Determining Your Home's Value

Whether you are buying, selling or refinancing, you want to know what your home will appraise for by the lender. This is important because if a home is sold for more than it'll appraise for, the buyer will have to make up the difference or the seller will have to lower the price to close the deal, and in the case of a refinance, the appraised value determines your interest rate.

Most banks rely upon licensed appraisers to determine your homes value, though some will employ an Automated Valuation Method (AVM). Appraisers select recently closed comparables in close proximity to your home and make judgment calls based on location differences, views, condition, etc. to arrive at an appraised value, whereas an AVM uses a statistical approach to arrive at an estimated value. 

Here are some free online AVM services (Yahoo, Zillow, Cyberhomes) I use to get an estimate of value are. AVMs are not as accurate, at an actual appraisal, their results can be as wide as 10% from what the home will actually sell for. AVM's are used by banks primarily for stand alone 2nd loans and small 1st loan amounts, however for most 1st mortgages banks will require a full appraisal.

Appraisal Value vs. Realtor's Opinion of Value
Appraisers value property based on historic data. Realtors value property based on current trends. If prices are rising a Realtor will encourage you to price higher, if there flat we'll encourage you to price according to the last sale, and if prices are dropping, we'll ask you to be aggressive there as well. If you've decided to sell, the biggest mistake you can make is pricing a based on what you want vs. what will make it sell. Call me if you'd like a Realtor's opinion on the value of your home. That is what your home would most likely sell for in this market.

I see too many clients select an agent who'll tell them it'll sell for a price higher than the market trend, simply because the agent has agreed to sell it for the price the client has in mind. This can only end with future price reductions and a longer selling time. Instead, select an agent that presents the data to show what a home like yours is currently selling for and what he it can realistically sell  thinks it'll sell for in 30 days. You'll save money, time and stress by selling your home faster.