Nextdoor is adding detailed home valuations that will put the hyperlocal social network in competition with Zillow as the place to go to determine the value of your home.
The social network partnered with HouseCanary, a company that owns detailed data about 100 million homes in the United States and has so far focused on selling that information to Wall Street. The partnership between HouseCanary and Nextdoor instead places that information in front of Nextdoor users.
“We would love to be the place where you go [to find out the value of your home],” Nextdoor Chief Revenue Officer Lauren Nemeth told Inman.
Nextdoor’s new features with HouseCanary. Credit: Nextdoor
Nextdoor’s home price forecasts with HouseCanary. Credit: Nextdoor
The new feature on Nextdoor will allow users within the United States to see an estimated value for their home or any home or listing on the site; a rental estimate for that home; and a forecast for the value of that home in one year.
Along with those features, Nextdoor will debut a home comparison tool that allows users to see how real estate listings compare to their own homes. A user looking at a listing nearby, for example, can see that their home has 18 percent more square footage, or 8 percent less land as well as overall and percentage differences in price and forecasted price. The home comparison tool also allows users to look at side-by-side comparisons of the number of bedrooms, number of bathrooms, available parking, the age of the house and which amenities, like air conditioning, basement space or pools, are included.
Zillow introduced the Zestimate over 10 years ago, honing its accuracy over the years to what the Seattle company says is now a median error rate of 4.6 percent. The Zestimate quickly became the place to go online to quickly find out how much your home, your friend’s home or a home you want to buy is worth.
Nextdoor’s home price comparison tool. Credit: Nextdoor
Nextdoor’s home price comparison tool. Credit: Nextdoor
HouseCanary launched in 2013 and has raised $64 million from investors for its residential real estate forecasts. Its predictions of real estate prices have an error rate below 3 percent, HouseCanary Chief Operating Officer Paul Wehrley said.
“HouseCanary has made our mark having the world’s most accurate home valuations,” Wehrley said. “Using these in a different manner was exciting for us. Merchandising them to the general public was exciting for us.”
Nextdoor, which won’t specify its user numbers but says it is in 175,000 U.S. “neighborhoods,” allows real estate agents to sponsor its real estate listings by ZIP code. While the HouseCanary data and partnership won’t change that relationship, Nemeth said it could be beneficial to agents who pay for that form of advertising.
“With this, there should be a lot more engagement in the real estate section overall for agents,” Nemeth said.
