Finding out how much your home is worth is the first step in the home selling process. This process is sometimes referred to as the Home Valuation process. Naturally, everyone wants to get top dollar for their home so it is common to overprice your home. Most, if not ALL sellers have an emotional connection to their home and as a result, put a much higher value on it than its actually worth. The process of overpricing your home can be complex if you are trying to do it on your own. There is a method to finding out the value of your home known as a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA). A CMA compares your home to the homes that have recently sold in or around your neighborhood to determine what your home may be worth. This CMA is where many Realtors begin to determine the value of your home.
There are several factors that are considered when doing a CMA on your home that affect the value of your home:
- YEAR HOME BUILT: The age of your home has an affect on its value simply because the older the home, the bigger the possibility that repairs are needed. CMA’s should be done with homes that are within the same age range of your home.
- BEDS/BATHS: The number of Bedrooms and Bathrooms play an important role in the value of your home. Usually, the more Beds/Baths, the higher the price of your home but again, a CMA is a comparison of similar homes so your home should be compared to homes with the similar number of beds and baths to determine its value.
- CONSTRUCTION: The construction of your home will also impact its value. Brick, Stucco, Aluminum Siding and other building materials have a direct impact on your home value. Typically a brick home will have a higher value than a home built with aluminum siding. This is another reason why it is important to assure your CMA is completed using comparable homes with with the same construction type as your home.
- LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION: Location is a major factor when it comes to the value of your home. As we always hear in real estate, location, location, location. Where your home is located and what neighborhood it is located in plays a huge role in its value. It is important that when a CMA is done on your home, it is done with homes in or around the same neighborhood as your home. If you do not live in a million dollar neighborhood, your home should not be compared to homes in million dollar neighborhoods.
These are a few facets of a CMA, but there are many more factors that go into creating an accurate CMA for your home. Terms such as CMA and Home Valuation are used in the real estate world, but are foreign terms to the average home buyer or home seller. Our goal is to educate our clients to help assure a smooth home buying or selling process. We are here to help. Please submit additional information for a free, no obligation Home Valuation or Contact Us to learn more.
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