There are many ways to get a rough estimate of your home’s value, and most people turn to websites like Zillow, Redfin, Trulia, and Realtor.com. As realtors, we often advise against relying solely on these sites, but it’s understandable why they’re popular. Most people don’t have access to the same market resources we do.

Rather than ridicule these tools, I’ve learned to embrace them. I analyze how the values they provide (often called Automated Valuation Models (AVMs)) compared to my professional assessments.

Why AVMs are Useful (But Limited)

AVMs are essentially computer programs that analyze public data, like recorded sales, property taxes, and general market trends, to calculate a value.

What AVMs Do Well

  • Provide a Starting Point: They give you a quick, rough estimate in seconds, which is a great place to begin any discussion about your home’s worth.
  • Track Trends: They allow you to monitor changes in your neighborhood’s overall pricing trajectory over time.

Where AVMs Fall Short

AVMs have no human input and cannot account for the following critical factors that determine a home’s final sale price :

  • Condition and Upgrades: They don’t know if your kitchen was remodeled last year or if your roof is 30 years old.
  • Curb Appeal: They can’t factor in the quality of landscaping or whether the house next door is a fixer-upper.
  • Hyper-Local Nuance: They don’t know about specific street noise, school boundaries, or unique features that appeal only to a local buyer pool.

The Role of Your Realtor in the Digital Age

As your local realtor, I’ve learned to value these online tools and use them to complement my expertise, not replace it. For my clients, I even subscribe to a service like Homebot, which uses advanced artificial intelligence to provide personalized equity evaluations.

Does this mean these online estimates reflect the exact, final value of your home? Probably not. But they provide a useful starting point for discussions.

My job is to take that starting number and apply the crucial human, market, and condition factors that a computer simply cannot see. By combining technology with real-world experience, we create the most accurate and effective pricing strategy for your home.