Redfin Improves And Expands Redfin Estimate AVM Tool

Key Takeaways

Redfin has updated the Redfin Estimator, its automated valuation system for consumers.
The company says the AVM's increased accuracy is due to the integration of additional data points that come from market expansion over the past year.
Redfin Estimate is now available in an additional 40 metro areas spanning from New York to Utah.

Many people in real estate have mixed feelings about automated valuation models (AVMs) — some say they’re an additional tool for consumers to wield while others question their accuracy.

However you feel about them, clients in dozens of new markets will now have access to Redfin’s AVM, Redfin Estimate. And Redfin has also announced improvements to its AVM.

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“The Redfin Estimate has quickly become one of the most popular technologies on our website and mobile apps among home sellers, as well as buyers and homeowners,” said Bridget Frey, chief technology officer at Redfin, in a statement.

“We’ve seen a huge jump in the number of visits to off-market homes on redfin.com, a sign that our industry-leading data science is helping people make decisions about buying and selling homes.”

The updated estimator is 9.7 percent more accurate for on-market homes and 7.8 percent more accurate for off-market homes, compared to the initial version launched last year. As of October 21, the updated Redfin Estimate had a median error rate of 1.80 percent for homes listed for sale and 6.28 percent for off-market homes.

“This means that when a home that is on the market sells, the Redfin Estimate will be within 1.80 percent of the sale price half of the time; when a home that is not currently listed sells, the Redfin Estimate will be within 6.28 percent of the sale price half of the time,” said the company in a statement.

According to Redfin, the increased accuracy is due to the integration of additional data points that came from the company’s market expansion over the past year.

Although Redfin Estimate is more accurate, the error rate is dynamic and fluctuates depending upon the data available at a given time. Consumers can view the most current national and local error rates, as well as on-market and off-market error rates, on the Redfin Estimate homepage.

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In addition to an updated algorithm, Redfin has made its estimator available to 40 new metro areas — bringing the total list to 80. New markets include: