最近我正在为我的房子再融资。 With rates being as low as they are, I figured I'd better seize the opportunity. 作为过程的一部分，需要对房屋进行评估。

我的债主问我，我认为我的房子值多少钱。 我也不知道，你觉得我去哪找了？ Yep, I logged into Zillow and looked at their AVM to see their estimate of my home’s value.

AVM代表自动估价模型。 It’s basically a system that pulls together different sets of data to generate an estimated value. 有很多avm可以估算你房子的价值。

With AVMs growing in popularity as a way to estimate your home’s value, how can you find out how accurate they are? Zillow actually provides 几个城市的准确性数据. 例如，在西雅图（我住的地方），方差是10.6%； 在波特兰，差异为14.0%； 凤凰城的差异是12.8%，拉斯维加斯的差异是31.8%。

另一种了解房屋价值的方法是比较市场分析（CMA）。 A CMA is an estimate of the home's value compared with other similar homes in the same or similar areas and is often provided by a real estate professional. 这种方法与评估的不同之处在于，当前待售的房产可能会被考虑在内（因为这些其他房产实际上是你房子的竞争对手）。

因为我是再融资，而不是买卖，所以我觉得10.6%的方差很安全，我的贷款人也是如此。

我喜欢把AVM想象成自动副驾驶。 My good friend who flies for Alaska told me that the 737's can pretty much land themselves. When I asked him what if the unexpected happens he said, “Well, that is why I'm in that cockpit, with all my hours of experience in the cockpit I can take over and bring the plane down safely." Automatic copilots are great when all conditions are normal, but when things happen unexpectedly, the pilot has the experience and ability to keep it all together.

AVM's are great to get an idea of the ball park figure for your home, but when you are really ready to buy or sell I recommend talking to a professional who lives in the community that you are thinking about. In fact Zillow feels the same way (观看这个视频).