Steps to Narrow Down What Your Home Is Worth
There are a number of reasons why you might want to know what your home is worth. Perhaps you're thinking of selling your home and are trying to decide on the right listing price. Or maybe you're going to take out a second mortgage and need to know the home's value beforehand. Whatever the reason for doing so, determining your home's worth is not always easy. Here are some steps that can help you arrive at a relatively accurate number.
Search comparable homes in your area.
Visit a few different real estate listing sites, and look at ads for homes in your immediate area. Focus on homes that are most similar to yours. Look at ones with the same number of bedrooms, roughly similar square footage, comparable updates, and so forth. Make a list of these homes and what they are selling for. Then, average their sales prices. This should be a good starting point as to the value of your home.
For example, if comparable homes recently sold for $300,000, $320,000, and $290,000, then the average of these prices is $303,333. That may not be exactly what your home is worth, but it should be pretty close.
Have a real estate agent take a look.
Contact a real estate agent in your area, and have them come take a look at your home. Even if you are not planning on selling immediately, an agent should be happy to give you a general idea of what your home is worth so you can reference that number in the future when you do decide to sell. Real estate agents consider comparable homes, as described above, but they'll also walk through your home, get to know it, and consider aspects such as your school district, nearby amenities, and neighborhood. The value given to you by a real estate agent is generally pretty reliable.
Hire an appraiser.
If you want the most precise number possible, then it may be worth hiring an appraiser. These professionals use methods similar to real estate agents when determining how much a home is worth. However, since appraising homes is all they do, they can be a little more accurate. If your home is hard to put a price tag on because it is unique to the neighborhood, has been damaged in a fire, or stands out in some other way, then hiring an appraiser may be the best way to get an accurate price.
Stop wondering what your home is worth, and find out what it's worth. Whether you run comps yourself, call an agent, or hire an appraiser, the right price is out there. Contact a company like Redwood City CA Real Estate to get started.