The Connections Bridgewater-Somerville Edition April/May 2026

HOME & DESIGN

PAGE 31

INSIDE REAL ESTATE AI, Zillow, and the Question Every Homeowner Should Ask By Edward P. Nugent III, Broker/Owner, Red Door Real Estate

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rtificial intelligence seems to be everywhere right now. It’s writing ar ticles, creating images, answering questions, and increasingly showing up in real estate websites that

sell for still requires experience, context, and strategy. In higher-end markets espe cially, small differences in preparation, po sitioning, and negotiation can translate into tens of thousands-or sometimes hundreds of thousands-of dollars in the end. Many home owners are surprised when they compare an online estimate with what the market would really pay for their property. Sometimes the numbers are close. Sometimes they’re not. If you’ve ever looked up your home online, the more interesting question may simply be: how accurate is that number today? Artificial intelligence will continue to im prove, and it will certainly play a role in the future of real estate. The best professionals embrace these tools and use them to better understand the market. But when it comes to selling a home, there is still one thing tech nology cannot replace: judgment. And that’s where experience still matters. For homeowners curious about how their property might truly perform in today’s mar ket, not just what an algorithm suggests, a thoughtful conversation and real-world anal ysis can often reveal a much clearer picture. Contact Ed Nugent at Red Door Real Estate , the local expert you can trust! Email Ed: goreddoor@gmail.com or call him at 732-893-8339. Visit his website for more information: www.goreddoor.com. Two homes with nearly identical statistics can sell for dramatically different prices depending on condition, presentation, timing, and how the property is introduced to the market. Those are factors that technology struggles to capture.

promise to estimate the value of your home instantly. Type in your address and within seconds, you’ll see a number that claims to represent what your home is worth. Sounds convincing. But is it accurate? These systems use artificial intelligence and automated valuation models to analyze enor mous amounts of data, such as recent sales, tax records, square footage, and neighbor hood trends. In many cases, the estimate can be surprisingly close. But sometimes it’s not. The reason is simple: AI can analyze data, but it cannot truly understand a property. It doesn’t know if your kitchen was renovated last year or how your home’s condition truly compares with others in the neighborhood. It doesn’t know which homes back up to privacy and which ones back up to traffic. It doesn’t know if your property sits on the best lot in the neighborhood or if the sun light pours through your living room every afternoon. Algorithms are very good at mea suring information. Real estate, however, is still influenced by something much harder to measure: perception.

Two homes with nearly identical statistics can sell for dramatically different prices de pending on condition, presentation, timing, and how the property is introduced to the market. Those are factors that technology struggles to capture. Think of online home estimates the same way you might think about an online medical symptom checker. It can give you a general idea, but you prob ably wouldn’t rely on it for a final diagnosis. The same principle applies to real estate. Technology can provide a starting point, but determining what a home will actually

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