Notice in the headline title the word "will" and not "could" is used. The probability is that it will!

As a real estate agent in the Tampa area market, I frequently hear prospects or clients use the "Z" word, Zestimate.  When Zestimates arrived in 2006, I would have squirmed a bit.  "Well, if the computer says your house is worth that much, my CMA (Comparative Market Analysis) must be wrong.  My visit to your house, Mr. Prospect, the analysis I did of your upgrades and the adjustment I made for the double wide trailer behind your property must be wrong.  Let's go with what your computer has told you."

There is nothing new I can add about the risk of AVM's (Automated Value Modals) that has not been blogged before.  Nothing except, maybe the public is starting to get it.  An article in the Wall Street Journal entitled "How to Figure the Fuzzy Math of Internet Home Values" illustrates the frustration homeowners and buyers experience with AVM's.

The article mentions the issue of a 20%, plus or minus "confidence" score, as the AVM disclaimer.  What the article missed is a visual example.  Everyone can do the math, but in case one does not and it is not illustrated, we miss the dramatic possibilities.  So, here is how it works:

                                                AVM Estimate:      $200,000

                                                20% error factor:   $ 40,000

                                                Accuracy range:   $160,000 to $240,000

Now, I ask you ... would you make a buying or selling decision of a "guesstimate" with an $80,000 spread?

CMA's are free!  Let me say that again.  CMA's are free!!  Before you decide the selling price you can expect, invite an agent to your house and discuss the ways to prepare and market your house at a price that is realistic.

A similar blog you might enjoy:

"Finding the Right Agent Does Not Have to be a Game of Cat and Mouse!