Short answer
Use all three, in order, for different jobs. An AI estimate is free and instant and gets you within roughly 5 to 10 per cent on an ordinary property — good for orientation, useless as a list price. A Realtor’s CMA is also free, accounts for condition and comparable selection, and is what you price a listing from. A bank appraisal is a paid, conservative, formal opinion that exists to protect a lender — you need it for financing, estates and tax matters, not for deciding what to ask.
The three numbers, side by side
| AI / online estimate (AVM) | Realtor CMA | Bank appraisal | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who makes it | An algorithm | A licensed Realtor who has seen the property | An accredited appraiser (AACI or CRA) |
| What it costs | Free | Free | Roughly $350–$600, often paid by the borrower |
| How long | Under a minute | A site visit plus a day or two | Several days |
| Sees inside your home | No | Yes | Yes (sometimes desktop only) |
| Built for | Orientation — which ballpark am I in? | Setting a list price and a net-proceeds plan | Protecting a lender’s loan-to-value |
| Typical bias | Toward the middle of the distribution | Toward what the market will bear now | Conservative |
| Legally usable for | Nothing formal | Nothing formal | Lending, estates, matrimonial, tax disputes |
What an automated valuation actually does
An AVM is a regression. It takes the attributes it can observe about your property — area, property type, square footage, lot, bedroom and bathroom count, age, sometimes parking — and multiplies them against coefficients derived from recent reported sales in comparable areas. Better ones then apply a set of adjustments and a confidence band.
What that machinery is genuinely good at: telling you whether you are in a $700,000 conversation or a $1.4 million one, instantly, at 11pm, without talking to anyone. That is a real service and it is why these tools have become the standard first step.
What it cannot do, by construction:
- See condition. No public dataset knows whether your kitchen is 1998 or 2024, whether the basement is dry, or whether the roof has two years left.
- Price the unusual. Ravine lots, heritage designations, non-conforming additions, legal second suites, corner exposures, unusual frontages. The model has nothing to compare them to, so it reverts to the average and is wrong.
- Know your square footage is wrong. Reported square footage in Ontario is inconsistent, and it is the largest multiplier in the model. Garbage in, confident garbage out.
- React to this week. Most models refresh monthly or quarterly. In a market that moved 4.5 per cent in a year and 25 per cent from its February 2022 peak, staleness is a real error term.
Try one that shows its work
The estimator below returns a range rather than a point, and itemises every adjustment it made — baseline, size, condition, lot, age, parking, outlook — so you can see which assumption is carrying the number and overrule it in your head if it is wrong.
Free tool — AI home value estimator
Instant Home Valuation
What’s your home
worth today?
Answer six quick questions and get an instant value range built from current Toronto & GTA sale data — property type, size, condition, lot and location all weighted the way a real pricing conversation weighs them. Takes about ninety seconds.
Reading recent GTA sale data…
Building your estimate
Estimated market value
—
$0–$0
Most likely value $0 · roughly $0 per square foot
What moved the number
Starting from the area baseline for your property type, here’s what each answer added or subtracted.
Market context
Recent local averages for comparison.
—
A range is a starting point.
A strategy is what sells.
This model doesn’t know that your neighbour’s identical semi went $80,000 over asking last month, or which two upgrades actually pay back in your area. That conversation is free and takes twenty minutes.
What a CMA adds that a model can’t
A comparative market analysis is a human being selecting three to six genuinely comparable sold properties, then adjusting each one for the differences against yours: finished basement, parking, renovation quality, lot depth, exposure, condition. It is the same logic the AVM uses, run by someone who has stood in your kitchen.
The three things it adds:
- Condition judgement. The single largest unobserved variable, resolved in ten minutes on site.
- Comparable selection. A model picks comparables by distance and attributes. A person picks them by whether the same buyer would have considered both properties — which is what actually determines price.
- Strategy. The list price is not the value. In a market averaging 32 days on market and 97 per cent of asking, list price is a tactical decision about how you want the first fourteen days to go.
The honest caveat on a CMA: it is produced by someone who would like your listing. That is not a reason to distrust it, but it is a reason to ask for the comparables and the adjustments in writing. A CMA you can audit is worth ten you can’t.
