Buyer guide
The asking price is where the conversation starts, not where it ends. Here's how a sale price really gets set, why online estimates can't tell you what to pay, and how we help you choose a number with real data, never pressure.
Where the number comes from
A sale price isn't the list price or an online estimate. It's the price that you, the seller and, if you're using a loan, your lender all agree on.
Decide what the home is worth to you, compared with everything else you could buy for the same money.
Sets the list price and decides which offer to accept. Other offers, timing and terms all play a part.
Lends based on what its appraiser says the home is worth. If the appraisal comes in below your price, you'll need a plan for the difference.
Offer a price that wins the home without overpaying, at a number the appraisal can support.
Online estimates
Zillow's Zestimate, and the estimates on Redfin, Realtor.com and Homes.com, are computer guesses built from public records and nearby sales. They aren't a real measure of what a home is worth.
An algorithm can't see a dated kitchen, a tired roof or a beautiful renovation. Condition is often the biggest difference between two homes on the same street.
Once a home is listed, these estimates usually move toward the asking price. So a Zestimate close to the list price doesn't mean the price is fair; it's partly the list price talking back.
What the data says
Recent sales of similar homes are the backbone of any offer. But they aren't the whole story.
Few homes, lots of buyers. Recent sales are a good guide, and the right home may sell above them, so be ready to move quickly.
More homes than buyers. Don't look only at what sold. Look at the active homes you could buy instead. If similar homes are for sale for less, that's your leverage.
How we pick the homes we compare: What makes a good comparable.
Two ways to value a home
A licensed agent's analysis of a home's value, built from the closest sold, pending and for-sale homes and adjusted for size, condition, updates and lot. It's what we use to decide what to offer.
A licensed appraiser's opinion of value, ordered by your lender after you're under contract. It follows strict lending rules and relies on homes that have already sold.
Before you write an offer, we pull the comparable homes and walk you through them line by line, so you know whether the asking price is fair and where to start.
Looking back, not ahead
Appraisals are based on sales that have already closed, often from the last three to six months, so they lag behind the market.
When prices are softening, the past sales an appraiser uses were often higher than today's market, so appraisals tend to come in high compared with what homes sell for now.
When prices are climbing, those past sales trail today's prices, so appraisals tend to come in low. Plan for a possible appraisal gap before you offer over the asking price.
Your lender's appraiser gets a copy of the purchase contract and typically comes in right at the contract price. They have no reason to go higher, so the appraisal won't tell you that you got a deal.
You can renegotiate, cover the difference, challenge it with better comparables, or walk away if your contract allows. How the appraisal works.
How we work
We'll never push you to a number. We show you the data (sold homes, the active competition, how long homes are sitting and what the appraisal is likely to support) and give you our honest guidance. What you offer is always your decision.
Found the one? Send us your offer details →