Shack Prices (which I mentioned a few days ago in the comments section of this post) just went live. Their site gives the sale price of King County homes (including Seattle!). Their reason to be:
Shack Prices was created with the hope of giving people as much information about home values as possible. We realized that there were many websites that show you prices of homes on the market (i.e. homes that haven’t yet sold) and some websites that would sell you information about comparable houses nearby, but no sites that let you pick the comparables and the area. The difference between Shack Prices and realtor web sites is that Shack Prices shows the actual price that each house sold for versus the price that someone hopes their house is worth. You can use it to virtually appraise your home or a neighborhood. We hope it helps you as buyer or seller.
In playing around a little, the site seemed pretty darn intuitive. If you are interested in getting a rough idea of how much your home would be worth on the open market, just insert your bedrooms, bathrooms and square feet. If there is not a lot of data in your area, extend the time-frame out a year, instead of the default three months.
If I had to give a critique of the site, it is that they borrowed a little too heavily from the typical home search websites instead of re-thinking how an “appraisal” site might work. For example, if I’m going to appraise my home, I know precisely how many bedrooms and bathrooms are in the home. Why do they have the option for a range? Also, my experience in estimating a home’s value is that some other data fields within the County’s home sales database (like the home’s style code) is much better than the number of bedrooms at indicating the estimated value of a home. The number of bathrooms plays a minor role at best, so I wouldn’t have even bothered with that field. Granted, some of my suggestions might take some user training if they are used to the more traditional home search, but it would be a more valuable tool.
With that said, if you are living in King County and interested in an estimated value of your home, Shack Prices is a great place to start. However, if you want something a little more robust just ask any real estate agent. ANY agent looking for more business will prepare a “Comparative Market Analysis” for free and the agent will likely be more experienced at weeding through the appropriate data fields to develop a better estimate of your home’s value.
Congratulations to Galen for making this happen and check out Seattle Real Estate Talk’s post on Shack Prices…
Greetings:
This email is in response to a recent web advertisement brought to my attention, wherein SHACKPRICES.COM may be looking for someone to create G.I.S. maps for selling real estate.
I am such a person.
Over the last 3 years I have perfected a style and technique of combining ArcView, Photoshop and a few other graphic platforms to yield a successful map brand trademarked as Enhanced GIS™.
To date, I have a real estate client base including John L. Scott, Windermere and Reid. I also make maps for the Seattle Convention and Visitor Bureau, Northwest Attractions Council, Sportsman’s Warehouse and many others.
The three map styles I produce are: Planametric, Shaded-Relief GIS, and 3D Shaded-Relief GIS.
Of further interest to you, I also embed video clips that feature house tours and attraction profiles on my maps.
If you desire to see examples of my work, please visit the following web sites:
http://www.TracelAdventureMaps.com
http://www.PremierPropertyMaps.com
http://www.NWAttractions.com
http://www.FishingRiverMaps.com
http://www.WorldImpressions.com
http://www.ClassMaps.com
In addition to state-of-the-art Enhanced GIS multi-media mapping, I also can integrate my maps with the following media channels:
Print
Internet
Video
Wireless
Kiosks
Journalism
Currently, my maps enjoy world-wide distribution focusing on Business, Meetings/Events and FIT travel markets. Perhaps the travel market feeds the real estate market better than any other single market.
My maps are currently being evaluated by Holland America and Princess Cruise Lines for Internet and onboard distribution on 30+ ships that service 500 international ports.
Perhaps there is a reason for us to discuss what my mapping skills can do for SHACHPRICES.com. I am based in Bremerton, and will be in Seattle most of Friday the 2nd of June to meet with hotel clients. My cell is (360) 649-0532 and my office is (360) 479-8384.
I welcome all inquiries.
Bob Sherby
Greetings:
This email is in response to a recent web advertisement brought to my attention, wherein SHACKPRICES.COM may be looking for someone to create G.I.S. maps for selling real estate.
I am such a person.
Over the last 3 years I have perfected a style and technique of combining ArcView, Photoshop and a few other graphic platforms to yield a successful map brand trademarked as Enhanced GIS™.
To date, I have a real estate client base including John L. Scott, Windermere and Reid. I also make maps for the Seattle Convention and Visitor Bureau, Northwest Attractions Council, Sportsman’s Warehouse and many others.
The three map styles I produce are: Planametric, Shaded-Relief GIS, and 3D Shaded-Relief GIS.
Of further interest to you, I also embed video clips that feature house tours and attraction profiles on my maps.
If you desire to see examples of my work, please visit the following web sites:
http://www.TracelAdventureMaps.com
http://www.PremierPropertyMaps.com
http://www.NWAttractions.com
http://www.FishingRiverMaps.com
http://www.WorldImpressions.com
http://www.ClassMaps.com
In addition to state-of-the-art Enhanced GIS multi-media mapping, I also can integrate my maps with the following media channels:
Print
Internet
Video
Wireless
Kiosks
Journalism
Currently, my maps enjoy world-wide distribution focusing on Business, Meetings/Events and FIT travel markets. Perhaps the travel market feeds the real estate market better than any other single market.
My maps are currently being evaluated by Holland America and Princess Cruise Lines for Internet and onboard distribution on 30+ ships that service 500 international ports.
Perhaps there is a reason for us to discuss what my mapping skills can do for SHACHPRICES.com. I am based in Bremerton, and will be in Seattle most of Friday the 2nd of June to meet with hotel clients. My cell is (360) 649-0532 and my office is (360) 479-8384.
I welcome all inquiries.
Bob Sherby
The more information that a buyer can review the better. So a site like shack prices provides its users with the value of improved knowledge on the area and homes. I like it.
Walt