Have suggestions for products that you’d like to see reviewed by our real estate technology expert? Email Craig Rowe.
If the housing bubble of the mid-2000s wasn’t enough to make home equity an everyday concern for homeowners, surely the Zestimate drove home the idea that a house should be looked at with the same level of daily interest as a checking account.
Today, the imperfect science of home value is an undercurrent in every conversation about real estate, driving sellers to reconsider when they sell and giving buyers a basis for their offers.
HSH.com, a mortgage data and industry content resource, has launched KnowEquity Tracker and Projector, a tool for homeowners to stay abreast of their property’s equity level.
It also provides a home-equity forecast, and not unlike a credit reporting tool, it encourages owners to set and pursue home-equity goals.
The tracker has an array of features that the company states in a press release will set it apart from similar calculation models offered directly from real estate agents.
Beyond typical amortization figures, HSH.com’s tool will factor prepayments and any irregular payments over the life of the mortgage, allowing sellers to see what an extra payment or two can do for their long-term position.
Static value estimates are based on the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s numbers using date of purchase within 100 major markets. It also details “borrowable” equity and five total loan-to-value breakpoints and offers appreciation predictions using either manual percentages or the FHFA data.
Perhaps the most unique facet of the tool is its KnowEquity Projector, enabling owners to see a prospective date when a hoped-for equity number can be reached.
The KnowEquity GoalSolver overlaps its home-equity projections with specific family financial needs, such as college education or retirement savings, offering tips and resources to more quickly achieve them or stay on track.
There are number of markets not available to the KnowEquity Tracker and Projector, but there is no cost to use it, and it is more transparent in its data sources than currently more popular home valuation resources.
HSH.com was founded in 1979, and is a QuinStreet, Inc. (Nasdaq: QNST) company.
Have a technology product you would like to discuss? Email Craig Rowe