Accurate Property Pricing with RPR

Coupled with strong market knowledge, a keen REALTOR knows that employing certain tools in the valuation process can help land on the right price, right out of the gate. This is especially helpful when it comes to determining value based on improvements made to the property and its condition.

Here, RPR shares four tools that will help an agent refine the value of a property, use the platform's flexible CMA tool, create a Sales Comparative Analysis and Valuation Workbook for harder-to-price properties, and run a real-time analysis for investment properties.

1. Refine Value Tool

RPR's Refine Value tool allows REALTORS® to determine the value of a home based on property characteristics, home improvements made and market conditions. This tool can also help clients determine whether purchasing a home and then remodeling is worth the investment.

There are four ways to refine the value of a property using RPR:

Refine the value by adjusting basic facts

Start by adjusting/confirming basic facts about the property. Select Apply to see adjusted value updates and refined changes. Make a mistake? Choose Restore Original and the property's basic facts will revert to the initial settings.

Note that you are revising an estimate based on public record data, not listing data. If a property displays no data or a zero for fields such as living area, entering data will not produce a change in value because there is no baseline available to refine.

Refine value by Home Improvements

Every homeowner wants to know the return on investment for home improvements. With up to 30 predefined home improvements to choose from, the tool accurately calculates the depreciated value of home improvements.

When there is no available choice for a home improvement through the drop-down menu, and the user chooses "other," RPR will depreciate the item over a 20-year period. Also, the description field for the "other" category has been expanded to include up to 200 characters.

Refine value by Needed Improvements

This tool will subtract costs of needed improvements from the refined value of a home. It is useful when helping homeowners to consider the monetary effect necessary repairs will have on the property's value.

Refine value by Market and Home Conditions

The sliders can be used to adjust value based on the local market and conditions and how the subject property relates to the comparable properties in areas like home exterior, home interior, lot size, view and privacy.

2. CMA

RPR's wizard walks you through five simple steps to generate a CMA unlike any other offered in today's real estate industry. You'll confirm the home's facts, search for and adjust the comps, land on your own list price by refining the property's value, and then generate an RPR Seller's Report. You can also reorder, rate (worse, same or better) and add notes to selected comps. All in one place and with the highest level of accuracy afforded to today's REALTOR®.

• Pro Tip: While selecting comps within RPR, note that properties marked with a blue star are used to calculate the Realtor Valuation Model® (RVM®).

Create a comp analysis on your mobile device

The RPR app offers the ability to create a CMA using your phone and then text/email a colorful Seller's Report to your client. Best of all, if you've selected comps on the RPR website, they can be viewed on mobile and vice versa. There's also an interactive map to choose comps and advanced search functions such as property status and type.

3. Sales Comparative Analysis and Valuation Workbook

RPR's Sales Comparison Analysis goes into a more detailed property evaluation, typically used for harder-to-price homes. The tool leads you through a series of steps to confirm or adjust factual information about a property, and then search for and select comps. At that point, you can adjust and weight the comparable properties to yield a result that summarizes the valuation and range for the subject property.

Satisfied with your analysis? Save or share it by generating a Valuation Workbook. The Valuation Workbook summarizes the evaluation made using the Sales Comparison Analysis. It includes details about the subject property and the comps and adjustments made in the workflow, as well as an overview of local housing market conditions.

4. Investment Analysis

Valuate® is a web-based financial analysis and marketing tool for the purchase and sale of commercial and residential investment properties. The platform allows agents to perform real-time, interactive investment analyses in a collaborative work environment. No more multiple versions of stagnant PDF files. With Valuate, digital files are easily edited and shared with colleagues, partners and clients. Valuate also provides real time scenario analyses while pitching to prospects or updating existing clients. Make edits to the analysis on the fly for wherever the conversation leads; answers questions instantly.

To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.