Fairfield-Echo.com

Clark Howard's Tips

May 13, 2008

Have you heard of Zillow.com?

This is a website that homeowners use when they voyeuristically want to know about their home's value. The site also pinpoints info about schools, safety and other quality of life issues in an area where you might be thinking about moving.

If you live in an architecturally unique neighborhood, you may find that Zillow won't give you an accurate home value. For example, Christa lives in a 40-year old house in a neighborhood where every house is individual. So a home with 8K square feet could be worth millions, while a 2 bedroom/1 bath pre-WWII bungalow may be valued for several thousand dollars.

But Zillow is still a good tool to assess the schools in a potential neighborhood. Homebuyers who don't have children should still be concerned with good schools. Why? They'll be likely to get more per square foot when they go to resell.

Consumer advice courtesy of