As you know there are many web sites that will share with you the current value of properties. However, I found a site that will share with you the future value of a property. I think this is valuable information for home buyers and investors. This website was created by a Pleasanton-based company, which launched www.smartzip.com, a free Web site designed to help investors and everyday home buyers assess the future value of homes for sale in California and Florida, two areas of the country hit hardest by the foreclosure crisis.
SmartZip rates the future values of homes based on a scale of one to 100. The higher the number, the better the rating in terms of a property's future investment potential based on two factors: growth as measured by what the property is expected to be worth in 10 years and rental income potential.
In addition to rating foreclosed properties, short sales and regular for-sale homes, the site also provides ratings for homes not listed on the market. In all, SmartZip currently has ratings for more than 12 million single-family houses, condominiums and townhouses in California and Florida, with plans to eventually expand ratings nationwide.
The challenge for the home buyers and investor community is that we buy with a vision into the future. Homesellers concern is the current value of the property, that is why sites like Zillow may be useful to them. Zillow and similar sites provide what a property will cost if it is bought or sold today. SmartZip tells you what the property expected value will be in the future.
The system used for SmartZip, is similar to that used in the financial industry to project stock’s future financial performance to determine if it is currently under or over valued.
In addition to SmartZip, there are two other web sites that has been launched recently. One is the San Francisco-based www.finestexpert.com launched a score-based, free online service that helps people evaluate the investment value of more than 4 million for-sale home listings nationwide.
Second is the Denver-based www.investorloft.com also provides free information on for-sale residential properties in California and 17 other states. InvestorLoft users can look for investment properties by putting in criteria to gauge a property's rental income potential, among other criteria.
Like any service that makes projections, there is no guarantee that a rating estimate of property's future value is a sure thing. Eventhough this tool cannot predict the future value of a property with certainty and won’t be able to predict a future downturn in the real estate market, I think that a smart real estate investor can use these tools in combination with other resources to make a sound investment decision.
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