If you are getting ready to sell your home, you might be thinking about your potential profits. After all, the proceeds from your current home’s sale will probably make up a large part of the down payment for your new property.
One of the most important factors to consider when getting ready to list your home is the initial asking price. An experienced real estate agent like Cindy Pagnotta will be able to advise you on this, but there are a few ways you can determine your home’s value before even reaching out to an agent. Whether you are selling your home or simply refinancing, use these tools to determine your home’s value.
- Online Estimators
- Professional Appraisers
- The local market.
- Your property’s features.
- Other, similar properties.
- Sale Price of Similar Properties
Many websites provide tools to help you estimate the value of your home. These tools, called an automated valuation model or AMV, can be found on real estate websites such as Zillow. While these tools are not always completely accurate, they do try to use as much data as possible to determine the value of your home.
These estimation tools use public record data such as recent tax assessments, property deeds, and transfer records. They also look at recent sales of comparable homes in your area to help factor in your current local market.
However, these tools do have their downsides. They are programmed to give you a value for any property, even those that do not have a lot of data to use as a model. The less data that is available about your home and the neighborhoods surrounding it, the less accurate the model’s prediction will be. Because of this, your valuation will usually be accompanied by a confidence score that estimates the accuracy of your valuation.
While these tools can be a useful starting point, you should always take their valuation with a grain of salt. Pair an online estimator with one of these other strategies to ensure that you find an accurate valuation before listing your home.
On the other end of the spectrum, you will find professional appraisers. This is the most expensive but also the most accurate way to determine the value of your home.
These real estate professionals will provide a current market valuation for your home based on three main categories:
Professional appraisers look at the sale records for other, similar properties and so can you. Look at the list prices for comparable homes in and around your neighborhood. When possible, compare the list price to the actual sale price to decide if your neighbor’s asking price was too high or too low.
While these tools can be a useful way to estimate your home’s value, nothing beats the advice of an experienced agent. Reach out to The Pagnotta Homes team to learn more about determining an asking price and listing your home for sale. Call Cindy today at 908.436.7947 or email to info(at)pagnottahomes(dotted)com.