Need help deciding an asking price for your home?

When its time to sell a house many homeowners don’t know where to begin when deciding a asking price for their home. Most people turn to well known real estate sites like Zillow, Trulia or Redfin. These websites provide good information that are factors in determining the value of real estate. Many homeowners base their asking price on what the city tax assessments are. Others simply go by current listings in the area. In this article we will go over basic info that can help you determine your asking price for you home in Norfolk if you want to avoid the time and costs of an appraisal.

All of these strategies are somewhat accurate when pinpointing an asking price. However, the absolute most accurate way to comp the value of your home is by simply researching the most recent home sales in your area within the past 180-365 days. The key is comparing apples to apples not apples to oranges.

What do you mean by Apples to Apples?

Its very simple… when figuring the value of your home you can only compare your house to other houses that are:

Within the immediate area of your house. Never go to far out when running comps. Each neighborhood has its own identity and in most cases the home values differ. A brick rancher on the east side of town cannot be compared to a brick rancher on the west side of town even if they are identical in similar neighborhoods. Always stay within 0.5 – 1.0 miles when researching home sales comps.
Similar in style. If you are selling a 3 bedroom cape cod style house you cannot compare it to a 3 bedroom bungalow style house even if they are similar in size and year built. Styles of homes make a big difference in home values and you could be doing yourself an injustice by over comping or under comping the value of your house. This is one of the biggest mistakes that sellers make when comping a property.
Similar in size and year built. This is absolutely key when calculating the value of your house. You must only use properties that are within 10 – 15 years and 200 – 300 square feet of living space. This small and overlooked details can really throw your comps out of whack.
Only use recently SOLD properties. Never use properties that are simply just for sale. To have accurate comps only focus on sold properties. Currently for sale properties mean nothing until they actually sale. Many homeowners are underwater on the mortgage, therefore you have a lot of listings on the market that are over priced.
Never list your property solely on the Tax Assessed Value. Most cities in Hampton Roads and surrounding area have sky high tax assessments. The main purpose of tax assessments are simply to have a rate for the city to tax you off of. Its no secret that most city’s in the area need money so they do what the government always does and raise taxes. Very few neighborhoods in the tidewater area actually hold home values that are as high as the tax assessment. While the tax assessment gives you a general idea of your home’s value it certainly should not be used as the sole determinant.

Determine Your Asking Price For Your Home in Norfolk

Apply these main strategies and you should have a very good idea of what your house is worth. Click here for more info on how to determine your asking price for your home in Norfolk