What’s the Most Accurate Home Value Website? Here’s How to Find Your Best Fit
Whether you’re considering a particular home to buy or you’re just browsing around, you’ve probably used a home value website at some point. The internet has made it easier than ever for curious onlookers to find out more information about real estate — without necessarily having to talk to a real estate agent, appraiser, or mortgage lender first.
There are, however, a lot of sites out there with numbers to share. How do you know which is the most accurate home value website?
Well, spoiler alert: An algorithm-driven website is never going to be a substitute for a real-life expert. But, home value websites can be an interesting starting point, and — let’s face it — once our browsers figure out that we’re looking at homes for sale, we’re going to see related ads in everything from our Instagram feeds to the advertisement sidebars on your preferred news outlet.
To learn more about which home value website is the most accurate, we spoke with real estate professionals and took a deep dive into the research behind these platforms.
How do home value websites actually calculate value?
As you’ve surely assumed, there’s no live human on the other end of home value websites manually updating the database for every recorded property on a daily basis.
Instead, values are calculated by automated valuation models, or AVMs. These models are complex algorithms that generate values based on lots of different data — everything from online property records to pricing trends to recent sales of similar properties.
“Valuation websites typically base their numbers on public and user-submitted data,” says Kansas City property appraiser Nick Stoddard. “The information is taken from multiple listing services, county and tax assessor records, and real estate brokerages to provide an estimated value.”
Stoddard cautions that while home value websites can be viewed as a next-best option, they’re definitely not as accurate as an appraiser who uses real-time, hyper-local information.
And while AVMs may utilize regression analytics to help adjust for differences between square footage of otherwise comparable properties, they don’t take into account upgrades or renovations that a homeowner may have completed.
“These sites rely on generic data, like square footage, number of rooms, and value of similar homes,” says Stoddard.
“Let’s say you upgrade your basement after purchasing your home, or replace the carpet with hardwood flooring — home valuation websites don’t factor in those upgrades due to how their algorithms are designed.”
