Quick Question - Most Reliable Free Online Valuation Tool

Discussion in 'The Buying & Selling Process' started by C-mac, 8th Oct, 2016.

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  1. C-mac

    C-mac Well-Known Member

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    Hi folks,

    I'm pretty sure I know the answer to my own question but thought to throw it out to everyone.

    Of course, the most reputable/reliable valuations are the full paid independent valuations that we can get from a valuation company. Next after that I guess are 'bank-ordered-valuations' that more or less 'affirm' a minimum value as opposed to actual maximum potential (correct me if I'm wrong but bank ordered vals are typically desktop only or at best, drive-by - but not walk-in to property?)

    Anyway, my question isn't about them but rather: which freely-available online data source provides the best/most accurate "High Confidence" desktop valuation? Excluded from here are 'sold price' data because the recency of said data is not really helpful in ongoing tracking. In my opinion I've ranked the following in order of most reputable to most weak.
    • Domain's (because their API is into Price Finder which is pretty awesome. Also, most vals are in their 'High Confidence' range versus 'Medium' or 'Low'
    • Realestate.com.au's (because their API feed is from CoreLogic RP Data - same company really. But their ranges are quite wide/vague and accuracy levels are usually medium-low only, not 'High')
    • Onthehouse.com.au's (not as reliable but lots of useful info anyway. I find their valuations to consistently be overstated, as in, wishful!)
    • KSOU.cn's (my favourite little Chinese property info aggregation site. God knows where they get their valuation-prediction data from!)
    • Any others??

    I use this data for monthly/quarterly tracking of properties in my portfolio on my spreadsheets.

    Any thoughts appreciated! Not keen to hear about paying for vals, that's not the purpose I am seeking, but rather the most reliable ongoing 'measuring stick' I can apply :)
     
  2. TMNT

    TMNT Well-Known Member

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    to be perfectly honest, i think those online tools, even the paid ones are so damn unrelaible and so dangerously off at times, it can put a false sense of security or fear into you

    honestly, I dont even look at them

    if i really want to know, I just keep an eye on a few auctions/private sales of ones that have just occured of similar properties,
     
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  3. jins13

    jins13 Well-Known Member

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    Especially if it's a market that is hot and in demand, they may be off by 90 to 180 days?
     
  4. wombat777

    wombat777 Well-Known Member

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    Are you doing anything fancy to scrape the content from the websites? If so, how are you doing that in Excel?
     
  5. MTR

    MTR Well-Known Member

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    I dont rely on any of these tools, because they are not reliable.
    How I work values is contacting re agents in specific area and not one but many and then compare apples with apples. For recently under contract sales is what I am in the main after.
     
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  6. Colin Rice

    Colin Rice Mortgage Broker Business Member

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    There are 4 types of bank ordered vals in order of accuracey. I use the term accuracey lightly;

    1. Full walk through valuation - valuer makes an appointment and physically attends the property.
    2. Kerbside valuation - valuer slows down to 40kmh and drives past the house and uses comparable sales and other data.
    3. Desktop valuations that are generated in a few minutes via a computer.
    4. Property Reports available via various lenders broker portals.

    All of the above can be arranged free of cost via a mortgage broker.

    ANZ have decent property reports with comparables sales and rentals and some other key data and believe they are freely available via ANZ site. CBA have something similar as well.
     
  7. C-mac

    C-mac Well-Known Member

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    Thanks everyone for your thoughts. Totally agree, these sources aren't accurate but at least they give me some ballpark indication to compare with actual sales data and calls to agents etc. What I am saying is; these online tools aren't the ONLY 'source of truth' I seek in getting indications. With every equity-extraction every year or so comes the need for lenders to get vals anyways, so I use those annual / bi-annual opportunities to get updated vals and go from there. The ballpark numbers are more for a monthly / bi-monthly pulse check on my portfolio. As it gets bigger I need to drive more efficiencies in monitoring performance.

    It is getting easier to do with this mega spreadsheet I've been building from scratch, over the years. Many many fields/cells and many datapoints, plus constant scoring (I now have a score out of 100 that rolls up from 35+ data and opinion points for each and every property). The scoring is basically helping me keep myself honest! I.e. sometimes your gut tells you something about a property in your portfolio but when you aggregate data points with scoring, the numbers tell the real truth despite your own prejudice about that particular property!
     
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  8. dabbler

    dabbler Well-Known Member

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    A lot of bank vals are proper vals, and they will be close to what a quick sale would bring IMO (in saying that, I always avoided the majors)

    onethehouse I found used to be pretty close to the mark, but in moving hot markets nothing is that good apart from actual sales, you should be pretty close if you....

    Know the area/s pretty well
    Use a combo of sales and onethehouse etc
     
  9. drg86

    drg86 Well-Known Member

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  10. Scott No Mates

    Scott No Mates Well-Known Member

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    @C-mac basically, you get what you pay for.

    Unless you research each of the comparables ie save all the photos, plans, orientation, land size, condition (work requied to restore to as new standard), side of the road, landscaping, garden improvements etc to determine land rates/m2. Then add back improvements etc to the site you're looking at. That would yield a closer result.

    Computer models suck.
     
  11. MrFox

    MrFox Well-Known Member

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  12. Scott No Mates

    Scott No Mates Well-Known Member

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    @MrFox - that's why you need to do your own research and not rely on shortcuts.
     
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  13. MrFox

    MrFox Well-Known Member

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    This property was sold as a part of amalgamation of 3 sites in to a development site. Even with out that, the value of the property would have been substantially higher than that indicated by the computer val. The site next door which currently is a car yard use to have a permit for 115 apartments over 10 levels.
    I find that unless you have impeccable local knowledge of the area and can work the value your self, the best way to go is to find an active RE in the area and ask them. Agents are creating the results that valuers are using. Valuers call agents for opinion all the time.
     
  14. Scott No Mates

    Scott No Mates Well-Known Member

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    You can trust agents as much as a call by a referee in FIFA World Cup match ;)

    Agents can provide up to date commentary on market sentiment but valuers have to rely on completed sales.

    Computer modelling won't pickup on development potential, spot rezonings, DAs etc.