Why Do Home Valuation Websites Differ So Much?

On average, home values have increased by 2% to 5% each year over the past decade. Curious about your own home, you may have tried online estimators and found yourself asking, “Why do home valuation websites differ so much?” The accuracy of online home valuation sites can vary — sometimes by tens of thousands of dollars or more (see our test set below). This can be confusing when you’re trying to set realistic expectations for your home sale or financial planning. So why do these sites differ so much? We’ll show you how free home value estimate tools work, and when and how they are best used. Start With a Free Home Value Estimate Enter a few details about your home, and we’ll provide you with a preliminary estimate of value in less than two minutes. This won’t replace a home appraisal, but it can be a helpful starting point. Online home value estimates can vary — here’s why Different property valuation websites use different data sources and algorithms, which can lead to big swings in estimated values. “Valuation websites typically base their [estimates] on public and user-submitted data taken from multiple listing services (MLS), county and tax assessor records, and real estate br...