What’s my Home Worth?

Home valuation or appraisal is the process of estimating a property’s value. This can be done on your own or through the expertise of authorized professionals, i.e., realtors and real estate appraisers. 

It is important to know the value of one’s home to know how much you can get from it in an open market. If you’re applying for a loan, e.g., a mortgage, keeping a record of the value of your home is essential. The more equity you have, the better loan terms you will get qualified for. 

Determining Home Value Like a Pro

Though home valuation is recommended to be done by professionals, it’s still something that a homeowner could do on their own. Here are some good methods that you can use, singularly or combined.

• Use a home value calculator

The world wide web offers dozens of free home value calculators to give you an instant estimate of how much your home is worth now and/or down the road. In just a few clicks, you will now be provided with a close estimate of your home value and brief analysis of the state of your home in the market.

• Refer to comparable properties

Another free method of appraising your home value is using comparable properties. Comparable properties or “comps” are similar real estate properties used as a basis for determining the home value estimate of the subject property. 

A good way to start estimating the value of your home is to find a property with similar stats as your home in the same general area. 

In using this method, factors to compare are your property’s and comps’ location, overall condition, property age, number of rooms, and lot size.  

This is not as precise as using a home value calculator but it does give you a quick yet good judgment of how much your home is worth. 

Home Valuation with a Realtor

If you need to sell your property, you might as well get in touch with a realtor to establish appropriate pricing. Their expertise and exposure to the real estate market will most definitely help you determine a more accurate estimate of your home’s current market value. 

Realtors have access to a Multiple Listing Service or MLS - a database established and monitored by cooperating real estate agents and brokers to share data on properties currently for sale. Access to MLS is exclusive to realtors and never to homebuyers and/or home sellers. This privilege gives realtors an easier and quicker way to compare a subject property to almost all the comps applicable.  

Realtors can do on-site inspections of properties in detail. Their knowledge of homes and its features helps them determine which factors could affect the value of your home. 

Home Valuation with an Appraiser 

As opposed to a real estate agent, an appraiser is an independent third party whose primary job is to assess the monetary value of a property. 

Primarily, appraisers assess the livability of a property. They check the overall condition of the home which includes the number of bedrooms, safety hazards, functionality of the property’s system, home improvements, and the comps around the area of the property.

The appraiser’s research always comes in a formal report which is usually sent to the mortgage company involved in the transaction.