What is the Value of My Home?

If you are planning on selling your home, I am sure you want to make sure you receive top dollar for your home and draw the most amount of potential buyer traffic to your front door. For years, this was your cherished home, you have built memories here, made repairs, celebrated holidays and birthdays and really love your home.

If you price your home too high, you may risk not attracting any potential buyers those critical first 30 days your home is on the market.  If you price your home too low, a buyer may think there is something wrong with your home and why are you trying to offload it for such a "cheap" price.

Here are a few tips to ensure you home's asking price is spot on for your neighborhood and the current real estate market:

1.)  Contact a local Realtor for a complementary CMA, which is a Comparative Market Analysis.  A CMA is a report prepared by a Realtor which compares what homes in your area are currently listed and competing with your home. The Realtor will also obtain data on comparable properties on the MLS (Multiple Listing Service) and may also compare it to properties that have already sold.

2.)  Visit your local county court house and check in with the Tax Assessor.  This will tell you what your home is currently valued at.  The tax assessor will most likely over estimate your home for tax purposes.  While you are at the court house, you can research how much similiar homes in your area were assessed for.  I would also see if I could find out how many homes recently sold in my area while I was at the local county court house, you may be only an office away from this information.

3.)  Use the Internet.  Use sites like Trulia and Zillow to see what homes are currently for sale in your area. On the www.zillow.com website, you simply select the Zillow Real Estate Market Reports and type in your zip code and you can see what homes are currently on the market in your zip code and other market values, it is a great feature. You need to see what homes similiar to yours are selling for.  I would also suggest you look at homes that are not selling and try to understand why.  Are there any similarities between these unsold homes and my home? If the answer if yes, you may need to do some work before you place your home on the market.

4.)  Drive By Homes in Your Neighborhood that Are For Sale.  Do these houses have great external curb appeal?  Do these yards have that "wow factor?" Does the front door really stand out and draw you in from the street?"  If your competition has made the extra effort preparing their home for sale, it is a good idea that you do also.

5.)  Go to Open Houses in your Neighborhood.  This is a great idea to see how your competition is preparing their homes for sale.  Internet pictures are very important but you really need to walk through an entire home to get a "feel" of the home.  Does the home make me "feel" relaxed or anxious? When selling a home it is very important to create at least one area of the home that is seen as a calm place to relax.  A home that does not have this will not sell.

You really need to take the above steps before you list your home for sale, this way you will have the correct listing price for your home. Remember, the price of your home and your online MLS pictures are two very important factors in selling your home. Good luck with your home sale.

-Kate

Kate is a certified home stager that servers the Rockland County, Orange County, Passaic County, and Bergen County Areas.  If you are planning on selling your home, we offer a home staging consultation which starts at only $199 and includes a written, personalized Action Plan. We also offer Digital Services to sell your home faster, we will stage your home with our accessories, re-take your digital pictures, adjust your pictures to ensure they will show correctly online, and then load them into our Virtual Show.  Our Virtual Shows are a Free Special to all our home staging clients.  We also are a semi-custom Window Coverings reseller (roman shades, draped, valances, cornices, bamboo shades, woven wood blinds, faux wood blinds, etc.).  Contact us for more information at 845-538-3623 or visit http://www.kateshomestaging.com