How Accurate Is HonestDoor’s AI Pricing for Home Sellers?

By Erin Reeves

Erin is connected with top builders, contractors, and real estate pros. That’s how she gets her clients the inside track on new property developments, market data, and happenings in the fastest growing quadrant of the city: South East Calgary.

Most homeowners in Canada check HonestDoor before selling. It’s hard not to. It’s quick, easy to access, and feels official because it’s powered by AI. But even in 2026, automated pricing tools still miss important details that can affect your home’s true value.

Let me share a real example. I recently worked with a seller who was planning to list their home based on their HonestDoor estimate of $740000. Once I walked through the property, it was clear that the number did not tell the full story. The home had solar panels, upgraded windows, and a corner lot close to green space. Those details mattered to buyers.

After reviewing recent comparable sales and buyer activity in the area, we listed the home at $800,400. Three weeks later, it sold for $808,500. That’s a $68500 difference from the original estimate.

That kind of gap isn’t unusual. AI tools help get a general sense of value, but they don’t capture what makes a home stand out. To understand why, it helps to look at how these tools work, where they help, and where they fall short.

How HonestDoor’s AI really works. HonestDoor uses an automated valuation model that pulls from public records, historical sales, tax data, square footage, neighbourhood trends, and available MLS information. It processes large amounts of housing data to generate an estimated value.

The challenge is that it only sees what’s recorded. If your upgrades are not fully documented, if your neighbourhood includes a wide mix of home styles, or if the comparable properties it pulls do not truly match your home, the estimate can be off.

Where it falls short. HonestDoor can’t walk through your front door. It can’t assess natural light, notice updated finishes, or evaluate how your home feels when someone steps inside. It doesn’t know whether your kitchen renovation was done last year or a decade ago.

It also relies heavily on past data. In a fast-moving market, even a short delay in updated information can affect pricing accuracy. That lag can translate into a meaningful difference when it comes time to list.

How to use it the smart way. Think of an online estimate like a weather forecast. It gives you a general idea, but you still look outside before deciding what to wear.

The same applies to pricing your home. HonestDoor provides a starting point, not a pricing strategy. A local real estate professional adds context by looking at what buyers are paying right now, what they are prioritizing, and how your home compares to current listings and recent sales.

How it shapes buyer perception. Buyers look at online estimates, whether they are accurate or not. If the estimate is lower than your asking price, it can raise doubts or lead to lower offers. If it’s higher, it can make your price feel out of sync with the market.

Either way, that number influences perception. Aligning your list price with current market conditions and explaining the rationale behind it helps manage expectations from the start.

Why AI can struggle to keep up. The real estate market can change quickly. Interest rate announcements, new developments, or shifts in buyer demand can impact pricing faster than an algorithm can adjust.

HonestDoor updates regularly, but it still relies on historical data, such as closed sales and public records. By the time the estimate reflects current conditions, the ideal pricing window may have already shifted.

Pricing a home in 2026 can feel like a lot to navigate with so many tools and opinions available. You don’t have to figure it out on your own. If you’re curious about what your home could realistically sell for in today’s market, let’s connect. Call or email me, and I’ll help you price your home properly and build a strategy that reflects real buyer behaviour, not just an algorithm.