Are you planning to sell your home soon? Then you might be wondering how much you can sell your home for. When it comes to determining the value of your home, it’s important to remember that “value” is subjective since one buyer may be willing to pay more than another.
So, how can you create a great listing price that will help you attract more buyers and achieve your goals? In this article, we will give you a guide on how you can reach that and some effective ways on how you can determine the value of your home.
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5 Main Factors That Influence Home Value
First, you need to know and understand the factors that influence the value of your home. It will help you to easily establish sensible expectations for listing and selling. Here are some of the top crucial factors you must consider:
- Size of home and age
- The setting and local market conditions
- Comparable homes that have been put on sale lately
- Economic conditions, like the interest rate circumstances
- Repairs and renovations
Now that you have this guide, it can help you know some of the effective ways you can determine the value of your house as prepare to sell it.
1. Use an online calculator or home valuation tool
You can start by using an online valuation tool. There are plenty of online home value calculators that are free that you can find. They normally use the information you give them about your home, together with information obtained from public records, to compute an estimated value of your property. They’re very simple to use and it’s one of the most convenient ways to get an approximation of what your home might be worth.
Aside from that, it’s essential that you also get a tax depreciation schedule because this will show your accountant the tax deduction they can acquire for property depreciation annually for you in your tax returns.
2. Ask for a free comparative market analysis from your real estate agent
Real estate agents will usually provide you with a comparative market analysis (CMA) for free with the intention of winning your business if you do plan to sell your house. In order to complete the CMA, the agent obtains the data about the latest sales of comps in the area. After that, they will use their knowledge about the neighborhood and any unique characteristics for any home you may want to make an offer on.
A great agent will have the tools obligatory to break down and look for a correct market value. A real estate expert follows the market, inspect home conditions, and knows well the neighbourhood— all while making assessments utilizing both data and their expertise.
3. Hire services of a professional appraiser
If a person is interested in buying a home, the bank would normally require them to get an appraisal at some point prior to the underwriting of the loan can be completed. As a seller, you won’t be required to get an appraisal, however, it’s a great idea if you don’t want any second-guessing about your home’s value when you’re ready to put it on the list.
The job of an appraiser is to provide a fair-minded, careful researched estimate of a home’s value. They try to accomplish that by going to the property and assessing recently sold or pending sale comps. Here are some of the basic things appraisers look for, including:
- Location of the house
- Whether the house is in a FEMA/ Federal Emergency Management Agency flood zone
- The state of fixtures and utility services on the property
- Date when the home was built
- Type of foundation used
- Heating and air systems, attic and basement, walls, doors and windows’ conditions
- Amenities like deck, fireplace, or pool
- Structural improvements or repairs (if there are any)
- Additional improvements or repairs (only if needed)
- Condition of any appliances in the home
- Signs of damage that would negatively affect the structural durability of the home
4. Check your municipal or county auditor’s website
You may do this if you can’t completely understand your home’s value from a tax perspective. County auditors regularly examine the value of residential properties for property tax motives, and this date is searchable online. You may look up the assessed value of your home to check if it has increased, or compare the numbers with other homes for sale.
The advantage of this is the objective information can be easily accessible and offers another point of comparison. This approximation of this is for the taxable value of your home and may not show some of the market factors that influence the sales price, as the time of year, street appeal or competitiveness. In a few localities, assessed values can be different from market values, and it may need some research to find them.
5. You may do your own analysis of comps
You may not have access to the MLS or Multiple Listing Service but you can still utilize some of the same factors to compare your home to comparable houses that are for sale, such as:
- Size and age
- Structural features and elements
- Sales history
- The general condition of the home
- Any or renovations or upgrades
- Neighbourhood and location
- Actual sale price vs. listing price
However, you need to remember that you must account for differences between your comps and home that can affect value.
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