'Shark' attacks home sale-price maps

PropertyShark.com today launched its home sale-price maps in beta, the company said in an announcement this morning. An example of the map for New York City can be seen at: http://www.propertyshark.com/maps/sales/.

The service went live in beta in Los Angeles, New York, Seattle, Miami and other cities nationwide.

PropertyShark is designed primarily for use by appraisers and real estate professionals, and provides users with the original data directly from government records, including sales price, mortgage amounts, document images and ownership records. The company has information on more than 20 million properties in 16 major markets.

PropertyShark Founder Matthew Haines said that computer-based automated home valuations are “more likely to be wrong than right.” That’s why the company provides tools and raw data to professionals who can then assess an accurate market value.

“Every property is an illiquid, unique asset, and a computer program cannot accurately predict the price it will fetch on the market,” Haines said.

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