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What Do You Think My House Is Worth?
Just off the top of your head, Ms. Realtor what do you tell me what my house is worth? This is a question that so many people ask. Here is the answer. How can I know what a house is worth off the top of my head? An asset that is worth several hundreds of thousands of dollars or more can just be evaluated in an instant?
The fact that an appraiser comes out and measures your house takes photos inside and out. Then often a lengthy evaluation report of data is completed and a narrative study about the market. The appraiser uses the subject property and interprets data with comparable sales, upgrades and improvements. Other factors can be deferred maintenance and neighborhood factors. If an appraiser is doing 6 appraisals a week, then an appraisal can take 8 hours to complete.
Over improvement in a home can also be a negative factor. A seller looks at how much money they have invested. The problem is this if in an area the highest sale is $ 499,000. The 2500 square footage is the highest and the subject is larger with many upgrades. Then the owner feels the extra square footage should be priced at the overall square foot price.
The upgrades and improvements should conform to the area. The extra footage is not generally calculated that way. The extra footage may be about $75 per foot; this is what I have seen in the last 3 appraisals. This $75 is an estimate only as it could be lower or higher. If the most expensive property in an area is 3000 square foot and the subject is 4000 square foot that extra 1000 feet may be priced lower than the 3000 per square foot price example.
The idea here is to be concerned of anyone tells you they can give you an instant evaluation value. Some online services give an instant analysis however that evaluation is often off by quite a bit. Always ask to see the actual evaluation worksheets. Just off the top of your head, what do you think my house is worth? Ok, I can’t give you an accurate professional answer.
If you would like a professional opinion of value please call Weintraub & Wallace Realtors with RE/MAX Gold at 916-233-6759.
- – JaCi Wallace
What is the Fair Market Value of Homes?
Home sellers in Sacramento often ask me how much is my home worth when that’s not really what they want to know. They want to know how much will their home sell for, and that could be two very different numbers. On the other hand, they might want to know if they can do a short sale, in which case the answer is always, without fail: the price will be market value, based on comparable sales, providing the seller qualifies.
It’s not the sellers’ fault. Sacramento real estate can be a big confusing can o’ worms. I imagine sellers hear all kinds of crap from neighbors, coworkers, relatives and others whom, even though they might have actually sold a home or two, haven’t worked with an agent who works the way the one in front of you does.
People think it’s OK to hit up an agent for a sales price. Why do they think it? Because real estate agents have encouraged them to behave in that manner. Why else, we think, would anybody ever want to talk to us unless it’s to find out how much their home is worth — its market value? We’ll give them a free Comparative Market Analysis. Free, because it’s not worth anything.
Before I was licensed, I dismissed agents from the possibility of listing my home because they lowballed me on market value. At least that’s what I thought. Because I didn’t really understand how market value is determined. You can’t just give an agent your address and expect that person to name an accurate number. Maybe a range. Not a precise sales price.
I wouldn’t even give my next-door neighbor a sales price without completing an in-depth analysis of his features and studying the past 3 months of sales as they pertain to his home, and I live next door to him. I also sell hundreds of homes. I should know, right? Because I am a Sacramento real estate agent, I keep pretty close tabs on what my own home is worth, but I couldn’t give you an exact number on my house — even if you stuck burning toothpicks under my fingernails and sang horrible 1980’s songs out loud — without an analysis.
Agents who do might short change. I’m not one of those.
