Following several proptech launches and acquisitions in recent years, Rightmove has revealed another tool for the sales market, this time due to launch in May.

Track My Property has been developed with the input of both estate agents and members of the public and aims to keep them ‘engaged’ with the portal even when not actively looking to sell, and therefore will help pinpoint when they are ready to instruct.

The tech is a valuation tool which will sit within the portal’s Sold House Prices section and will give those who register a range of likely prices their home could achieve.

Machine learning

This ‘range’ will be calculated using a machine learning model that includes previous sold price data and Rightmove data, and follows feedback from agents, many of whom are usually not keen on services that offer exact prices and muscle-in on their own valuations to win instructions.

To reassure them on this point, Rightmove says the service will “educate people about the difference between an online estimate and an exact, expert valuation from an agent, and prompt people to contact a local agent once they are ready to obtain a professional valuation of their home”.

Property valuation

Also, the launch means Rightmove will now offer a very similar property valuation service to the one offered by Zoopla for many years, which also offers home owners a range of likely values plus regular updates via email.

“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,” says James Bassil, Product Director at Rightmove (pictured).

“More and more home-owners 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.”

Read more about the portal’s tech efforts.