Once you decide to list your home for sale, there are many steps that need to be taken and things to consider before you finally sign the closing papers. It can become very overwhelming and frustrating, especially when you need to complete the process quickly. One of the most important things to know about your property before you can even think about listing it on the market is your home value. In this guide, we will help you answer the question, “how much is my house worth?”
With this information about your home value at the opening stages of the home selling process, you will know how much to reasonably list your house for and expect to receive from home buyers. To make sure you have the right information, it is best to rely on experts in the real estate industry such as ours at Your Home Sold Guaranteed Realty - Barb Has the Buyers Team. We’ll help you understand your house worth and know how the process works. The following guide is designed to help you with the entire home selling process, including the benefit of knowing your home value.
Key Takeaways
- Understand the importance of home values in Colorado Springs
- Learn how to incorporate the home value into your asking price
- Get all of your home value questions answered
What Is a Home’s Value?
To begin, let’s start by determining what exactly a home value in Colorado Springs is and how it factors into your home selling process. This information will be valuable as you read through the rest of this guide.
Basically, your home worth is the dollar amount that your house and property are worth. There are several important factors that contribute to the determination of this number, and some of these include:
- Size of the home and property
- Layout and design of the house
- Condition of the interior and exterior
- Age of the home
- Features and amenities
- Upgrades and renovations
- Comparable home sales in the neighborhood within the last 6 months
When a real estate professional incorporates these factors into your home value, you can rest assured that you have the most accurate estimation of your house worth given the current market.
How Do I Determine What My House Is Worth?
Now that you understand what it means to know your home value, we can move on to the ways in which it is determined. There are several different methods to estimating home value, and each method has its distinct advantages and disadvantages. The first way is to examine the current, local real estate market. This will help you situation your home based on comparable houses in the area. It is an educated estimate and should not be your only method to determine home value.
The next way is to utilize the many free online valuation tools and websites that are available to you including the Zillow Zestimate. You can find lots of free home value estimator tools, and they can give you a more specific (but still estimated) value for your home. Many of those factors listed above are incorporated into the estimate as long as there is sufficient public and privately submitted data. However, these tools are still not as accurate as some other methods.
Another great option is to hire a professional appraiser who will complete a thorough appraisal of the house and property. This is a fantastic method because you will be able to get the most accurate home value in Colorado Springs, but you should be aware of the cost. It can be a bit expensive, and, most of the time, a home buyer will need to have an appraisal done anyway. So, you may be opting for a redundancy.
What Should I Know About Local Market Conditions?
When it comes to the local real estate market, there are certain things you need to know in order to figure out your home value. Begin by getting familiar with the market conditions in your area and examining recent home sales data so that you have a solid comparison for your house and property. It is important that you are comparing your home to others that are actually comparable in order to get a decent estimate and reasonable asking price.
Additionally, you should understand the concept of supply and demand in the local real estate market. This principle can assist you in figuring out whether or not the market is in your favor and if it is the most appropriate time for you to sell. If it is a seller’s market, then you should certainly consider selling. If not, you should evaluate your situation and see if you can wait until the market changes.
Are Online Valuation Tools and Websites Accurate?
As far as online valuation tools are concerned, you will need to evaluate each one individually and thoroughly. In general, these tools are pretty simple to use and can be very convenient for home sellers who are not familiar with the real estate market. The accuracy of these tools relies on publicly available or user-submitted data. For example, the Zillow Zestimate is very easy to use, known for its accuracy, and highly dependent upon the information submitted and available.
To use these tools, all you need to do is to input the address of your home and, perhaps, answer a few questions about the house. Once completed, the system will do the rest, and you will have the resulting valuation in hand very quickly.
How Accurate is Zillow Home Value?
Most home sellers want to know if these online valuation tools like Zillow’s tool is accurate and useful for their needs. If you are hoping to get an accurate home value using Zillow, you should be aware of their error rate.
Zillow’s program uses data that has been collected and submitted for the house, so there will be a clear error rate. According to Zillow, the “median error rate for on-market homes nationwide is 3.2%,” depending on the availability of data in a specific location. The error rate increases for off-market homes (7.52%), but this is because the availability of information is dramatically reduced for these types of homes. Here are the top 5 reasons why a Zillow estimate may be inaccurate.
Which Home Valuation is Most Accurate?
As we have said, you need to carefully consider each online home valuation tool that you use. Accuracy tends to be an issue even though usability for home sellers like you is very high. It is important to know that only working with a real estate expert will give you the most accurate data and home value that you can use to determine your asking price.
The publicly available or user-submitted data is the only type of data that will be considered by these online tools, so it is important to remember that the home value, as determined by these tools, will be based on the availability of that information. It can influence the value to increase or decrease, so it is best to consult with a professional before taking any further steps with value or listing price in the home selling process.
Do I Need to Hire a Professional Appraiser?
Generally, no. You should not have to hire a professional appraiser because home buyers will usually be the ones who have to get an appraisal done, as required by a lender. Lenders need to make sure that the loan amount is not higher than the actual amount that the house is worth before they approve the loan. However, a professional appraiser will be the one to give you a 100% accurate report of your home value in Colorado Springs.
When you have hired the professional, he or she will come to your home and get the required information to make their report. They will use the most essential factors and plenty of time to make sure their estimate is accurate.
Remember, these reports are not free and may actually be fairly expensive. Be sure you have weighed the cost-benefit ratio into your home selling budget before you hire the appraiser. With the appraisal in hand, you can show it to potential home buyers and offer them assurance that the asking price is fair and reasonable.
