How to Use Your Estimated Home Value to Deduce Your Home’s Price

In a previous article, we explored how to evaluate your home’s value using popular websites. Now, we are going to offer 4 tips on how to utilize that data to best analyze the price of your home.

1. Evaluate Homes Near You That Have Sold Recently

Now that you’ve used the tools available online to get a rough estimate for your home’s value, see how nearby homes have matched up. You can find most of this information in the same way as we suggest here. In addition to finding the estimated values for these homes, you can also see their sale history and price trends.

If there is a large difference between the selling point of a nearby home and your home’s estimated value – find out why. Is the home in better/worse condition? Is the location slightly different? Have they done new renovations (or not enough)? Estimated values are just that – estimations. Evaluating the actual price points for similar homes helps you to see what that value translates to in real life.

2. Visit Open Houses Near You

Another great way to gauge your asking price is to walk in the shoes of a buyer. Go to open houses near you. Compare your homes in every way possible, and then compare their asking price to your estimated value. If possible, follow up with the home sale to see what it ends up selling for. 

3. Monitor the Market

There are times when it is good to sell, and times when it is good to buy. At the moment, the market is hot for sellers and difficult for buyers. This has made it easy for sellers to up their prices and sell to the highest bidder. In seasons such as this, you may be able to get away with ticking up the cost of your home. Someone will probably bite, because the buyers are desperate.

In contrast, however, if it’s a buyers market, you may want to be more conservative when it comes to pricing your home. When inventory is plentiful and buyers are few, you have less wiggle room in your pricing.

4. Use All Data Together, and Consult an Agent

If you’ve done all this work, you have a lot of data to consider. Multiple estimated values for your home, research on homes in your area, and market research. Carefully put these numbers together and try to find a nice middle ground. Don’t go with an outlier number  – these are usually unreliable. However, you are more likely to find a safe bet as a good home value and a reasonable asking price with the median or average of your findings. If you are confused, find a good agent to help you sort through all the options!

Selling a home isn’t easy – but it is doable. Do the hard work and find out exactly how much your home is worth so you can confidently put it on the market and get into your new home quickly.

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