How to Find out the Value of your Home
Home valuation can be a difficult business, and most home owners determine the value and worth of their home by recalling how much they paid for it when they first bought the property – however, it is essential to understand that the original price you paid for the property has nothing to do with its current market value.
Determining the market value of your home is important for a number of financial decisions, such as calculating your annual property tax bill, refinancing your mortgage, buying homeowner’s insurance, borrowing against your equity, and most importantly selling your house.
If you are looking to find out the value of your home so you can put it out on the market for sale, it is best to use a number of resources in order to determine the worth of your property.
Find out the prices of local comparable properties, and the prices obtained in recent sales
The best way to determine the value of your home is to look at the prices of comparable houses in the same area as your own, and have a look at how much recently sold properties in the area went for. The value of a home is also affected, to a great degree, by current real estate trends and the condition of the market. Since all this can be a bit complicated for a regular person who is looking to sell his/her house, you can consider getting a qualified real estate agent to draw up a Comparable Market Analysis (CMA) for you – these can be obtained for free in most cases. The CMA provides you the prices of recently sold comparable homes in your location, as well as the prices of comparable properties that are currently on the market. This is great for obtaining a rough idea about the value of your home, based on its condition, size, and the current trends in the real estate market.
Buy a professional appraisal
Unlike a CMA, you will be required to shell out some serious bucks for a professional appraisal – however, the expense could be worth it if you are set upon selling your house, and looking for a detailed and professional opinion on how much your home is worth. The cost of an appraisal depends on the size of your house, and the amount of work involved, but an appraisal will generally contain a detailed description of your home, and outline the criteria on which the valuation is based. An appraiser will conduct an inspection of your property in person, and will use other data (such as the recent sales of comparable properties) to present an expert opinion on the value of your home.
Conduct online research
To gain a rough idea about the value of your home, you can conduct an online research. There are several real estate websites where you can access the prices of comparable home that have either been sold or are up for sale. In addition to free home valuation information, these websites also offer home valuing tools which you can use.
Check out neighborhood open houses
Regularly visiting open houses in your locality is a great way to keep abreast of the trends in the real estate market, and the prices that are being offered for comparable homes in your area. In addition to being able to chat with the owners of the houses that are up for sale, you can also speak to any real estate professionals that might be present, and use the information to start developing an idea about the value of your own home. However, keep in mind that you need to maintain an objective stance on your own home, and understand that the listing price of a house that is up for sale is not always a reflection of its true market value.
