If you’re a homeowner, you might have a general idea of what your home is worth. You know what you paid for it, know how much money you’ve spent on improvements, and probably know what homes in your neighborhood are selling for.
The truth is, however, that what you paid for the home and how much you’ve sunk into it don’t have any real bearing on its real value now. A home’s market value is what a buyer is willing to pay for, and the current market determines that.
Why is it sometimes important to have better than a ballpark figure for your home’s value? If you’re getting ready to sell, refinance, or borrow against your equity, you need to know it. Buyers and lenders might have varying opinions of your home’s value, so it’s best to have a firm grasp on it.
If you want to know what your home is worth, here’s how to find out.
Real estate websites
Large companies with extensive websites have become all the rage over the past decade or so, and quite a few of them can give you a ballpark figure when it comes to the value of your home. But you already have a ballpark figure.
Home sales websites can’t be 100-percent accurate because they rely on computers that scan public records and apply algorithms to the information. A computer can’t tell if you have an upscale kitchen or a finished basement or anything else that’s not on a tax record.
Real estate sites also don’t always use truly comparable homes to price yours. For example, a home that’s a mile away from yours might sound comparable, but if you live in a desirable sub-division or a neighborhood with desirable amenities, or it is of better build quality, your home might be worth more. A website cannot determine that scenario and can’t tell the difference.
Look up comparable sales yourself
You can use real estate sites to look for comparable sales yourself, as some will show recent sales. You can limit your search to homes just in your immediate neighborhood. Unlike an algorithm, you know what homes are truly comparable to yours.
If you know a home’s exact address, you can usually also look up recent sales on your county auditor’s website. These are public records, exactly what the websites’ computers are scouring for their information.
The problem with this approach is that if a home lacks features your home has or has some that yours lacks, you don’t have the expertise to add or subtract value accordingly. A home that’s almost exactly like yours but 100 square feet larger is probably worth more than yours. But how much?
Get an appraisal
An appraisal is the way to get the most accurate, professional opinion of the value of your home. Unlike you, a licensed appraiser will know how much value to add or subtract based on slight differences of otherwise comparable homes. And unlike websites, they will know which recent home sales are truly comparable.
The problem with the appraiser route is that it’s somewhat expensive. An appraisal will usually cost between $300 or $400 but can be more in high-volume areas with a shortage of appraisers.
Request a comparative market analysis
A comparative market analysis (CMA) is a tool used by real estate agents to help clients determine the value of their homes. A CMA is prepared similarly to a formal appraisal, using comparable properties recently sold. The reports usually are pretty accurate when it comes to comparing homes of similar age, location, and size. Most listing agents will provide a CMA for free if they know you’ll consider them when hiring a real estate agent to sell your home.
Get a FREE NO OBLIGATION Full Home Valuation from Sell4Free
The best way to get an accurate estimate of what your home may be worth on the market today is to request a Free CMA from a REALTOR®. Sell4Free offers a FREE NO OBLIGATION Home Valuation where you can enter the details about your home and within 24 hours or less they will send you a full Comparable Market Report that will include the following information and a recommended price range based on this data of what your home should be listed at:
- Comparative Properties that have sold and closed within the last 6-12 months
- Comparative Active listings – properties currently for sale
- Comparative Pending sales – listings that have sold but not yet closed
- Comparative Expired listings – properties that did not sell during the listing period
- A detailed report on your Home and the estimate of its value based on today’s market
When filling out the form be sure to include information on any remodeling or updates you have performed as this is important for the real estate agent to know in order to give you the most accurate price for your home!
The bottom line
If you’re going to sell or borrow against your home anytime soon, it’s important to know the best estimate of its value. Some ways of arriving at that value are more accurate than others but the best way to find out an accurate number is to go through a REALTOR®.
Selling your Home in Jasper Indiana – Why List with Sell4Free®
Sell4Free® is here for you! Before we list your house on the MLS, our agent will so a walk though of your home inside and out and give you suggestions on ways you can stage your home and increase its selling value. We also offer our sellers a FREE 3D Matterport Tour when you list with us! Our Marketing plan includes more than the average Dubois County Real Estate company AND we offer even more incentives to Sellers who also BUY with us. Sell4Free® offers all of our clients our “Buy From Me, Sell For Free”® program. That is the Sell4Free® advantage! Call us today to find out more!
Are You Thinking of Buying a Home in Dubois County?
Use our site to search homes for sale in Jasper, Dubois, Spencer, Martin and Davis counties and all of our surrounding areas. Unlike the “big name” sites out there, at Sell 4 Free Welsh Realty our site is directly connected to our local MLS and is updated with new homes every hour. By signing up for New Listing alerts you can stay on top of the newest homes for sale and get price change alerts so you can stay ahead of other buyers and beat them to the hottest deals!
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Newest Homes for Sale in Dubois County
View the newest homes listed in Dubois County in the last 10 days:
$175,000
Active
8297 N PORTERSVILLE Road Jasper, Indiana
3 Beds 1 Baths 1,392 SqFt 0.510 Acres
Listing courtesy of Connie Thewes from HOFFMAN & MULLEN REALTY INC.
$219,000
Active
1392 Thornhill Drive Jasper, Indiana
3 Beds 2 Baths 1,336 SqFt 0.410 Acres
Listing courtesy of Connie Thewes from HOFFMAN & MULLEN REALTY INC.
$159,000
Active
814 N Jackson Street Huntingburg, Indiana
4 Beds 1 Baths 1,865 SqFt 0.300 Acres
Listing courtesy of Jacob Winkler from Key Associates Signature Realty.