Is Fair Market Value the Same as an Appraisal?
No, fair market value and appraisal value are not interchangeable terms. Essentially, the appraised value is the amount which the house is actually worth, given all of the contributing factors that determine the home value. Fair market value is the amount of money that a home buyer is willing to pay for the house in the given Colorado Springs real estate market. This number can easily change, depending on the market conditions and other external factors that may not actually affect a particular home’s inherent value.
How Much Are Homes Appraising for in My Area?
The current average selling price for homes in the Colorado Springs area, according to Redfin, is $463,000, which is a decrease of 1.5% since last year at this time. The market is considered very competitive, so home sellers can expect multiple offers, and very hot houses can expect to get 2% above asking price. Those homes can go from “For Sale” to pending within 6 days, and even average homes will only take about 23 days. 36.2% of homes will actually sell above listing price. It is most certainly a seller’s market.
Should I Hire a Real Estate Agent?
When it comes to any aspect of the home selling process, including getting an accurate home value in Colorado Springs, it is always wise to hire a realtor. They have the experience, skills, and knowledge of the local real estate market to get your home sold fast and for top dollar. Additionally, they can offer you the information, resources, and tools you need to achieve your goals. At Your Home Sold Guaranteed Realty - Barb Has the Buyers Team, our team is more than happy to provide you all of this and more!
We know how important it is to have accurate home value information and the necessary knowledge to sell your Colorado Springs home quickly. This includes comparable homes in the area, sales numbers, and real estate market trends, and this is why we want to give you access to all of our resources. We are also happy to speak with you and answer your questions and address your concerns so that you have the easiest and least stressful experience.
If you decide to interview realtors (an excellent idea before hiring one), be sure you ask them what factors they include in the valuation, how long it will take to determine the value, and how close to the asking price you can get using the home valuation estimate. Check out, How to choose the best realtor in Colorado Springs for more guidance.
How Can I Improve My Home Value?
Once a home value has been determined, it can be difficult to improve it, especially if it is high already. It requires you to create significant change in the home that will increase the value. This can be accomplished by increasing square footage through an addition or finishing a previously unfinished area of the house such as the basement or attic.
Maintenance is also a critical part of keeping your home value in Colorado Springs high because curb appeal means a lot to home worth. If regular maintenance and upkeep are not completed, you can quickly lose home value. Be sure you are also staying informed about the local real estate market trends so that you know how much others have been selling their homes for in the area. You will find lots of information online and on real estate forums that can be used to figure out the ideal ways to increase your home value in Colorado Springs.
Can a Realtor in Colorado Springs Find My Home Value?
Throughout the home selling process, a realtor is always helpful. Your realtor can make sure you know your options and can achieve your real estate goals in Colorado Springs. Our team at Your Home Sold Guaranteed Realty - Barb Has the Buyers Team will use our skills, experience, and knowledge of the local market to ensure you sell your home quickly and for top dollar. Our team also uses the strongest marketing strategies so that you can rest assured that your home sells as fast as possible.
When you are ready to put your home on the market and begin your home selling journey, give our team a call at 719-301-1802 or fill out the form on this page with the requested information to get a detailed response from our realtors. We will be happy to answer any questions and address all of your concerns to make sure you are comfortable and confident in your decisions throughout the process.
We look forward to hearing from you and helping you begin your real estate journey!
Frequently Asked Questions About Home Value
To determine your home’s sale price, start by researching recent sales of comparable properties in your neighborhood. Websites like Zillow and Redfin provide estimates and sales histories can give you a rough idea of market trends if you’re just starting out. Additionally, consider hiring a local Colorado Springs realtor for a comparative market analysis (CMA) to get a more accurate assessment based on the latest data and local expertise.
To determine if a property is worth buying in Colorado Springs, calculate the potential return on investment. Compare the purchase price to expected costs like repairs, taxes, and insurance. Ensure that the cost of maintaining and owning the home doesn’t exceed your income.
Zillow estimates can be higher or lower than professional appraisals in Colorado Springs, as they rely on public data and algorithms rather than in-person inspections. Professional appraisers visit your home in person and take into account various factors when determining their valuations.
To find comparable properties (comps) in Colorado Springs, start by searching recent sales of similar homes in your neighborhood on real estate websites like Realtor.com or Redfin. Look for properties with similar square footage, bedrooms, bathrooms, and features that have sold within the last 3 to 6 months. For more accurate comps, it’s best to work with a local realtor who has access to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and in-depth knowledge of the Colorado Springs market.
Assessed value is the value assigned to your property by the El Paso County Assessor’s Office for tax purposes. It’s typically lower than market value. Market value is the estimated amount your home would sell for in the current real estate market. In Colorado Springs, the assessed value is generally about 7.15% of the market value for residential properties, though this percentage can vary.
An appraisal is a professional estimate of a property’s market value, conducted by a licensed appraiser. For homes in Colorado Springs, appraisers consider factors like recent sales of similar properties, the home’s condition, size, location, and current market trends. Appraisals are typically required by lenders when purchasing or refinancing a home, and they provide a more accurate valuation than online estimates.
Zillow estimates for Colorado Springs homes can be higher or lower than actual market value, with accuracy varying significantly. According to Zillow, their median error rate for on-market homes in Colorado Springs is about 2.4%, but individual estimates can be off by much more. Local real estate professionals often recommend using Zestimates as a starting point, but not relying on them exclusively for accurate home valuation in the Colorado Springs market.
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