
Posted in Colorado Real Estate, Boulder, CO | No Comments »
April 4th, 2007 Bob
My wife and I have been thinking of taking an eating vacation. Now, that’s not some fancy way of saying “diet”, it literally means that we’d like to pick a region and eat our way through it. Can you imagine a better way to spend a vacation? Sure, skiing would be nice, or sunning on the beach, but let’s just cut right to it: we all love to go out and eat some good food and have a nice bottle of wine.
Last week my wife and I celebrated her birthday by getting a babysitter, a limo, some friends, and heading to Mizuna. If you haven’t been there yet then you should stop reading this blog and just run there right now.
The evening starting out in the usual fashion (you real estate pros know what I mean) in that I had to talk to a friend about throwing his house into the Denver home for sale arena. But as soon as the appetizers came the Denver real estate talk stopped (thank God), and the enjoyment began.
Bless the chef at Mizuna who thought to create a dish combining Lobster and Macaroni. I kid you not: Lobster Mac n’ Cheese. It was ridiculous. I think I dreamed about it later that night.
It’s such a blessing living a few minutes from a great city like Denver. We can head out to see Carlos Mencia at the Buell Theatre, stop off at Sushi Den for some late night sushi, or walk down to Rioja for some lively Spanish cuisine, and then spend the next day mountain biking or hiking in the foothills. And it’s all within a few minutes of or front door.
I just can’t imagine living in another part of the world. I’ve spent years in Manhattan and San Francisco, and I’ll take this Front Range region of Colorado any day.
Share This
Posted in Colorado Real Estate, Denver, CO | No Comments »
April 3rd, 2007 Bob
The ever intriguing Alan Dalton recently stated http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DNtYtM_gX0that Zillow’s Zestimate’s are nothing but a modern day parlour game. Fair enough. There are many of us who agree whole heartedly with Mr. Dalton. Some of you out there may disagree. My default, like many of you, is to make a gut call on a lot of controversial issues. Zillow’s Zestimates seem a little too good to be true to me–my gut said they were bogus. But as someone who spent many years teaching and studying the Scientific Method (pre-med in college, former Biology and Genetics teacher) I decided that the only way forward was to take a look at the real estate numbers in my corner of the world: Boulder, Colorado.
During the month of March, 2007 there were 11 sales in Boulder’s 80301 zip code (just one of 4 zip codes in the area…I’ll follow up with the others). I’d like to examine how well Zillow did with their Zestimates vs. how well the Boulder Realtor(s) who sold the properties did with their pricing.
I’ve attached a spreadsheet with the relevant information:
spreadsheet
I’ve cut the list down to 10 properties here because I was not able to get a Zestimate for the 11th. The 11th property was 4525 Robinson Place, Boulder, CO 80301. This was a listing presented by Karen Bernardi, the uncontested queen of Colorado real estate. The reason I couldn’t use it is because on March 29th, when I pulled these numbers, the Zestimate reflected the current public recording of this sale. I’m sure there is a way to go back and see what the Zestimate was right before this sale (please let me know if you know how to do this), but I don’t know how to do that, so I tossed this one out.
Here are my results:
Zillow comes to within 5% of the sales price 70% of the time. The Zestimates were within 10% of the sales price 80% of the time.
The Realtors get within 5% of the sales price 80% of the time, and were within 10% of the sales price 100% of the time.
This may look like an exercise in redundancy, as Zillow keeps it’s own internal statistics. The scientist in me realizes that a sample set of 10 data points is nothing more than anecdotal evidence. But still, you’ve got to start somewhere.
I promise to continue documenting Zillow’s numbers, but it seems from this anecdotal representation that Zillow is doing what they claim: they are offering the consumer a starting point for home valuation. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THg7BVqPRuc
Share This
Posted in Colorado Real Estate | No Comments »
April 1st, 2007 Bob
My new client doesn’t know squat about real estate. All she knew was that she needed a Broomfield real estate agent. Commissions…what are they? Inspection…is that for pricing? Contracts…you mean I have to sign something? It reminded me of my own experience as a first time buyer.
The sharks must have smelled blood when I contacted my first real estate agent. This guy was a complete nightmare. Once he’d established that I knew nothing of how the typical transaction worked he made sure that I understood that it was normal for the client drive to the agent’s house to deliver paperwork, sign documents, and plan our outings.
This knucklehead’s dog bit me a couple of times (just scratches, but still…) and he tried to blame me for “looking scared”.
This gem actually called me his “no balls client” once while we were looking at homes in a particularly nasty neighborhood. I expressed my reluctance to purchase a fixer in this area and he (jokingly) referred to me as his (see above) client.
He took a two-week vacation one week before my closing and didn’t tell me.
He once called me to complain about his “high-maintenance first time buyer” who was driving him crazy. The problem was that he thought he’d dialed the mortgage broker’s number when he’d mistakenly dialed mine, so he was complaining to me about me.
I reached my breaking point and demanded that another agent at his offic work with me, so he quickly referenced our contract and said that if I wanted to buy a house within the next six months, then it would have to be with him.
There is a happy ending (how Hollywood!) because the Realtor whom he sent to attend the closing while he was on vacation ending up becoming a good friend of mine and is one of the reasons I got into real estate in the first place.
My nightmare experience as a first time home buyer continues to inspire me to take extra good care of the folks who have no clue about how real estate works. Even if they don’t list or buy with me I always try to arm them with a little knowledge so they’ll never be treated the way I was.
Share This
Posted in Colorado Real Estate, Broomfield, CO | No Comments »