Realtor.com adds home price estimates to its listings

Realtor.com says it will display estimated property values from three different sources on listings at its website. The idea is to show a better range of estimated values, rather than just one number that may be inaccurate.

The company is planning to use estimates from both data providers and insurance firms to put a value on each property. The providers include CoreLogic, Collateral Analytics and Quantarium.

Realtor.com says the estimates do not serve as an appraisal.

“A home is often a person’s largest asset, so it’s natural to wonder what it is worth,” said Todd Callow, vice president of product management at realtor.com. “By providing consumers with multiple estimates from the same sources that financial institutions rely on to estimate a home's value, we are able to offer a broader set of data to help our users make informed decisions about buying and selling homes.”

There are many factors to consider when estimating the price of a home. They include the size of the property, finishes uses, its location, school districts and so on. As such, estimates can vary quite a bit from one providers to another, and no model can be considered “accurate” realtor.com said.

As such, taking estimates from multiple sources that use different algorithms should give customers a better idea of a home’s true value.

“While these data sources add a layer of transparency and show consumers the information often only available to financial institutions, they are not a replacement for the value gained from speaking to a local real estate professional,” realtor.com notes in a press release.

The values also will appear in the My Home portal, which is realtor.com®’s dashboard where homeowners can track everything about their home, such as the value, equity, and mortgage. “This will further help homeowners to understand the value of their home and make decisions about refinancing, remodeling, neighborhood changes, and more,” the statement reads.