Professionals evaluate.
Why experience— not algorithms— determines your home’ s true worth
• Location & Lot Orientation: A quiet culde-sac or west-facing backyard carries a premium.
• Lot Size & Landscaping: Larger lots and mature landscaping elevate market appeal.
• Interior Features: Kitchen details, bedroom count, bathrooms, basement development, floor plan layout and finishing materials all influence value.
THE SCIENCE BEHIND A PROPER HOME EVALUATION
"
ALGORITHMS ESTIMATE.
Professionals evaluate.
THAT’ S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GUESSING AND GETTING IT RIGHT.”
Why experience— not algorithms— determines your home’ s true worth
By Mark Lukwinski, REALTOR ®, Real Broker | Calgary, AB
In an era where online valuation tools can deliver an instant“ estimate” at the click of a button, it’ s easy to mistake automation for accuracy. Yet, when it comes to something as nuanced as real estate, the human element still matters most.
As a Calgary Realtor ® with a background in geophysics, I’ ve spent my career studying patterns, interpreting data, and making sense of complex systems. That analytical approach has become the foundation of how I help clients determine what their homes are really worth— through a methodical Comparative Market Analysis( CMA).
A proper CMA begins by examining active, sold, expired, and terminated listings within your area. Each category tells part of the
100 CANADIANHOMETRENDS. COM story: what’ s competing for attention, what buyers have already paid for, and what the market has rejected. Together, they form a data-rich foundation that no online tool can replicate.
From there, the analysis becomes more refined. I hand-select comparable properties that closely resemble yours in style, age, and location. Then, through detailed evaluation, I adjust the values of those comparable homes to account for measurable differences— things like lot size, orientation, finishing quality, square footage, or upgrades. These adjustments normalize the variance between homes, allowing for a true“ applesto-apples” comparison that reveals your home’ s most accurate market position.
Each adjustment reflects how buyers actually think and what they’ re willing to pay— not just what a formula predicts.
Online estimators, by contrast, rely on property tax assessments and price-persquare-foot averages. They can’ t feel the sunlight streaming through a two-storey window, sense the craftsmanship of custom millwork, or quantify the serenity of a treed backyard.
In real estate, numbers tell a story— but only experience interprets it correctly. When it’ s time to sell or move up, make sure your pricing strategy is based on precision, not assumption.
Mark Lukwinski, www. marklukwinski. ca