Home values are changing rapidly in Sterling. There might be a big difference in what your house was worth 6 months ago compared to today.
Finding the Value of a property is what Realtors® specialize in. At many appointments I hear things like “I looked up my Zestimate® on Zillow® so I know what my house is worth” or “My friend has a similar house in a different town so mine is probably worth the same as her house”. First of all, you should never rely on the Zestimate®. Zillow® has an algorithm that factors in many aspects of the house and area but it will never take the place of having a local expert give you a Market Analysis for the value of your home. Every house has unique features that factor into pricing the house for sale. Every town is different and even neighborhoods within the same town can change the house value. Having a full time local Real Estate Agent come into the house to see all the features, layout and upgrades is the most accurate way of determining the value.
In order to price a home correctly, agents look at what the most similar properties have sold for within the past few months. The market changes constantly so what happened in your neighborhood a few years ago can be very different than what is happening right now. Real Estate Agents look at the most recent sales, the most similar style, living area, number of bedrooms, bathroom, finished basements, garages and more. Then we adjust mathematically to calculate how your home differs in comparison to the homes that have recently sold.
Updates, pools, views and unique features all get calculated to come up with the value of your home in today’s market. If you decide to sell in the future, your Realtor® should do the whole process over again to start with more recent sales than when your last market analysis was done to make sure your value is current with the market.
Websites and apps can be fun to play with but when looking for an accurate value when selling your most valuable asset, call a full time local expert. We will help you get the correct price for your home whenever you decide to sell.
Have a Real Estate Question?
Feel free to email me any of your questions and I would be happy to answer them next month in this column or directly to you. Email me at kpackardrealtor@gmail.com