Property estimates now public
Zoocasa.com is now giving public access to home appraisal values for free.
Carefully guarded data on home appraisal values – once the private preserve of real-estate industry insiders – has been posted by a listings website backed by Rogers Communications Inc., which has tapped private databases to give people an instant estimate of a property’s value.
That’s from an article over at the Globe and Mail where they go on to talk about how moves like this weakens the position of Real Estate agents who’ve used privileged access to market information to justify their commissions.
The argument against such a move has always been that it impinges on personal rights to privacy, which isn’t such a long shot when the president of Zoocasa pitches it as a fun way to find out the value of friends and neighbors houses.
By entering any address in the country and providing a few additional details, such as the number of bedrooms and bathrooms in a house, a user can get an instant price estimate. It can give them a better idea of what their own house is worth – or something to gossip about around the dinner table as they discuss the net worth of friends, family members and neighbours.
“That’s one of the fun things about this service,” says Butch Langlois, president of Zoocasa. “It’s not necessarily your own home that you are interested in pricing.”
This post was submitted by Adam.
Click here to view all comments chronologically
October 30th, 2011 at 12:49 am
Wow comments have really slowed… I think we are all sick of the war. Especially given, When vancouver crashes it could be a long equally annoying melt. i waited long to buy, and now i have to wait long forthe bottom to come in.
October 29th, 2011 at 1:37 pm
I have "put" options on Canucklandberg RE
When you see me at Whistler with my latest Trophy wife ……that is an encrypted code to SELL.
October 29th, 2011 at 10:55 am
How's it going North of 49th Hosers.(aka America Jr.)
Still pissed off Bruins won?
I don't care.
My TV show is up in ratings.
Give or take the odd protein based follicle out of place on my disineguous cranium…I will be in Yo Homie burg soon.
Lock up yo Mama et al…"the Donald " will be landing soon !
October 28th, 2011 at 11:21 am
@ckung:
The majority, if not all, of Westside lots are sold for lot value.
A renovated home still gets the tender loving wrecking ball within a year.
Furthermore a $1.8 million tear down with some new laminate floor? Do I need an appraiser?
Make that $1,801,200 voila if you really feel that upgrade increases it's lot value.
Kind of like paying a home inspector $400, if they mess up you get your $400 back but what else?
October 27th, 2011 at 7:50 pm
@bobby:
"Anonymouse Says: “You don’t have an RRSP?”
No. I dont do ponzi schemes."
Some people seem to be unaware that an RRSP is simply an account to put assets in that gives you a tax advantage. It can be anything from an ING savings account to stock options.
October 27th, 2011 at 4:23 pm
@Devore:
This is just a part of process of Vancouver becoming the biggest China-town in the western part of the World. Yet another biblical mega-migration of World population.
October 27th, 2011 at 2:49 pm
House values skyrocket in Vancouver's Cambie corridor
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/st…
October 27th, 2011 at 2:01 pm
@Anonymouse: BC: 17.5% tax credit. Ontario: 25 to 40%. Quebec: 37.5%. Those are the only ones I'm somewhat familiar with.
Despite the credit, BC's wages/rates remain horribly low. Ontario's are much higher – call it 50% or so.
It's not just games. I'm in the "enterprise" world these days, and the situation is even worse.
October 27th, 2011 at 12:18 pm
Anonymouse Says: "You don’t have an RRSP?"
No. I dont do ponzi schemes.
October 27th, 2011 at 10:10 am
@Anonymous: "Recent S/L ratios suggest otherwise"
Sale/newlist last 10 days of October 2010: 76%
Sale/newlist previous 8 days of October 2011 (with 2 more days to go): 66%.
Sales activity is flat YOY but new listings are up about 15% YOY.
No crash but not strong either. I blame
the HSTsociety.October 27th, 2011 at 9:52 am
"another day on the stock market, another victory for 1% parasites."
Hey Bobby you are a loser.
October 27th, 2011 at 9:49 am
@paulb.: For a while there I thought real cracks were forming in October. Recent S/L ratios suggest otherwise, however. Crackerheads, on the other hand, are apparently still out in force in RE land.