What an appraisal is really for
An appraisal is a formal opinion of value by an accredited appraiser, usually commissioned by a lender, and it exists to protect the lender’s security — not to help you price a listing. Appraisals lean conservative for that reason. In the current condo market, low appraisals have been a recurring friction point on closings, which is one of the reasons pricing discipline matters more than usual.
You genuinely need an appraisal when a third party requires an independent number: mortgage financing or refinancing, an estate, a matrimonial settlement, a capital gains position, or an assessment appeal. For “should I list at $1.19 or $1.24 million”, an appraisal is the wrong tool.
The sequence that works
Automated estimate for orientation (one minute, free) → three sold comparables you check yourself (ten minutes, free) → a written CMA from an agent who shows the adjustments (free) → a formal appraisal only if a lender, court or the CRA requires one. Skipping straight to step three is fine. Stopping at step one and treating it as a list price is where people lose money.
Get the version with your address in it
I will send you a written CMA with the actual sold comparables, the adjustment for each one, a recommended list price and a net-proceeds figure. You can check every line. No obligation, and no follow-up campaign if you tell me you are just curious.
Request a written CMA · connect@jatindua.com · 437-987-1925
Free, no obligation, and I answer personally within 24 hours.
Related reading
- Home value estimator for houses and freehold townhomes.
- Condo value estimator for apartments — prices floor, exposure and view separately.
- Net proceeds calculator — the number that actually reaches your account.
Frequently asked questions
Are AI home value estimates accurate?
For a typical property in an active neighbourhood, a well-built automated valuation model usually lands within about 5 to 10 per cent of the eventual sale price. That is a $50,000 to $100,000 band on a $1 million home. Accuracy falls sharply for unusual properties — ravine lots, heritage homes, non-conforming additions, income suites — because the model has no comparable data to price them against.
Is a CMA the same as an appraisal?
No. A comparative market analysis is a Realtor’s opinion of market value used to set a list price, and it is free. An appraisal is a formal opinion by an accredited appraiser, usually commissioned and relied on by a lender, and it is a paid report with professional liability attached. Only the appraisal is accepted for lending, estate and tax purposes.
Why is my bank appraisal lower than the online estimate?
Appraisals are deliberately conservative because their purpose is to protect the lender’s security, not to maximise your price. They also lean on closed sales, which lag the live market. Online estimates tend to sit closer to the middle of the recent distribution. A gap of several per cent between the two is normal.
Do I have to pay for a comparative market analysis?
No. Almost every Realtor provides a CMA free, because it is the first step of a listing conversation. Ask for the comparables and the adjustments in writing — a CMA you can check line by line is far more useful than a single headline number.
Which is more accurate, an estimator or a Realtor?
A Realtor who has walked the property will beat an automated model on any home with unusual features or non-obvious condition, because condition is the largest variable no dataset can see. On a very ordinary property in a high-turnover subdivision, a good model gets remarkably close. Use the model first, then the person.
When do I actually need a formal appraisal?
When a third party needs an independent number: mortgage approval or refinancing, an estate settlement, a matrimonial division, a capital gains calculation, or a property assessment appeal. For deciding a list price you do not need one.
Can I use an online estimate to challenge my property tax assessment?
Generally no. MPAC assessment appeals are argued against comparable assessed values and sales evidence as of the legislated valuation date, not against a present-day automated estimate. A designated appraiser or an assessment specialist is the right resource for that.
Sources
- Toronto Regional Real Estate Board, Market Watch, July 2026 — trreb.ca
- WOWA, Toronto Housing Market report, 5 August 2026 (days on market, sale-to-list ratio) — wowa.ca
- Canadian Mortgage Professional, “GTA condo market stays under pressure as July listings shrink”, August 2026 (appraisal friction in the condo segment) — mpamag.com
- What is my home worth? A straight answer for Toronto & GTA owners
- How much is my condo worth? Floor, view, parking and what moves the number
- What homes actually sold for in the GTA: July 2026 by type and region
- What actually adds value before you sell in the GTA
About the author — Jatin Dua, Toronto & GTA Realtor
I’m a licensed Realtor with RE/MAX Quantum Realty at 799 The Queensway in Etobicoke, and I work with buyers, sellers and investors across Toronto, Etobicoke, Mississauga, Oakville and the wider GTA. I build the valuation tools on this site myself and I publish the assumptions behind them, because a number you can’t interrogate is a number you shouldn’t act on. If you want the version of this with your actual address in it: connect@jatindua.com or 437-987-1925.