When a mortgage broker evaluates a loan application, three numbers dominate the conversation: What is the property worth? How much equity does the owner have? What's the loan-to-value ratio? These data points determine whether a deal moves forward, what terms get offered, and how fast the process closes.
Yet most real estate professionals still look up these numbers manually — checking Zillow for a Zestimate, pulling county records for the last sale price, then doing math in a spreadsheet. That workflow is slow, error-prone, and disconnected from the CRM where the deal actually lives.
Valuation: What Is the Property Worth?
An Automated Valuation Model (AVM) estimates a property's current market value using public records, recent comparable sales, and statistical modeling. It's not an appraisal — it doesn't involve a physical inspection — but it provides a reliable starting point for evaluating a deal.
Datalara delivers 10 valuation fields on every property lookup:
- Estimated value — the AVM's best estimate of current market value
- High estimate — upper bound of the confidence range
- Low estimate — lower bound of the confidence range
- Forecast standard deviation — how much uncertainty the model has
- Valuation date — when the estimate was calculated
These fields give you more than a single number. The range between high and low estimates tells you how confident the model is. A narrow range on a suburban single-family home means high confidence. A wide range on a rural or unique property means you should dig deeper before relying on the AVM alone.
Equity: How Much Skin Does the Owner Have?
Equity is the difference between what a property is worth and what's owed on it. It's a critical indicator for both lenders (risk assessment) and investors (motivation analysis).
Datalara calculates equity automatically:
- Equity percent — equity as a percentage of the estimated value
- Equity in dollars — the raw dollar amount of equity
- Purchase LTV — the original loan-to-value ratio at time of purchase
For lenders, high equity means lower risk. A borrower with 40% equity is far less likely to default than one with 5%.
For investors, equity data reveals owner motivation. A homeowner sitting on $300K in equity has very different motivations than one who's underwater. Understanding equity across an owner's entire portfolio — not just one property — paints an even clearer picture.
LTV: The Ratio That Drives Every Lending Decision
Loan-to-value (LTV) is the ratio of outstanding mortgage debt to the property's current estimated value. It's the single most important metric in mortgage underwriting.
- LTV under 80% — Generally considered low risk. No private mortgage insurance required.
- LTV between 80-95% — Moderate risk. PMI typically required.
- LTV over 95% — High risk. Limited refinancing options.
Datalara provides the current LTV calculated from open lien balances and the AVM estimate, plus the purchase LTV from the original acquisition. Comparing the two shows how much the borrower's position has improved (or deteriorated) since purchase.
The Speed Advantage: Data on the Record
Here's where the Salesforce integration makes a real difference. Consider a typical mortgage broker workflow:
Without property data on the record:
- Lead comes in with a property address
- Broker opens Zillow, checks estimated value
- Pulls county records for outstanding liens
- Calculates LTV manually
- Types numbers into Salesforce or a spreadsheet
- Decides whether to pursue the deal
With property data already on the Salesforce record:
- Lead comes in — a Salesforce Flow automatically triggers a property lookup
- Valuation, equity, LTV, and lien data are populated on the Lead record
- Broker opens the record and sees everything immediately
- Makes a decision in seconds, not minutes
The second workflow isn't just faster — it's more accurate. No manual calculations. No transposing numbers from one screen to another. No outdated data from a lookup you did last week.
Beyond the Single Property
Datalara's owner data fields go beyond the subject property. You can see:
- Total properties owned by the current owner
- Average mortgage balance across their portfolio
- Total equity across all their properties
- Total estimated value of their portfolio
- Census median income for the area
This portfolio-level view is powerful for both lending and investment decisions. A borrower who owns five properties with strong equity across the board is a different risk profile than someone with a single overleveraged property.
Putting It All Together
Valuation, equity, and LTV aren't just academic concepts — they're the data points that determine deal velocity. When they're instantly available on your Salesforce records, your team spends less time researching and more time closing.
Explore the full set of property data fields available through Datalara on our Data Fields page, or get started to see these numbers on your own Salesforce records.