Agents are being offered a new property valuation tool that claims to be different to others by using artificial intelligence to pick up trends and make predictions for the future.
Houseprice.ai has been testing an app called Horizon since August for agents, property developers and mortgage lenders that launched just before Christmas.
The software is programmed to use pricing data going back 20 years and to learn local trends using official house price, bank lending and rental figures as well as other factors such as crime, energy performance and planning data to provide valuation reports and forecasts within minutes.
In comparison, the Land Registry works out average values based on sale prices, while Zoopla’s online valuation tool uses factors such as property size and what neighbouring local properties have sold for. Rightmove provides market trend reports that show how much neighbouring property has sold for.
For subscriptions starting at an average of £100 per month depending on usage, subscribers can either work with the Horizon app and use the reports it generates or they can incorporate all the data into their own valuation and customised reports.
EYE queried whether these were all things an agent could already provide for free, but Houseprice.ai chief executive Eldred Buck said: “The main difference is that it is faster, has no subjective biases and takes in over 50 individual factors to arrive at the capital valuation and rental values.”
Two of the directors of the company, Buck and co-founder Giovanni Miano, come from a banking and financial technology background, while chief creative officer Vivienne Brooks has had a career in graphic design and marketing. The company has also appointed general practice chartered surveyor Philip Challinor as non-executive chairman.
Its all very good having something that will give a property an accurate value, but on most occasions despite what a homeowner may say, that isnt what they want. No matter how much data we supply to someone to prove that our value is correct it is still appealing for someone to just believe the agent saying the highest value. Having good tech may be a bonus in aiding us to arrive at the correct figure, but getting vendors to buy into it is something a world a way
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I agree. The point being that no amount of data will persuade a vendor that is undecided. The decision is always emotional.
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Surely ‘subjective biases’ are what makes an agent’s valuation accurate compared to a computer generated one. Local market knowledge and an understanding of construction etc……
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Totally agree…markets are made up of people and their vanities and weaknesses….subjective decisions and factors! This tool/app will help banks and District Valuers as they are relying more on desktop valuations and the higher a house mover or remortgage needs to have their LTV the more this technology will influence a final sale price or valuation. Sellers will let their ego’s influence their decision on pricing and agents will have to help educate. The harder the market gets, the more robust the discussions will need to be on valuations/marketing prices.
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there is nothing AI about this.
this is just another AVM, except that it doesn’t work… wait, so that just makes it another avm.
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If this robot comes round my house, I’d expect him to be smartly dressed and definitely wearing a tie.
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