Steps to Determine What Your Home is Worth

If you're planning to sell your home, you'll need to know what it's worth so you can price it accordingly. We all may tend to overvalue our houses. With so many memories filling these spaces, it's only natural that we see the property through rose-colored glasses. Unfortunately, one mistake that many sellers make is incorrectly pricing their home. These errors often lead to a lack of interested buyers, a longer than necessary listing on the market, and sometimes receiving a lower offer than the home is worth.

How do you price your property correctly when selling your home? Here are a few steps to determine what your home is worth.

1. Investigate Recent Sales in Your Area
   If you're considering selling your home, one of your first steps is to determine its value. Start by investigating recent sales in your area. You should see many sale amounts in a similar price range. This step is an excellent way to gauge how much your home may be worth initially. Keep in mind, though, that the unique features of each house may make their valuation higher or lower than yours, especially if they're not considered comps.
2. Use Online Resources
   Another great step is to visit free online resources that provide home value estimates. Selling your home is not a decision you'll make overnight. It's a good idea to periodically use these online tools to gain a picture of your home's worth every few months. Even if the amount listed isn't 100% accurate, it still gives you a solid idea of how your home is worth and if that amount is increasing or decreasing over time.
3. Conduct Your Own Comp Analysis
   If you're interested in doing an in-depth investigation of your home's value, conduct your own comparative analysis. After researching similar sales in your area, you can complete a thorough examination by comparing your home to others that have recently sold. You'll use factors like recent upgrades, renovations, and unique features of your home to gauge potentially boosts in your home's value. For instance, if your home and the comp home both have the same bed/bath ratios and square-footage, but yours has a pool, you can assume that this feature will increase your value.
4. Schedule an Appraisal
   You don't need to be actively selling your home to schedule an appraisal. It's a great idea to get your property appraised before listing the house so that you can get an accurate estimate of its value. An appraisal will also identify any opportunity areas where you could increase its value through repairs or renovations. 
5. Contact a REALTOR®
   If there's one person who will help you get the most accurate estimate on your home's value, it's a REALTOR®. Even if you haven't to sell your home, you can still speak with a REALTOR® about its worth. These professionals know the market's current status and will often give you a free estimate of your home's value with no strings attached.

Selling your home can easily be a lucrative decision; however, you can potentially lose money by pricing it incorrectly. Before listing your home, be sure to complete these steps to ensure you're listing your home on the market for a reasonable price.

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