Just in case you weren’t depressed enough with the state of your savings account balances or 401K statements, personal finance web site Mint.com now allows you to track your home’s value as part of your overall financial position.

If you haven’t tried the service, Mint.com is a fantastic site that gives you a single place where you can begin to keep track of all of your balances, investments, debts, loans and helps you start to categorize your purchases and see what your spending habits are.

Mint’s secret sauce is that it pipes in all of your accounts automatically (and securely) into your dashboard so that they are instantly updated with any new activity. It’s a fantastic tool that’s made even better with their iPhone application (iTunes link) which lets you take all of that information with you.

The latest update of the site now allows you to add your homes, including vacation and investment properties, to your account (click under Your Accounts > Real Estate). Punch in your address and a dollar figure appears. The home values are provided through a relationship with Cyberhomes.

It’s a slick integration, but the danger I see here is that there are no disclaimers on how the results are generated. AVM tools like Cyberhomes and Zillow have been controversial in the past (see Zillow Zestimates Under Fire) as they rely on algorithms rather than true appraisals to generate the values they assign particular properties.

And while it’s an interesting data point in your dashboard, tracking your home’s value in this fashion is simplistic at best and also possibly misleading. Especially if consumers begin to rely on a single source and the dollar figure that is generated as the gospel truth to their home’s value.

Mint would be wise to provide a simple disclaimer and perhaps some additional data sources (Zillow, Homegain, Eppraisal, to name just a few) to balance out the picture a bit.

Show Comments Hide Comments
Sign up for Inman’s Morning Headlines
What you need to know to start your day with all the latest industry developments
By submitting your email address, you agree to receive marketing emails from Inman.
Success!
Thank you for subscribing to Morning Headlines.
Back to top
Only 3 days left to register for Inman Connect Las Vegas before prices go up! Don't miss the premier event for real estate pros.Register Now ×
Limited Time Offer: Get 1 year of Inman Select for $199SUBSCRIBE×
Log in
If you created your account with Google or Facebook
Don't have an account?
Forgot your password?
No Problem

Simply enter the email address you used to create your account and click "Reset Password". You will receive additional instructions via email.

Forgot your username? If so please contact customer support at (510) 658-9252

Password Reset Confirmation

Password Reset Instructions have been sent to

Subscribe to The Weekender
Get the week's leading headlines delivered straight to your inbox.
Top headlines from around the real estate industry. Breaking news as it happens.
15 stories covering tech, special reports, video and opinion.
Unique features from hacker profiles to portal watch and video interviews.
Unique features from hacker profiles to portal watch and video interviews.
It looks like you’re already a Select Member!
To subscribe to exclusive newsletters, visit your email preferences in the account settings.
Up-to-the-minute news and interviews in your inbox, ticket discounts for Inman events and more
1-Step CheckoutPay with a credit card
By continuing, you agree to Inman’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

You will be charged . Your subscription will automatically renew for on . For more details on our payment terms and how to cancel, click here.

Interested in a group subscription?
Finish setting up your subscription
×