Everyone wants to know what their home is worth, one of the reasons that Zillow’s Zestimate has helped establish the Seattle online real estate company as a go-to source for real estate information. Now, another Seattle online real estate company is jumping into the mix.
Redfin today is rolling out a new service called Home Price Tool that’s designed to help home owners get a better idea of what their property is worth. How is that different from the Zestimate?
I posed that very question to Redfin’s Matt Wakefield, who noted that Home Price Tool uses the same data and process that real estate agents employ to come up with their price estimates for homes.
“It’s not an automated valuation model. It’s user-driven, and technology-supported,” explained Wakefield. “Zestimate serves a need in the market for a home owner who is curious about their home’s value, and wants a simple answer. There’s value in it, and that’s why Redfin puts Zestimates on our site. But for people who are serious about selling and want to start the pricing process, they’d be better served creating an estimate on the Home Price Tool and then contacting an agent.”
Jim Lamb, lead product manager for Redfin, called The Home Price Tool a new way for home owners to get an idea of what their home is worth.
“They no longer have to accept what their agent or some website’s mystery formula tells them their home should be worth,” Lamb said.
Previously on GeekWire: Redfin rumbles in to Rocky’s hometown of Philadelphia
