Today I want to talk about using artificial intelligence (AI) to sell your home.
I have three topics for you today: robots, artificial intelligence (AI), and Zillow.
Recently, Zillow stated that they can get you a 15% more accurate home evaluation with AI. Why is that? They use two different things: structured data and unstructured data. Structured data looks at things such as location, square footage, bedrooms, and bathrooms. Unstructured data focuses on things like countertops and amenities.
They are trying to figure out how to be more accurate so when they look at pictures they can differentiate between slab granite and tile granite. Their AI will pick up the pixels and differentiate between the landscaping, the facades, etc.
I personally think this is pretty awesome. AI is a great technology and, as an agent, I think that I would use it. I think that our jobs are still safe and that Zillow is not going to ruin that. That is because even with AI, I think that Zillow will always struggle with being as accurate as a real estate agent when it comes to home evaluations.
For example, there is a property at 9636 Knight Street in Portland that was on the market for $325,000. Zillow says it is worth $345,000 but it did not sell. The fact is, it is probably worth $300,000, so they are off about 14%. Whether it is 14% higher or lower, that is a big percentage difference in this market.
There’s a home at 331 SE 7th Way in Camby, meanwhile, that was a Rocket Listing that Zillow says was worth $377,000. We had an offer on the table for that home for $400,000.
“AI is a great technology and, as an agent, I think that I would use it.”
Why is that? It is difficult to get AI to understand market demand. While it can look at past sales, it cannot know today what the market demand is and it doesn’t know about a home’s specific, detailed location.
The property on Knight Street backs up to a freeway with a huge wall, and that’s going to affect its value. AI will never factor that into the details. Having bad neighbors will affect a home’s value as well. Finally, perception will affect the value. What is the overall perception in the real estate market?
In conclusion, while I do think that Zillow using AI is making it easier for consumers to get a good feel for home values, the fact is that if someone takes it as gospel, they are going to lose a lot of money. This is why I think that you need to have a great real estate professional who knows the market to help you make one of the biggest purchases of your life.
If you have any additional questions or are interested in buying or selling, feel free to reach out to me. I look forward to helping you.
