How much is my house worth?

Factors to consider:

• How do I price my house properly when selling?
  If many houses look the same, have the same features, and are in similar areas, it can be easier to determine a list price. This is hardly ever the case. Many different factors need to be considered in determining the price to sell your house for: what houses like it have sold for, what houses in the area have sold for, how long sold houses were on the market, time of year, what improvements, renovations or additions new buyers would want to perform on the home, age, heating costs, location, etc. This is only the tip of the iceberg. The best way to find out how much your home is worth is to ask a real estate agent for a free, no obligation competitive market analysis(CMA). Buying and selling homes is our business. We are trained and experienced in pricing homes properly based on market conditions. We have access to information that buyers and sellers do not have.
  
  
• Importance of pricing your house right from the start
  Most houses should sell in the first 2 months they are listed. If they do not sell in this time frame, it is probably overpriced, or in a bad re-sale area, or has structural issues. Once a house is on the market for over 2 months, it becomes a stale listing. Buyers are more cautious because they suspect something. What usually follows is price reduction after price reduction until bargain seekers eventually get the house for less than what it is worth. Once again, using the free services of a real estate agent, you can get professional advice on how to price your house for sale.
  
  
• What are the existing market conditions that affect price?
  If there is a high demand for homes, they sell for higher prices and vice versa. Many conditions affect the demand (and therefore the price) of homes for sale. For example:
  
  
  Interest Rates
  When interest rates are low, consumers have more demand for large items such as homes because they will save money. When interest rates are high, demand for large items is decreased because consumers decide to wait until the interest rate goes down before they purchase. Instead they invest their money.
  
  Buyers/Sellers/Balanced Market?
  A buyers market has many homes for sale and not as many buyers. This is advantageous for buyers as it brings the price of homes down as they compete for buyers’ business. A sellers market has more buyers than it has sellers. This pushes house prices up as buyers compete to purchase these homes for sale. A balanced market has approximately an equal amount of buyers and sellers and this creates even demand and fair prices on homes for sale.
  
  Time of Year
  The time of year houses are for sale can affect the prices but this is not consistent. For example: most people want to purchase homes in the spring. However, if there aren’t many homes for sale at that time and a lot of buyers looking, it is a sellers market and that pushes up home prices. On the flip side, most people don’t want to buy in winter but if there are not many buyers at that time, they will get a better deal. Also, if interest rates are high in summer and low in winter, this will push up demand for homes in the winter. Houses sell all year round. A certain time of year will not guarantee lower or higher prices on homes as there are many other market conditions that affect home prices as well.