As 2006 draws to an end I notice that my local real estate broker has sent along a calendar.

This is quaint, but not as interesting as a new feature at Zillow.com. Called Make Me Move, it allows owners to set a mythical sale price for their property, the magic number at which they would in theory absolutely sell. Buyers, in turn, can anonymously contact owners with an offer.

The Make-Me-Move idea differs from simply listing a property for sale because the property need not be for sale, there's no listing arrangement, there's no charge to play and the proffered sale price need not be anything other than a fantasy value.

"A homeowner," says Zillow, "can easily post a Make Me Move price without exposing any personal information. Zillow then enables interested buyers to contact the owner through an email 'anonymizer.'"

If you take a look at the sample Make Me Move page you can see that it provides the number of bedrooms and baths, photos of the property, a map view, an aerial photo, and a way to contact the owner.

The sample page also provides a price valuation ($770,718) and a possible range of prices. Neither works for me.

The sample "value range" goes from $675,590 to $830,500. As a seller I'm unlikely to take the lower number and as a buyer I'd stay away from the higher figure. Instead -- whether a buyer or a seller -- I would want an experienced local broker or appraiser to determine a fair market value, and then only after they had carefully examined both the inside and outside of the home. I might also look at another valuation site -- www.RealEstateABC.com just to get another perspective.

Pricing a home within 10 percent up or down is not good enough for me -- unless the sale value of my home is grossly overpriced or the house I want to buy is wonderfully undervalued. Then I'm delighted with imprecision.

Think of it this way: If the fair market value of a property is $500,000 you would gleefully sell for $550,000 if you were the owner or quickly purchase for $450,000 if you were a buyer. But switch roles and you would not be thrilled with a $50,000 loss on the sale nor would you be willing to overpay by a similar amount.

The "Make Me Move" sample contains a street address, city and ZIP code. If the detached home information is correct, then in many jurisdictions I can go to a local property records office -- offices which are often online -- and simply look up the owner's name. Once I have that name I can send a friendly letter (never a phone call -- too many people are on the federal do-not-call list), communicate directly with the owner to buy the property, add them to my newsletter distribution list if I'm a local real estate broker or offer services if I'm a mover, pest controller, painter or whatever.

While seller identities can often be determined with a street address, that's apparently not the case with buyers. They contact owners with an email anonymizer. Believing that what's good for the goose is also good for the gander, if I posted a fantasy listing I'd like to know who took the time to get in touch.

By itself, agreed pricing is usually insufficient to make a real estate transaction. The reason is that many if not most local communities have mandated contract language and disclosure forms for property transactions. If a fantasy sale price is acceptable to both parties, the services of a local broker or attorney are needed to get the details right otherwise there may be huge (and costly) disputes regarding what form of title is being offered, who pays what for transfer taxes, the size of any "seller contribution," whether the dining room fixture stays or goes, etc.

As it happens, most of us have a "number," that magic figure we would like to earn, be worth or have someone pay for our house. There's no harm in such thinking, you could even see it as a way of setting goals. As for me, I have this property I'm willing to sell for $14 million....

For more articles by Peter G. Miller, please press here.

Published: December 19, 2006

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Peter G. Miller, also known as OurBroker®, is the author of six real estate books -- including The Common-Sense Mortgage -- and is the original creator and host of America Online's Real Estate Center. Peter's weekly columns appear in more than 100 newspapers nationwide, he is also published in a variety of other media outlets and he is a frequent speaker at national events and conventions. Peter welcomes your questions, comments, and news releases via e-mail at .