The market value of your home is an important factor in a long list of financial decisions, from refinancing your mortgage to estate planning, but it matters the most when it comes to selling the house. The market value of a house refers to how much your home is worth at present, not comparing it with the amount you paid for it when you first bought it. Knowing the market value of your home will help you get a better idea about what sort of an offer you should be looking for, and how to recognize and strike the best deal when you see it. When estimating property worth, it is recommended that you gather information from multiple sources and compare the findings, rather than relying on one specific approach to home valuation.

Contact a real estate agent and he will give you a rough idea of how much your house is worth, based on its size and condition, as well as the trends in the local market. The real estate agent will prepare a free report for you, called the Comparative Market Analysis (CMA), which will show the prices of recently sold homes in your locality, along with the prices of comparable homes on the market.

You can also purchase a professional appraisal, if you wish. Unlike a CMA, a professional appraisal is not free and will cost you several hundred dollars, depending upon the size of your property as well as the complexity of the work. However, it will be money well spent, should you get a rewarding deal based on this appraisal. Appraisers personally visit the house, go through the recent sales of comparable homes in the area, and study other related data to estimate the market value of your home. A complete description of your home is provided in the report prepared by the appraiser, along with the criteria used for the home valuation.

You can also estimate the market value of your home by conducting an online search, or going to neighbourhood open houses. There are a number of real estate websites which offer home valuation information either free of cost or for a very small fee. By gathering information on houses for sale in your locality, you can get a fair idea of your own house’s worth. Check out other houses on sale in the area and compare their prices and features (numbers of rooms, total area, garden and yard etc) with your own home.

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