How much is my house worth...looking to sell

[JanetRose]

Short of bringing in a real estate agent, is there a way I can figure out how much my house would sell for?

thank you!

 

[kdonnel]

https://www.zillow.com/
https://www.redfin.com/what-is-my-home-worth
https://www.opendoor.com/

 

[barkley]

take zillow with a grain of salt-their estimates on values can be greatly off or based on inaccurate information.

 

[kdonnel]

take zillow with a grain of salt-their estimates on values can be greatly off or based on inaccurate information.

Not only that but until someone gives you money for your house, it is all just estimates!

 

[NYCgrrl]

Not only that but until someone gives you money for your house, it is all just estimates!

Except Zwillow's pricing is based on previous sales taken from government records at least in my area and others I've purchased in.

 

[DLgal]

The best way is to use Zillow, but filter it to search only "recently sold" listings in your neighborhood. If you can find a house that closely resembles yours in sq ft and floor plan, that's about as accurate as you can get without a realtor coming out to do an appraisal.

 

[CrankyDad]

Zillow is horrible. Don’t use them

 

[china mom]

Ask a realtor to run comps and provide a market analysis. They will gladly do it for free in hopes that they will get your business if you decide to use a realtor

Trying anything else is like asking for medical advice on the internet. Trust the people who actually do it for a living.

 

[tvguy]

Ask a realtor to run comps and provide a market analysis. They will gladly do it for free in hopes that they will get your business if you decide to use a realtor

Trying anything else is like asking for medical advice on the internet. Trust the people who actually do it for a living.

I don't know, I did that with three Realtors on my parents house and got comps from $495,000 to $695,000. Actually, only one Realtor would suggest a prices, the others showed me the comps and said "what do you want to list for?" I ended up listing for $579,000 and selling for $556,000. I think comps are much more useful in establishing the value of tract homes that are nearly identical. For my parents house, comps were tough because it was an area of custom built homes. At least here, Zillow is usually pretty close to what houses actually sell for.

 

[MillauFr]

Not only that but until someone gives you money for your house, it is all just estimates!

Yep. No one knows how much your house it worth. It is worth exactly what a willing buyer can pay.

 

[5kidsmommy]

So many factors go into this. Really if you want realist comps you'll need to talk with a good realtor.

I live in an area where homes rarely stay on the market more than a week. Some friends decided to use a small realty company, the realtor wasn't very experienced. Their house stayed on the market for 10 months. They finally hired a more experienced realtor who explained it wasn't the price of the house but the fact that the house needed a fresh coat of paint in all rooms. One week with the new realtor, plus a weekend of painting and a $20,000 increase and the house sold. Even in hot markets you need a realtor with experience and need to listen to what they recommend.

 

[bethbuchall]

Zillow is way off for our house. Plus, it claims that our home last sold in 2002 for more than it's ever actually been worth. We purchased in 1990, and the last time we refinanced was only a couple of years after that. We paid the mortgage off in 2008, so there was nothing in 2002 that should have looked like a sale. If we could get what Zillow claims our home is worth, I'd be out of here so fast (as long as I could pay actual market value for a new home).

 

[Heather07438]

You can start by getting a base price using the links kdonnel provided to see what similar homes in your neighborhood have sold for recently. Beyond number of Bed & Bathrooms, consider the flow of the living space, maintenance, landscaping/level yard, etc. Many details +/- the valuation.

In higher demand markets, some realtors like to list the house just at or barely under what they think it will sell for. This helps generate the most interest and often results in a bidding war.

 

[barkley]

Yep. No one knows how much your house it worth. It is worth exactly what a willing buyer can pay.

or what some sleezy lender will convince them they can pay but yup, it's only worth what you can actualy get for it.

Zillow is way off for our house. Plus, it claims that our home last sold in 2002 for more than it's ever actually been worth. We purchased in 1990, and the last time we refinanced was only a couple of years after that. We paid the mortgage off in 2008, so there was nothing in 2002 that should have looked like a sale. If we could get what Zillow claims our home is worth, I'd be out of here so fast (as long as I could pay actual market value for a new home).

that's the opposite of what it shows for the last house we sold-it shows it selling for over $130,000 less than we sold it for. i don't know where it got that figure from but it sure paints a rosier picture of that neighborhood rebounding from the housing bubble burst-it makes it look like people are back and above values of peak 2006 when in reality they still have a way to go.

 

[Pumbaa_]

I skewed my entire area results

bought my moms house for a decent price but not market value. Probably 70k below
(mom is mortgage holder so she also gets the interest). The house has great bones but has been neglected for 25 years and had a relative living there that could have been from a hoarders episode

anyhoo
lots if things can bring an entire area down unrealistically or skew the results on Zillow. Use an agent. Get comps of what is listed and actually sold.

overpricing is really bad, then you have to lower it and good luck getting a full price offer. And your valued family home is not valued to the $$$ you think usually

 

[Disneybuckeye]

We used a very experienced realtor in our area and listed for $25k over what she recommended. We sold for $10k under asking which was over 98% of list. It sold in 4 days.

We had a large house in a primo area. We watched the market for our area and listed it at what we felt comfortable selling. We also did not have to sell which also worked in our favor. We also had a would not sell under price.

I believe Zillow was pretty close to what we sold it for. It is a place to start, but you still need to do research on your own.

 

[tvguy]

Zillow is way off for our house. Plus, it claims that our home last sold in 2002 for more than it's ever actually been worth. We purchased in 1990, and the last time we refinanced was only a couple of years after that. We paid the mortgage off in 2008, so there was nothing in 2002 that should have looked like a sale. If we could get what Zillow claims our home is worth, I'd be out of here so fast (as long as I could pay actual market value for a new home).

Zillow gets the sales data from your local government. Hope that doesn't comeback to cause you issues in the future if the government has the info wrong.

 

[tvguy]

So many factors go into this. Really if you want realist comps you'll need to talk with a good realtor.

I live in an area where homes rarely stay on the market more than a week. Some friends decided to use a small realty company, the realtor wasn't very experienced. Their house stayed on the market for 10 months. They finally hired a more experienced realtor who explained it wasn't the price of the house but the fact that the house needed a fresh coat of paint in all rooms. One week with the new realtor, plus a weekend of painting and a $20,000 increase and the house sold. Even in hot markets you need a realtor with experience and need to listen to what they recommend.

A Realtor experienced in your area is priceless. As I have posted before, when I sold my mom's house in 2013, every Realtor I talked to said painting was a waste of money in my case. It was a move in ready 1960 house, in an area where houses like that are bought to be remodeled or torn down. Only thing I spent money on was $75 to have an earthquake strap put on the water heater which is required by law here.

 

[DisLiss]

I'd look on realtor.com at recently sold properties to try to get an idea of what homes similar in size, age, style & upkeep, in your very specific area went for.

 

[cabanafrau]

If you're going to use a professional make sure it is at least a very seasoned real estate agent. If you have reason to believe your property is an outlier and comps won't really be comparable in determining value, get a professional appraiser, which is different from a real estate agent.