Knowing the value of your home is important for many reasons, and it doesn’t matter whether you plan to sell any time soon. For example, it’s useful to have an accurate figure in mind for insurance purposes, as well as for things like inheritance and taxation.
So how can you work out how much your property is worth, and what are the main advantages to doing thorough research on this subject?
Ask an experienced local real estate agent
The best way to get an accurate valuation of your home is to contact a realtor who has experience and knowledge of the market in your area.
You can easily find reputable agents via sites like Homeandmoney.com, and the good news is that good realtors will be more than happy to come out to your property and cast their expert eye over it to provide precise price expectations even if you are not currently thinking about selling.
This is because agents like to build relationships with potential clients in their stomping grounds, and offering valuations is one way of achieving this. If you like the realtor, you are more likely to contact them when the time to sell does eventually arrive.
Check listings for comparable properties nearby
Homeowners have never made it easier when it comes to researching property values in their town or city, as listings sites like Zillow can give you an instant overview of how much comparable homes are worth, and how this might apply to your own abode.
As well as looking at listings for houses of an equivalent size and in the same neighborhood as yours which are on the market right now, some services will even provide auto-generated valuations for your specific property.
These will be less accurate than a valuation from an actual agent, because of course there are a whole host of variables to consider.
Even so, doing a little research like this will quickly give you an idea of what you could expect to sell your home for if you listed it today.
It’s all about setting realistic expectations, rather than giving you pie-in-the-sky ideas of your home’s value.
And of course, at the other end of the spectrum, if you didn’t realize just how much the price of your property had increased since you bought it, research like this will ensure that you aren’t massively undervaluing it if you are thinking of selling.
Consider the condition
Even if your home is in a suitable location and there is plenty of market activity around it, you may struggle to achieve the asking price if it is in a bad state of repair, or if there are other quirks to its design and layout that might put off buyers.
Homes which are a little worse for wear from a maintenance perspective will always sell for under the market value compared with properties that have been looked after and kept up to date from an interior design perspective.
Of course, spending money to spruce up your home is not always the best option if you are looking to sell. Unless the work you do will add significantly more value to the property than it costs to complete, then it is better to leave this to the new owner.
Last thoughts
Today, homeowners can find out their home’s value with varying degrees of precision in a short timeframe, so there’s no excuse for overlooking this opportunity.
Checking in on your home’s value annually is better than being in the dark about it and potentially being caught out as a result.