GLOSSARY
Property data terms, without the fog.
32 terms from valuation, data and investing, explained in a sentence or two.
A
Absentee owner
An owner whose mailing address is different from the property address, often a landlord or an inherited home.
Absorption rate
How quickly homes for sale are being bought in a market, usually shown as homes sold per month.
Appraisal
A licensed professional's formal opinion of a property's value, usually including an inspection.
ARV (after-repair value)
The estimated value of a property after planned renovations are finished.
Assessed value
The value a local tax authority assigns to a property for property-tax purposes.
AVM (automated valuation model)
Software that estimates a property's market value from data such as comparable sales, features and market trends.
C
Cap rate
A rental property's yearly net operating income divided by its price. A quick way to compare returns.
Cash-on-cash return
Yearly pre-tax cash flow divided by the cash you actually invested.
CMA (comparative market analysis)
An agent's pricing study that compares a home with similar recent sales and listings.
Comparable sales (comps)
Recently sold homes similar in size, age, features and location, used to estimate value.
Confidence score
How sure a model is about an estimate. Higher scores usually come with tighter value ranges.
D
Data enrichment
Adding extra information, such as ownership or permits, to an existing property record.
Data pipeline
An automated process that collects, cleans and delivers data on a schedule.
Days on market (DOM)
How long a property has been listed for sale.
Deduplication
Finding and merging records that describe the same property.
E
Expired listing
A listing that reached the end of its agreement without selling.
F
FSBO
For sale by owner: a property sold without a listing agent.
FSD (forecast standard deviation)
A measure of how uncertain a model's estimate is. Lower FSD means more confidence.
G
Geocoding
Turning an address into map coordinates.
Gross rent multiplier
Property price divided by yearly gross rent.
H
Hedonic model
A model that values a home by pricing each of its features, like size, bedrooms and location.
Hit rate
The share of estimates that land within a set distance (for example 5%) of the actual sale price.
L
List-to-sale ratio
Final sale price divided by the last list price.
LTV (loan-to-value)
A loan amount divided by the property's value.
M
Median absolute error
The typical distance between a model's estimates and actual sale prices.
MLS
Multiple listing service: a shared database of listings run by and for real estate professionals.
Months of inventory
How many months it would take to sell all current listings at the current sales pace.
P
Parcel ID (APN)
The unique number a county assigns to a piece of land.
Pre-foreclosure
The stage after a lender starts the foreclosure process but before a sale.
Price per square foot (PPSF)
Sale or list price divided by living area.
R
Rental yield
Yearly rent as a percentage of the property's price.
Repeat-sales index
A price index built from homes that sold more than once.