The caption of this post probably says it all. Today,I’m pretty sure every student, class mate, lecturers came into this presentation having thought the software RP Data, was one of the most reliable and useful resource tool in the property industry. In fact, at one point I even thought of the comparison ‘RP data is for real estates agents, what Facebook is for teenagers’.
This week’s guest speaker Allan Teale revealed the shocking cracks beneath the infamous web application RP Data. Surprisingly, he made it seem like RP data was not everything it made out to be. Having worked in the property industry for close to ten years now, as a real estate agent, my Dad himself admits he heavily relies on RP Data. I succumbed to ask him, what is it about RP Data that he particularly worshipped?
‘RP Data is like the Holy Grail behind property information. It has everything I need, within a simple click of a mouse’, he replied.
I was luckily enough to explore the RP Data website for an assignment on valuation, early this year. It really is simple as it sounds, with an account and an address, real estate agents can view loads of data and information on your property in a click of a button. I guess my dad did make a valuable point (did you see what I did there). RP Data proposes a more realistic value and offer on a property, as it allows us to view information on property history, comparable sales and generally info you wouldn’t usually get on your everyday webpage. Check out the YouTube video below on ‘How leading Real Estate agents can use RP Data’, posted from RP Data’s official YouTube page.
Allan wasted no time, getting down to the nitty gritty flaws of RP Data. He mentioned that although the application is a widely used source, it does not have the accuracy to be the best market indicator. This was clear in the example of a free-standing house in Alexandria (check pictures below), however according to RP Data, it was identified as a unit instead. OK, so there could’ve been a decent explanation behind this. Maybe a typo gone wrong or even just confusion with cross-reference information, surely one mistake does not account for the site’s entire reputation.
Although I was strongly opinionated, Allan had his own outlook on RP Data. He continued with another property domain called city scope, which focused more on the commercial property and strata units, side of real estate. Like RP Data, City Scope provides more detailed data and reliable information, however these applications were nothing compared to Pricefinder. It was obvious that Pricefinder was Allan’s bias among the three, as he boasted about the site’s simple format and accessibility.
I think we all have to take a moment and realise that without the tools and access to web applications like RP Data, real estate agents would not have the resources to do their job accurately and efficiently.
Until next time, bye fellow bloggers.
A Digital Discovery 