Choosing a house to purchase can be quite hectic and confusing, with the many good houses available and especially so on the web. Most of the websites will purport to have exactly what you are looking for even though some of this data may be outdated or exaggerated to suite the seller. Some may not provide the important materials. This essay looks at valuation information of a specific house, known to the writer, provided by different websites to determine how much truth is reflected by information found online.
Introduction and review
The house to be evaluated is located at Berringer Ln., 14567 street, in Jacksonville city inside Florida State. It was built in 1998 and sold for $125,800 but has not been sold again since then. It has three bedrooms and two bathrooms with an estimated square fit (Sq. Ft) of 1708. Valuers have estimated the house to stand on a lot size of between 9275 sq ft. (Homes.com, par 8) and 9240 sq ft/0.21 acres, (Zillow, par 6)
Its estimated value was $196,000 US dollars in February 2011 but by July 2011 it had depreciated to the value of $187,200, with a Price of $110 per Sq. ft (Homes.com par 8). Other statistics shows it to be estimated at a value of $189,800 as at 14th July 2011, with a range of $140,000-$232,000, (Zillow, 12) and to have low range price value of $142,035 and a High range price value of $192,165, (City-data com, par 3). Taxes paid during the previous year were estimated at $1,469.
All websites visited tend to have a relatively uniform valuation of the price of the house with an average of $188,000 US dollars, thus showing consistency, which makes it easier to compare the values and use the values to make a logical judgment of the house.
Information on Comparables
Most of the websites have provided the available comparables with features closely to the house researched on. One website provided data on the neighboring homes. The price of ranged from $194,800 for a house with three bedrooms and two bathrooms and a Sq. ft of 1793 to a price of $184,000 for the same number of bedrooms and bathrooms and a Sq. ft of 1639, (Homes.com par 9).
Houses available for sale with three bedrooms and two bathrooms ranged from $189,900 for a Sq. ft of 1915 and $213,400 for Sq. ft 1689, (Home.com 2011). While those that have been recently sold from the same locality went for $230,000 with 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms, built on 2002 and sold January 1st, 2011, and $141,300 for a house with 5 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms, built on 2002 and sold 28th September, 2010, (City-data com,par 5).
Observations
The websites visited did not provide more information on the comparables except the number of bedrooms and bathrooms and the size of the houses. However, this information was important to compare the features of those alternative houses with the one under scrutiny. However, of the information retrieved has been exaggerated especially the construction quality and the size of the garage.
Some websites have been found to be really detailed. They included tables and detailed statistics on virtually everything about the area such as the income distribution of individuals, the comparison between children enrolled in private schools and those enrolled in public schools, (City-data com, par 2). This makes them more reliable and preferable to other sites with less details.
Other valid factors
The websites do not provide further details on other factors other than the values of the house. There is however information on the nearest schools which are within a distance of 2.82 and 3.0 miles for public schools while 3.55 miles for the private school, (Homes.com par 10). The names of the best public schools are Durbin Creek Elementary, Fruit Cove middle School and Mandarin High School, (Zillow, 15).
The population density in the area has been estimated to be 1099 people per Square mile, while the cost of living as at January 2011 was 90.4, which is lower compared to the US average estimated to be 100 (City-data com, par 6). This means that the place is relatively cheap to live in especially if the purchaser of the house belongs to the working class group.
Information on the available social amenities such as churches, sports clubs etc were not availed by any of the websites. Further, details on things such as lighting, water etc were also not provided. This information is also very important when making a decision where to buy and create a home with your family and therefore should be included in the general informational detail of the house.
Conclusion
Due to increased technology, marketers are adopting the e-marketing strategy by marketing their products online. This is a well-modernized way to keep up with technological advancement which every marketer should be encouraged to adopt. However, while we are at it, we should ensure that the information obtained is the correct data.
This requires one to verify information obtained from more than one site. Marketers also should ensure that the information they post to the web is as much as possible a true representation on the ground. This will instill confidence in the customers about their websites.
References
City-data com. Recent Home Sales: Price Trends, and Home Value Evaluator, powered by Onboard Informatics. [2010]. Web.
Homes.com. Part of the Homes.com & ForRent.com Network. [2011]. Web.
Zillow. Zillow real estate estimate. [2011]. Web.