PAP.fr Becomes The Latest French Agent To Launch a Valuation Tool

FSBO portal operator PAP.fr has become the latest platform to offer a free valuation tool as portals in France race to offer services around valuation to capture seller leads or, in this case, make sure sellers don't go elsewhere.

Users will be able to receive a free property valuation via email by filling in key details about their property on PAP.fr's website.

The portal claims its new offering is the most reliable and transparent in France, with valuations powered by artificial intelligence and algorithms based on data from the French Ministry of Finance—which holds records of millions of property transactions in France.

And the portal is just one of many that have spotted the potential to attract seller leads to boost business by offering free valuations. Axel Springer already has a vested interest in the power of automated valuations after it acquired MeilleursAgents, the leading online real estate valuation provider in France, in 2019. Axel Springer has since expanded the functionality to SeLoger and Logic-Immo.

PAP.fr is an FSBO platform that offers a commission-free deal for home sellers, instead of charging a flat fee.

The company is notoriously unpopular among agent circles in France, with the portal fighting (and winning) a defamation lawsuit brought by France's Agents Association in 2020 after PAP.fr was accused of acting as an agency without a license.

Interestingly, PAP.fr's obligatory email field may be off-putting to users; A 2021 Online Marketplaces study found that 60% of automated property valuation tools would give on-screen results.