What is My Home Worth?

It is a lot more complicated than looking on Zillow and either screaming at the Zestimate or jumping up and down with joy!

Assessing your property’s value will be crucial to a fast and easy sale – something the East Valley Market Team specializes in. We understand that as a property owner you want the most money out of a sale but also don’t want to be waiting longer than your designated timeline.  Generally, owners want to sell as soon as possible or within a finite timespan, and a good realtor will advise you that an offer within 2 weeks of being listed is ideal.

Why?  Buyers’ realtors generally search the listings for new properties on the market.  Hence newer listings get the most traffic.  After about 2 weeks on the market, foot traffic to the property takes a marked nose dive and then can become ‘stale’.  That is why it is crucial to list the property at the best selling price right from the get-go.  Shooting for too high of a sale price at the beginning may end up producing a very long list time, even if the owner lowers the price at the 3-4 week point.

If the property is on the market too long (3-weeks+), both buyers’ agents and buyers tend to think “something  is wrong” with the property. They will start thinking:
– Why didn’t someone buy this house yet?
– Is the house over-priced?
– Would I not be getting a good deal by buying this house?
– What is wrong with the house? Is the roof falling part?

We always shoot for a solid partnership between property owner and realtor, which will yield the best possible sale price and time-on-market  

Do I have to worry about my house appraising for the sale price?
Yes! A common misconception is that “whatever the buyer wants to pay” that is the price the home will sell and be appraised at. As a seller’s agent, we would love for that to be the case. Unfortunately as a realtor, I have seen a house listed at a higher price than market value not appraise, leading to issues of the sale.

What does this mean?  Let’s take an example.  A property is worth $250,000 and the owner wants to list the house at $275,000.  A potential buyer agrees to put in a bid at $275,000 which the owner agrees to.  During escrow, the buyer’s bank will do an appraisal of the house which will likely come back at $250,000.  The bank will only issue a loan to the buyer for $250,000 or lower which means that the buyer has to provide the difference in cost of $25,000 ($275,000 – $250,000) to the bank in cash.  This is in addition to any cash down payment.  Some if not many buyers are unable to provide more cash than their down payment, hence leading to a sale falling through.

The value of your property will be assessed through what are called ‘comps’.  This is an in-depth analysis of recent sale prices of properties in your area that are similar in size/make up to yours.  This provides you an idea of what buyers are willing to pay for your property similar to yours.  Next we will look at any additions or up-grades that may factor in to the value of the property.  Beware that a seller may not be able to recuperate all costs associated with upgrades.  In the end, it will be up to the market of buyers what they are willing to pay for your property, no matter the final dollar amount of upgrades you have invested in to the property.

As your realtor, I will provide you a suggested list price and/or a range of list prices by factoring in three main items:

  • Market value/comps
  • Upgrades
  • Timeline to sell the property

Ultimately the list price will be yours to decide. However, I will be sure to be on hand to help provide you the right data to make that decision.  In the end it will be our combined goal to ensure a fast and easy sale of your property, while making sure you leave with the most amount of money in your pocket.

Contact me today to begin the selling process