What’s my Home Worth
How do we help you to determine what your home is worth?
There’s a lot that goes into making a determination of your home’s value. Here are just some of the steps we use to help you find the right price for your home.
We do an in home visit with no pre-determined value in mind. Yes, we usually have a general idea of what homes like yours may be worth but each home is unique and different. During our visit we take extensive notes and photos so that we have a clear and complete understanding of what your home has to offer and what features it has or, what features it lacks as compared to the rest of the market. It’s a great idea to have a list of upgrades and replacement items you have done in the past and the approximate cost to those items.
We access our MLS® system to organize and review all relevant sales of properties that best match your home and active listings that will be competing with you right now! We look for style (town home or single, 2 story or bungalow), size ( 3 bedroom, 4 bedroom 2 bathroom or 3 bathrooms), and upgrades such as hardwood floors, granite countertops, hot tub, swimming pool, finished basements etc.
We then check the condition of your home against the condition of other recent sales and active listings. How old is your roof compared to the other sold and active listings? Is your furnace near the end of its lifespan? What about the air conditioning? Is your flooring new or worn as compared to others? When was your home painted? Are your windows modern or do they need replacing? How does your location compare to others?
LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION! You have heard that one a thousand times! And for good reason. It is a very important feature that influences the value of real estate! Imagine you’re a buyer. Your agent takes you out to see two homes that match your needs. House #1 has a lovely park behind it and no rear neighbours; all on a quiet crescent. It’s within walking distance of schools and public transportation. Then imagine house #2. It has all the same features, is in the same condition but located on a main street that runs through the same neighbourhood and has a bus route. There’s a shopping mall behind it too. The kids have to take a 20 minute bus ride both ways every day in order to get to school. The nearest bus stop is a 15 minute walk. Which one of these homes do you think is worth more?? Which home would you want to buy? Would you pay more for house #1 than house #2?
Timing. Values can change many times throughout a year. Certainly some seasons are better for higher values than others. Not a lot of buyers are out there during the Holiday season! But in March, April, May and most of the warmer months, buyers are out looking.
Events. World events and local events can affect value. Elections, financial influences such as raises in interest rate, wars and weather can all affect the value of a home. Why? Because these factors and others, influence the way people feel and think. And that includes home buyers.
Once we collect and analyze all the information and determine what time of year you want or need to sell, we will then present the information to you, review all the details carefully and help you to analyze the data and determine the value of your home. Here is where our many years of selling real estate comes into focus. We’ll work with you to set a price that will get your home SOLD and not sit on the market for months which will frustrate you and lower the value of your home.
You may have notice a couple of thing we do take into account in our analysis of the value of your home and that is what you want or need your home to be worth. That is not a factor we take into account because it has no bearing on market value. All the other factors do!
So, if you REALLY what an accurate view of what your home may be worth, please click here and we’ll be happy to arrange an appointment for an in home visit. Or, give us call to discuss your real estate needs. Our home office number is 613-825-9710.
