It’s a tough time to be a real estate portal.
From legal battles with brokerages, MLSs and shareholders to agentic AI that’s disrupting the traditional search process, it’s fair to wonder if the race for clicks and eyeballs is giving way to something more valuable: consumer trust.
While portals normalized online valuations, the market is maturing. Consumers are more informed than ever, and they increasingly expect context, transparency and confidence, not just a number, when evaluating a property’s price.
“We have the best valuation software on the market,” John Liss, CEO of TrueFootage, told Inman recently in announcing the expansion of KBB Homes. “We need to get this in the hands of consumers, because the options that consumers have are terrible.”
After years of instant estimates and algorithmic confidence, many homeowners still don’t trust the numbers they see. Liss believes the combination of Kelley Blue Book’s reputation and TrueFootage’s valuation process can create new opportunities for brokerages and agents by solving that problem.
We solved speed. We didn’t solve trust
For the past 15 years, portals competed on speed.
- Instant estimate
- Instant alerts
- Instant CMA
- Instant AI
But when sellers get serious about listing, many still look for neutral validation before making a six- or seven-figure decision.
According to Liss, who got his start as an 18-year-old real estate agent in New York City, valuation isn’t just about accuracy. It’s about confidence. That comes from transparency, explanation and context. When a potential seller asks, “What’s my house worth?” they’re also asking
- Can I trust this number?
- Why is it worth that?
- What happens next?
Technology has to answer all three.
Currently, Liss said, valuation is “a black box. You log on, see a number, and don’t know where it came from.” Kelley Blue Book’s model, he said, shows “the comps, the adjustments, the reconciliation and why.”
“A lot of people are coming to us, even if their home’s already on the market, saying,’ I’m not sure I really trust the process that I’m currently in,’ or they’re looking to buy a house and they’re feeling pressured by their agent to put in a bid, and they’re not sure if they’re bidding the right thing,” Liss said.
By providing a more robust valuation process and vetted agent connections, KBB Homes aims to infuse more trust into the transaction, benefitting both clients and agents.
Better data doesn’t replace better agents
Unlike the typical proptech narrative, Liss doesn’t argue that agents matter less than tech tools. They matter differently.
While valuation tools create information, agents create outcomes through pricing strategy, marketing, negotiation, positioning and timing, and they’re not interchangeable.
“I don’t believe agents are commodities,” Liss said. “What I actually think is an agent makes a huge difference.”
“If you have a $700,000 house, a really good [listing] agent might get you $750,000. A really bad agent might get you $625,000 by running a botched process.”
In the KBB Homes model, agents don’t just use valuations to establish price. They use them to build credibility by validating initial pricing, supporting price reductions, alleviating emotions and shifting difficult conversations from opinion to fact-based evidence.
Creating the most trusted process is how you win in a changing online environment, Liss said. “People don’t just need a valuation. They need someone walking them through the strategy,” he added. “The consumer is willing to pay for that hand-holding and experience.”
When Kelly Blue Book announced it was entering residential real estate, many assumed it was launching another valuation tool. After hearing Liss describe the company’s process, that seems too narrow.
The real opportunity isn’t creating another estimate. It’s reducing uncertainty.
“Kelly Blue Book is a brand … that consumers have trusted for generations, obviously,” Liss said. In a market where anyone (or anything) can generate a number, the companies that help real estate pros earn consumer trust will have the real competitive advantage.
Troy Palmquist is the founder and principal at HomeCode Advisors. Connect with him on LinkedIn.
