Selling your home without an agent can be a big decision. It can feel like a giant mountain of a task for first-time marketers. Selling your own home on your own can seem empowering and there is no doubt that it is challenging to sell your home on your own as there are many things that go into the process that a typical homeowner might not know about. But thousands of people are doing it and once you know the process, it’s actually very doable.
If you are planning to sell your own home and are preparing to put your property on the market, the biggest fear you may have is selling your home for less than its market value and losing money. But what is the right price for your house? The fair market value of a home defines what you could expect to receive if you sold your home that day. This value may differ while asking different realtors and estate agents. But why take his word for it?
If you don’t know how to determine the market value of your home, you’re not alone. Most homeowners have no idea of the true value of their home.
Don’t be an average homeowner.
Here’s how to find out the true value of your home if you’re selling it without an agent:
Factors that determine the valuation of a home
- Rental
- Safety
- Number of rooms
- curb appeal
- Square feet
- Kind of property
- property age
- Updates and improvements
- market trends
- school District
- construction and repair
Use online valuation tools
There are numerous websites available on the internet that can give you an estimate of your home value such as Zillow, CoStar and Redfin etc. You can use these sites, along with other methods, to generate a rough estimate of the market value of your property. In order to achieve accurate results from these websites, you must provide honest information about the property. It may also include remodeling or updating work that you might have done after you purchased the property.
Square feet
This is a very basic but effective method of assessing the value of your home. Locate recently sold properties in your area that are similar to your home in size, features, age, and square footage. Find the median sales price for these properties by adding the total sales price for each property and dividing by the number of properties. Repeat the same step for the square footage of the properties. Divide the median sales price by the average square footage to calculate the average property value per square foot. Finally, multiply the average property value per square by the number of square feet in your home. This will give you a very accurate estimate of the fair market value of your home.
Average sale price = Total sale price of all properties / total number of properties
Median Square Footage = Total Square Footage of All Properties / Total Number of Properties
Value Per Square Foot = Median Sale Price / Median Square Feet
The market value of your home = Value per square foot * Number of square feet in your home.
Conduct a market analysis
If you hire a real estate agent, they usually do a market analysis to assess the value of your home. But since you’re selling our own house, you’ll need to do a comparative market analysis yourself. To make sure the price tag you’ve set for your home is fair, you need to study the market trends and property prices around you in your neighborhood. In your market analysis, compare your property with comparable properties in your neighborhood in terms of features, to get an estimated value for your property.
Hire an appraiser
Home appraisers tend to give the most accurate home appraisals, so hire a home appraiser to do a property appraisal. An average home appraiser costs around $300 to $500, depending on the size and location of the property. When estimating the value of your home, appraisers consider trends in the market and comparable properties recently sold or listed. In addition to this, appraisers also research public records, learn more about the value of your neighborhood, and complete a much more thorough inspection of your home.
