The median U.S. home sales price has achieved triple-digit growth over the last 20 years. Clearly, the 2008 financial crisis, the 2020 COVID outbreak, or the recent inflation spikes have not been able to hold prices back from appreciating.
Of course, many factors could impact a property’s market value. Good upkeep, functional upgrades, and location-based advantages (say, being near schools and amenities) can increase demand for a house, therefore nudging its price up. However, macro factors like high mortgage rates, stagnant local economies, and a lack of new developments can cause home prices in your area to dip.
The fact is, a property’s value can fluctuate depending on various things. Therefore, when you are planning to sell your house, it’s important to get an accurate gauge of its worth so you can get ready to list it if the price looks good (or hold off if it doesn’t).
In this article, we discuss effective techniques you can use to figure out your property’s market value at any given time.
Let’s get started.
Reverse Search Your Address on Nuwber
Nuwber’s people search directory covers over 118 million U.S. addresses and contains various useful information for determining the price of a property.
It can also provide specific neighborhood info that may impact your property’s selling price. This could include the highest and lowest selling prices and the average age of nearby houses, your neighbors’ average household income, and any criminal activities they were associated with in the past.
And how can you access all this information? It’s quite simple, really. Just enter your address in the platform’s search bar, click Search, and let Nuwber work its magic!
Compare Similar Properties
Comps, short for comparable properties in real estate jargon, could help you get a more realistic idea about the current market rate of a property like yours. However, be warned, this will require some digging.
On the plus side, it’s something you can do on your own without relying on anyone else or incurring a cost.
Besides, online real estate marketplaces, such as Zillow and Realtor.com, can considerably cut down the legwork by letting you find listed properties similar to your own with a few clicks. Many of these sites have filters to make it easy to narrow down your search to the closest comps and current listings based on the city or locality, property type, square footage, year built, features, number of bedrooms, bathrooms, and parking spaces, and the like.
Try a Free Valuation Tool
Nowadays, many real estate listing sites and mortgage providers offer online home value estimators to help homeowners determine how much their properties might be worth.
These platforms typically use public data, former customers’ home sale/purchase information, and basic home characteristics to arrive at an estimate using proprietary formulas. Although the estimations they produce won’t be customized for your specific property, you can still expect to receive a close enough figure, which can serve as a good starting point.
Note that reviewing accuracy rates is crucial when selecting a valuation tool. Some may have error rates as low as 2% or below. However, it all depends on the availability of data as well.
Speak to a Local Real Estate Agent
An experienced local agent could get you what’s called a Comparative Market Analysis (or CMA).
These are developed using market data and sales histories of comparable properties. But they are not the same as what an online home estimator would generate. It’s because a CMA takes the form of a detailed report, not a simple value as you would find on a free online tool. Besides, it is produced by a real estate agent with years of expertise and local knowledge (which an algorithm likely won’t have yet).
And before coming up with a CMA, the agent collects property-related details from the homeowner and visits the house for a visual inspection. This enables them to ensure distinct features, characteristics, and other factors are considered for a more precise analysis.
Arrange a Home Appraisal
A formal home appraisal is much more comprehensive than a real estate agent’s comparable market analysis. The basic process is pretty much the same, which includes an in-person visit. However, an appraisal is lengthier and more exhaustive.
It takes into account in-depth property-related information and follows a formal assessment procedure. Plus, it’s carried out by a licensed appraiser, which makes the report unbiased (whereas the CMA might not be so objective since a real estate agent stands to gain from the sale of the property). As a result, the report created is accepted in formal dealings (like mortgages and lawsuits).
Having said that, unlike a CMA (which is free), an appraisal is going to cost you somewhere between $300 and $500, on average.
Check Out FHFA’s House Price Index
The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s House Price Index is widely used for measuring pricing trends.
Keep in mind that it’s not designed to generate property-specific estimations. It’s more of an indicator of how property prices in your area have fared over time.
The FHFA House Price Index uses a weighted, repeat-sales statistical technique to analyze single-family home price movements based on mortgage records sourced from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
And it doesn’t just evaluate recent data. The index consists of information collected since the mid-1970s and covers over 400 cities across all states to derive price changes at the ZIP code, county, metro, and state levels.
Key Takeaways
When you are thinking of selling your property, it’s important to figure out its market value to determine a fair listing price. Reverse searching your address on Nuwber, comparing similar houses on real estate marketplaces, using a free valuation tool, and checking out the FHFA House Price Index are all useful steps for getting an initial idea about how much your home might be worth.
For a more detailed estimation, it’s best to get a CMA from a local agent or hire an appraiser (if you don’t mind paying).
But what if the potential selling price is below your expectations? You can easily boost it with a few tactful upgrades and improvements. Be sure to consult a real estate agent for advice on this.
