How to Valuate Your House
If you’re seriously thinking about selling your house, you’ve probably wondered just how much your home is currently worth. But determining a figure can be challenging because a home’s value is largely subjective. Essentially, the “worth” of your house will vary from buyer to buyer based on what a person is willing to pay.
If you end up deciding to list your home and want to sell your house fast, you’ll need to list it at a price that will attract buyers. How do you find that price? Let’s take a look at a few different ways you can valuate your house.
Get a Property Valuation Online
Performing an online search for “how much is my house worth” will yield a list of dozens of home valuation tools, which you can use to estimate the value of your house. These tools, which are technically called automated valuation models, use public data like tax assessments, ownership deeds, and deed transfers to predict the current market value of your house.
But because online valuation tools are typically offered by real estate sites or mortgage lenders who use them for lead generation, they may not be very accurate. These tools are designed to return an estimated value for any property, regardless of how limited the property’s publicly available data is. In most cases, the estimated value you’ll get from an online calculator will be considerably different from the estimated value you’ll get from a real estate professional.
Request a Comparative Market Analysis
If you’re serious about selling your home, you can get a comparative market analysis (CMA) from a real estate agent. This analysis is typically free and will give you a more accurate estimate of your home’s value than an online valuation tool. However, a CMA won’t be quite as accurate as a professional appraisal, which you must pay for.
Keep in mind that if you get a free or low-cost comparative market analysis from a realtor, that realtor is likely hoping you’ll become their client. If you’re not ready to sell yet, It’s a good idea to do the realtor a courtesy and let them know from the get-go.
Pay for a Professional Appraisal
If you want the most accurate estimate of your home’s value, either because you’re ready to sell or looking to increase your property value, hire a professional appraiser. You’ll pay a few hundred dollars for this service, but you can rest assured you’ll receive a thoroughly researched and impartial value estimate as a result.
As the seller, you’re not required to get an appraisal to sell your house because the buyer will need to handle that if they’re applying for a mortgage. However, getting your home professionally appraised before you list it can benefit you if you don’t want to second-guess your pricing.
Look at the Value of Comparable Properties
Online tools, realtors, and professional appraisers all consider the recent sales value of comparable properties in your area when estimating the value of your home. It’s not the only factor they consider, but it does play a role in determining the fair market value of your property.
If you want a simple way to valuate your house, find at least three recently sold homes in your area that are comparable to yours. Comparable means they have similar square footage, condition, location, and features.
You can find such homes on real estate sites that feature MLS listings, where you can also see those properties’ recent sale prices. If you can’t find enough recent sales in your area, look at comparable homes that have recently been listed. Keep in mind that listing price isn’t necessarily an indicator of what the house will ultimately sell for. However, it can give you a fair estimate of where you might want to price your home.
Sell Your House Fast With We Buy Houses Colorado Springs
If you’d like to sell your house as quickly as possible while avoiding expensive realtor fees, get in touch with our team at We Buy Houses Colorado Springs! We buy houses for cash throughout Colorado Springs and the surrounding areas and can purchase your property regardless of its current condition. Our buying process is simple, straightforward, and remarkably streamlined, which means we can close on the sale in a matter of days if that’s what you need.
To get started, call our office at (719) 602-8814 to request a free, no-obligation cash offer for your house. Or feel free to contact us online to request an offer, and we’ll get in touch promptly with more information.