Rightmove to launch property estimate tool for ‘non-active vendors’

Rightmove is set to launch a new property estimate tool for homeowners who are not actively looking to sell right now.

The new tool, Track My Property, has been created with input from a number of agents and will initially launch in Rightmove’s sold prices section by the end of May.

It aims to keep potential vendors engaged on Rightmove until they are ready to contact an agent.

Extensive research among homeowners found that they now expect to be able to quickly receive an online valuation for their home, and that they would be keen to get regular updates to help them decide the right time to start thinking about moving.

Following feedback from agents, rather than providing an exact valuation, Track My Property will give them an estimated range. 

The range will be calculated using a machine learning model that includes previous sold price data and Rightmove data.

The tool will educate people about the difference between an online estimate and an exact, expert market appraisal from an agent, and prompt people to contact a local agent once they are ready to obtain a professional valuation of their home.

James Bassil, product director at Rightmove, said: “After speaking to a number of agents and home-owners we’ve developed a tailored solution to help engage more people who are not quite ready to sell yet, but who want to keep a close eye on how much their home could be worth. 

“More and more homeowners now expect a quick way to get an online valuation for their property, but we think that despite the wealth of data available, generating an exact automated value is virtually impossible.

“An exact valuation needs expertise from a local agent, and so the tool will provide an estimated range rather than an exact figure. It will educate people to take the estimate as a rough guide only and champion agents as the experts. We’ll be rolling the tool out slowly on our platform to ensure that we reach these home-owners at the right stage of their research journey.”

Commenting on the product, Craig Vile, director of The ValPal Network, said: "The data and insights from Rightmove confirm how important it is to give the homeowner the option to start their journey by dipping their toe in the water and getting an instant online valuation of their property.

"But, that’s not always enough, as many will not be ready to sell immediately. So, nurturing these homeowners is vital. Regular contact with the homeowner, providing useful market data and added value in the form of guides and market knowledge in crucial. Using products like MovePal helps the agent achieve this and understand which homeowners are ready to talk based on the behaviour." 

*The ValPal Network is owned by Angels Media, which also owns the Today sites.