Zoopla - opinions? experiences?

[googler]

Had a looksee over the last few days, and it seems that, once a broader base of owners, agents and others have updated the details of homes, that it could form a far more accurate pricing site than nethouseprice, our property, etc.....

Anyone else got any opinions on it?

[drhouse]

I liked it a lot. I thought the values given were pretty near the mark, especially considering the fall in the market. I haven't had time to upload properties yet but intend to soon. Being another free site helps as well !

[brian]

The trouble is, zoopla's business model kind of relies on third-parties providing their data to the site.

Personally I'm not convinced that's necessarily a professional approach. It just makes them an aggregator of other people's information, with the presumption that this will be forth coming.

I think it sounds very Web 2.0 - all fluff and VC money behind it, rather than a real need.

Just my cynical 2c though.

[googler]

... but aren't all the property price sites reliant on third-party info? nethouseprice, ourproperty - all get their info from land registry and registers of scotland. However, none of them seem to go into the detail that Zoopla do - they merely quote the price, and have no info on number of rooms, size of house, size of plot, etc. Zoopla has the facility to include all of this, and I get the impression it/they can use this info as a factor in the pricing.

If you want to compare two sold houses in the same street, with a difference of (say) £25k in their prices, Zoopla will (eventually) tell you that one had a conservatory extension, the other didn't .... and that sort of thing.

[brian]

Does it cover things such as sea views, etc?

[googler]

Think it's more focused on features relating to the property, with a couple of vague external factors such as 'rural', etc ...

[StuboJones]

My Zoopla estimate was £158k 2 weeks ago, and I recently had a valuation done for remortgage...came back at £130k...what rules are people working to!?
I bought my place 3 years a ago, a terraced house, spent the last 2 and £20k doing it up, now its the mutts nuts and worth fa? I've been in identical houses to mine that in comparison look like they've been squatted in and we're tared with the same brush. A flat across from me went for £200k in April this year.
Not a happy bunny

[brian]

Just don't use the service if you're not happy with it.

[Comroute]

Just an opinion, but not as tidy as Globrix IMO

[PottyHouse]

Being obsessed with the house market at the moment I would say Zoopla is my 2nd fav website.
I would say most of the valuations are pretty close to the mark and some are a bit off so I wouldn't judge a house value on this site alone. Obviously if improvements/extensions have been made to a property it isnt always reflected on the valuation - mainly just the market conditions and the price the house last sold for.
You do have the option to "Claim" your property and enter all the specifics for your property but again the valuation isnt always realistic - there is about £25k difference in valuations I have received from 3 EA on my property and as I'm on the market and received offer just under AP I would always trust EA valuation!!
I love the "tempt me" option - particularly helpful if you are looking to buy in a certain area and they are not on the market.
I don't really rate Globrix.
Mouseprice is also another good site.