How much is my home worth?

Home value, or current market value, is the amount of money your house would very likely sell for if it went on the market today.

While the Property Report is an excellent way to have an idea of what your home may be worth, it is meant as a starting point and does not substitute a true comparable market analysis from your realty agent or a home appraisal.

Receiving a professional inspection or asking a Comparative Market Analysis from a realty agent is recommended. For extra details on your home’s current market value, consult a real estate agent.

An appraisal is usually required for a client to secure a mortgage. There is some value in obtaining an appraisal as a seller because it can give you a firm idea of what your house is worth and provide assurance to a potential buyer. However, since reviews usually cost a few hundred dollars, most homeowners only cover a professional appraisal if a refinance is called for.

Yes, home valuation can adjust in time for a variety of reasons. The hope is that your home will appreciate, meaning it will gain market price. But there is no failsafe way to foresee these shifts.

Developments in the market itself are a major contributing factor to fluctuation in home value. As demand goes up, prices typically go up, and vice versa.

Developments in the economy, business market, lending rates are things that influence home value and are well beyond your control. But there are some things you can do to help your home’s possibility of appreciation over time, like making strategic renovations and smart updates.

How to Determine Home Value and Why It Matters

A house is worth whatever an individual will pay for it. The long answer depends upon the market and whether you’re asking a lender, an agent, or a county tax assessor. Why take their word for it?

Knowing how to determine your home’s value with help from online tools and qualified professionals better prepares you to buy, sell, refinance, delve into your home’s equity or maybe even negotiate lower property taxes.

It can also provide a picture of your whole financial health.



What is a home’s value?

Home value has a relatively different meaning if you ask a tax assessor, appraiser, or homeowner. But in many cases, home value means the amount for which a house would very likely sell, otherwise referred to as the current market price.

Mortgage lenders, as well as buyers and sellers, typically rely upon professional property appraisers to compute the market value, but there are ways to determine home value on your own.



My Home’s Value Has Shot Up. Now What?

Economic uncertainty may be agitating the country right now, but that’s not stopping home sales. In some local areas, like the suburbs of New York City, bidding wars are back. According to the New York Times, in July, one home in Orange, N.J. had 97 showings and 24 offers.

That same month, $5.3 billion worth of residential realty sold in the suburban areas of Washington, D.C., according to the Washington Post, compared to $4.2 billion the year before, illustrating how much demand there is in certain areas of the country.

This demand has caused median home prices to increase. Prices in September are 13% greater than they were at the same time last year, the most significant increase since 2013, according to real estate listing agency Redfin.

“We are seeing really interesting trends emerge from COVID that are causing demand to change to an all-time high at the same time that the supply of availability is at an all-time low.” – David J. Wilk, assistant professor of finance and director of the Real Estate Program at Temple University’s Fox School of Business.

That means many homes, specifically those near to big cities, are immediately worth a lot more. For homeowners, it’s an envious position to be in: Their equity has bloomed. What should they do with it? Here are three possibilities.

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