Knowing What Your Home Is Worth
Knowing your home’s worth is incredibly essential. So many things are affected by the home’s valuation including:
- Financing
- Insurance
- Taxes
The most common time you need a home valuation is when you want to sell or buy a house. Having a home listed at the current market value does so many things to enhance a listing. And when you’re purchasing a home, you want to know that you’re getting your money’s worth.
What is Market Value?
Market value is a term used to determine the amount a home is worth at a specific period. It is an estimate of what the house could potentially be sold for in the current market as of a particular date. You’re looking for the highest price a property would sell for in the current real estate market.
How is Market Value Determined?
In real estate market value is determined using Comparative Market Analysis. During the CMA your REALTOR® or an appraiser compares your house to recently sold properties with similar characteristics. These houses are often called comparables.
The similar characteristics usually involve the size of the home, specific features like the number of full bathrooms, and especially the location of the property.
The location of the property is often the most critical aspect of determining the price. A home in a well-established neighborhood that has kept its property values stable over time is going to typically fetch a higher price than an up-and-coming neighborhood that is starting to rebuild itself. You have to be realistic as to where your house is located right now.
Typically three to four houses are used in the comparison. The most important thing is that you take the emotion of what this house means to you and your family and look at the hard data.
How best to use Home Values to Your Advantage When Selling a House?
If you can list your house slightly lower than what the market is offering, then you might get more bids. This depends again on the location of the house but also the condition the house is in and the terms you’re offering.
The best place to start is by getting a free home valuation from one of our professional REALTORS® here at Almond & Hack. There we can show you what your home is valued at in the current market and then we can show you great options for a new home. Get started now by using our valuation tool. Just put in the information and Peninsula Realty REALTOR® will contact you with the results.
