You’ll need to know the true value of your selling house in San Bernardino if you’re selling (or refinancing, or for tax purposes). When homeowners price their home at what they believe it is worth, they almost never get it right – the result is frequently an overpriced home. Fair market value, appraised value, and assessed value are the three main methods for determining value, but for sellers (and buyers), fair market value is the only one that matters. It’s what people are actually willing to pay for a home like yours in your area. To help you out, then, we offer these 5 key tips to determine the true value of your selling house in San Bernardino.
1. Use Valuation Tools Online
Using one or more of the online valuation tools to evaluate the value of your selling house in San Bernardino is an excellent place to start. “In fact, an online estimator, often known as an automated valuation model, was employed by 22% of U.S. homeowners who evaluated their home’s value” (AVM).
These tools, which are usually supplied by lenders or real estate websites, rely on “public information such as property transfers, titles of ownership, and tax assessments, as well as some mathematical modeling.” They then “attempt to anticipate the worth of your home [by considering] current sales and listing prices in the neighborhood.”
You should be warned, however, that these (generally free) programs vary in accuracy, and some are more precise than others. Furthermore, the majority of them are provided only for the goal of marketing and generating leads, which means they will provide a value for a property even if the data is insufficient to provide an actual valuation.
2. Get a Professional Appraisal
Another way you can determine the value of your selling house in San Bernardino is by hiring a professional appraiser. Over a fourth of homeowners determine their home’s value by means of an appraisal.
An appraiser will give you a valuation based on your specific needs, for example, “the value for a date in the past [or] current market value for a refinance or purchase.” In any case, appraisers typcically evaluate the following to arrive at a final valuation report . . .
- Specific market – “The region, city, and neighborhood in which a home is located”
- Property attributes – “Characteristics of the house, including improvements and the land it sits on”
- Comparable properties in that market – “Sales, listings, vacancies, cost, depreciation and other factors for similar houses in the same market:
3. Use the FHFA Price Index Calculator
The Federal Housing Financing Agency’s (FHFA) home price index (HPI) calculator is an alternative to one of the AVMs (which aren’t always that accurate) for determining the value of your selling house in San Bernardino. It employs a more scientific method, which may assist you in arriving at a more precise valuation.
Here’s how it works . . .
“The tool employs a’repeat sales strategy…’ The FHFA tracks a house’s change in value from one sale to the next using millions of mortgage transactions accumulated since the 1970s. The information is then used to estimate how values move in a particular market.”
You do need to be aware, though, that “the HPI calculator looks [only] at conforming home mortgages (loans less than $647,200 and up to $970,800 in high-cost areas). Also, it “isn’t adjusted seasonally or for inflation.”
4. Run the Comps
Now we’ve arrived at what may be the most accurate method for determining the genuine value of your selling house in San Bernardino — fair market value. Comparing your house to recently sold similar properties in your neighborhood and immediate vicinity is part of this appraisal tool or process. You’ll know the market value of your home when you know what buyers are willing to pay for properties similar to yours.
To do so, you must select comps (comparable homes) that are eerily similar to your own, guaranteeing that you compare apples to apples. “Consider which properties would pique a buyer’s interest if yours isn’t available. Look for properties that are comparable in size, location, condition, and upgrades.”
Here’s how to proceed . . .
- “Browse a site where MLS listings are displayed, to find the recent sale prices of comparable houses in your neighborhood.”
- “If there aren’t enough recent sales, look at listing prices, but remember they might not be realistic.”
- “You’ll need at least three valid comps to come up with a likely range of market value for your house.”
This is where things get tricky since you’ll have to adjust for the variances between your home and the comparable homes you’ve chosen. This could imply “adding value to the comp price if it has more bedrooms than your house” or “deducting value if its interior is antiquated.” The amount you add or subtract is determined on market conditions, which might vary greatly.
5. Have an Agent Perform a CMA
The comparative market analysis (CMA) stated earlier is an excellent approach to estimate the value of your selling house in San Bernardino. But it’s not as simple as it appears on the surface, especially when you have to account for discrepancies. Your best bet is to have a CMA done by a San Bernardino agency. In order to arrive at a correct assessment, your local agent will know how to account for the unique characteristics of the local market. Please contact us at 951-476-3231 if you need to know the true value of your house in San Bernardino.