Make Home Valuation Systems Work to Your Advantage

Online home valuations have a rocky history. From automated valuation models (AVMs) used in lending during the mortgage boom to consumer-focused products like Zillow's Zestimate, the accuracy of these valuations has always been an issue for real estate professionals. Despite online valuations' inability to consistently provide an accurate home value on an individual basis, one thing is clear: They're very popular.

While the misinformation creates fairly regular confusion for consumers, the regular annoyance to many real estate professionals has simply become an opportunity for others. Consumers gravitate to online valuations in droves, so many professionals are starting to offer their own versions.

There are plenty of online valuation tools for agents and brokers available, and although they're not a brand new concept, the number of companies offering them is growing. The simplest versions are standalone websites that do just one thing: get home sellers to enter their address and contact information, and deliver them an estimated value report.

Companies sell these websites directly to agents, and provide some training and networking online with other users to learn to drive traffic to them. We tested the product from Home Value Leads in California. Facebook ads and Google pay-per-click campaigns are used to attract home sellers who are curious about their home's value. The sellers click on an ad about home prices in their neighborhood, fill in their address and contact info, and receive their value report. The agent can follow up to explain the inaccuracies that are inherent in an online valuation and offer a personalized follow-up or CMA to better educate the consumer.