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On September 1, FVREB launched CREA’s MLS® Home Price Index dashboard tool. Available through REALTOR Link®, it automates HPI calculations and allows you to quickly and easily, validate your CMA; and listing price recommendations for clients.
What is it?
It’s an online tool developed by CREA that has multiple functions or tabs to allow you to look up home price changes over time, calculate price estimates and look up benchmark prices and property characteristics. No more manual HPI calculations – the dashboard tool does it for you.
When would I use it?
Whenever you want to assess home price values and how they’ve changed over time. As you know, the MLS® HPI is the most accurate gauge of home price trends in Canada.
Use this tool to validate your CMA or listing price recommendations, graph the change in home prices over time, compare property characteristics between neighbourhoods and look up the correct HPI property description for a client’s home. You can even get a price estimate for a home, just plug in the area, property type, when it last sold and for how much and the tool will calculate the current value today based on the HPI.
CREA has a public facing HPI tool, how is ours different?
CREA’s public facing tool, is a very slimmed down version of this same MLS® HPI dashboard.
Consumers can only look up Board-level data. For the main residential property types, they can look up changes in the index and benchmark price. They can’t look up data for areas or sub-areas. This is critical.
As REALTORS® know, real estate is local. Price trends two neighbourhoods apart can be night and day in difference. This tool allows you to see trends and prices at the sub-area level and then when you add to that your market knowledge and experience, the combination will be of huge value to your clients.
How can I better understand the HPI in order to get the most out of this new tool?
We’ve got your back!
CREA has numerous MLS® HPI dashboard training resources available via their CREA Learning Hub:
- What is the MLS® HPI? – brief introductory video
- Why Use the MLS® HPI? – brief introductory video
- Introduction to the HPI Tool – 6 short segments on the HPI Tool
- HPI Tool Help Guide – in-depth walkthrough on all features available in the tool
- HPI Tool Online Course – free course for members, includes a short quiz at the end
- MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) Training Webinar – a 24-minute webinar demonstrating the tool
In addition, we’re pleased to offer our members two live, virtual Learn-at-Lunches from 12 noon to 1 pm.
- Tuesday, September 29
- Wednesday, October 21
Presented by CREA Economist, Chris Jokel, join either of these free sessions to learn about the tool, see it in action and ask questions. Register through our TLC Calendar.
And as always with any of our Board’s tools and services, need help? Feel free to give our Helpdesk a call at (604) 930-7626.
Source: FVREB Communications