Real Estate Automated Valuation Model (AVM) Websites
Someone landed on Geek Estate the other day, with the following search query:
the truth about real estate automated valuation websites
I’m not sure exactly what they are looking for, but they should know AVM’s (automated valuation model) have been around for years & used heavily in the lending, insurance, and investment industries. However, professionals had to pay for access to that data.
Consumer Websites
Zillow launched in February of 2006, and was the first site to give consumers free access to the same data professionals had been using for years.
Yahoo Real Estate’s home value estimator was powered by Zillow (I don’t see a way to search a home value now).
RealestateABC releases their own home values, but eventually switched to Zillow’s API.
Cyberhomes came. And went.
Nextag provided home valuations for awhile, then abandoned them.
Eppraisal is still out there. Frankly, I’m surprised Zillow hasn’t bought them.
Several companies sell white label AVMs. Among them are CoreLogic and DataQuick.
Accuracy
No, AVMs are not 100% accurate. And they never will be. You can see Zillow’s accuracy here: http://www.zillow.com/zestimate/#acc
Not sure if I answered “the truth about real estate automated valuation websites”, but feel free to leave a comment if not.
PS: I’m beyond surprised there is no mention of Zillow on the “automated valuation model” Wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automated_valuation_model.
Bryn Kaufman
Posted at 20:21h, 24 AugustI thought Sam’s post on PPSQ http://geekestateblog.com/real-estate-price-per-square-foot-statistical-false-confidence/ had some good reasons why there are issues with AVMs.
Sep Niakan
Posted at 05:55h, 25 AugustWhich of the AVMs tends to be the most accurate?
Drew Meyers
Posted at 19:26h, 21 Septemberi know corelogic and zillow etc do benchmarking against each other. not sure if any of its public.
Jeff Manson
Posted at 12:18h, 25 AugustI agree most are not always that accurate, but if used properly they can generate seller engagement for the agent to follow up 🙂 We create one and I use it on my site: http://www.adrhi.com/cma/property-valuation/ It works really well 🙂
running262
Posted at 19:14h, 21 SeptemberI’m in the NYC market and Zillow’s zestimates are laughably inaccurate. Not sure why I would take Zillow’s own own in accuracy – ie, that chat linked to in the article.
Drew Meyers
Posted at 19:27h, 21 Septemberthe nyc market is a different beast entirely. i spent several months researching all the nuances of it while at zillow back in 2007 or 2008…can’t remember which