To find the fair market value of home, a description and tax information, you used to have to go through a realtor. No longer. You can now search the records and current estimated value of over 60 million homes on the internet using Zillow.com. Best of all, it is absolutely free and doesn't require you to give up any of your personal information. If you are not familiar with Zillow.com we suggest you go to our Zillow Tutorial before continuing. Using Zillows this web page will step you through the process of looking at the range of real estate values in the Clearwater area. You may want to print out the printer friendly version of this page whose link is at the bottom of this page to make it easier for you to follow along with the examples.
Getting a Zindex
A couple of quick definitions. A Zestimate is a is an estimate of the market value of a home. A Zindex is the median Zestimate for a geographical area on a given day. Essentially half the homes will be above that value and half below.
First just click on the Zillow Link to get to their home page. On the map that is in the window you have the Zindex for the communities that are in the map area. You can look at other nearby areas by holding down the left mouse button near the center of the window and at the same time moving the mouse to move the map and when you release the left button the values for the new area will appear. As we are sure you suspected the Zindex for the homes in the coastal and waterfront communities are higher than those farther from the water. You can zoom in or out on the map using the scale on the left hand side of the window. It is advisable to move the zoom scale in or out one unit at a time by left clicking on the scale and then drag the area you are interested in to the center of the window.
Getting a Zestimate
Let's assume you have located an area you would like and now we check to see what is available with the features you are interested in that are within your budget. Let's assume you chose Clearwater Beach. In the upper left hand portion of the web site click on HOME and then type Clearwater Beach, FL in the city window and click GO. Clearwater Beach is in the center of the window.
Now left click on Advanced Search to the right of the GO button the top of the page. Leave Single Family home checked in the window that appears, enter 2 for the number of bedrooms and 2 for the number of baths. Then assume your price range is $100,000 to $150,000 and enter those values in the appropriate blocks and then click on GO. The homes that fall in your price range will now appear. You see that there are homes in this price range away from the water but not near the water. Move the pointer over anyone of the house symbols and it will change color, left click on it. A small window appears that gives you the Zestimate value for that home. To find the details for that home, left click on the link that says See Home Details. A new window now appears that gives you all the details available for the home.
Finding Your Dream Home
You now have the basics to search the site for your dream home. By adjusting the values you enter in the Advance Search window and the geographical area in the map window, you can see if your desires match your budget. Once you have an area you are interested in you may want to go to the Google Earth Tutorial located on our site. Google Earth combines satellite imagery, maps and the power of Google Search to turn any address into a virtual neighborhood at your fingertips on your desktop. By combining Zillow with Google Earth you will be able to find out the details on a home and the neighborhood around it on your desktop, absolutely free and with no obligation.
Finalizing Your Dream
When you have narrowed down your search and are ready to stop dreaming and start taking action to secure your dream home, we are prepared to offer you the professional one on one services you will need. We are experienced, we know the area and we know the real estate business and will make your transaction as smooth and trouble free as possible. Well informed clients are our speciality. If you would like immediate help, click on the Dream Home form link below or feel free to contact us by phone or e-mail.
Michael & Cindy Morris
Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate LLC.
Cindy: (727) 480-8427
Michael: (727) 251-7447
FAX (727) 397-5978
