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Are you in a hurry to move but don’t know the market value of your home? These factors play a major role in how much your home is worth.
What internal factors contribute to home value?
When appraising the value of your home, it’s important to understand what contributes to its value. Certain factors that affect your home value may seem more obvious than others. The square footage of a house, the number of bedrooms/bathrooms, and the size of common rooms are all fairly obvious value factors at play. The bigger your home, the higher you can value it, especially if it has an easy-to-navigate layout. Multi-car garages, game rooms, and home theaters can contribute positively to your house’s price tag. Outdoor access, such as a large backyard, can also boost home value.
The age of your home also makes a difference in how it is valued and priced on the market. Typically, newer homes are worth more than older homes. This is not only because they fit a more modern aesthetic, but because they will likely require fewer upgrades and less maintenance than older homes. Homes with newer tech and well-maintained plumbing/electrical systems are better off on a buyer’s market than houses that need substantial repair work post-sale.
What external factors contribute to home value?
Plenty of external factors also contribute to the value of your home. In fact, much of what makes your home marketable exists outside of its walls. The location of your house can have a big impact on its value. Its whereabouts work in tandem with the features of your home to determine its worth. For instance, if your house is in a gated neighborhood, it will be easier to market at a higher price. Areas with low crime rates also tend to boast higher home values than places with more robberies and violent crimes.
A home that is close to essential stores with easy access to major roads (without too much heavy traffic noise) will be marketable at a higher rate than houses that are far from shopping hubs. A home that funnels into a good school district is also seen as more valuable, especially for those on the hunt to settle down with a family. In general, the value associated with where your house is situated varies from city to city (i.e. closeness to stores in a city with bad afternoon traffic can be another value booster).
What factors lower home value?
Understanding what can harm your home value is as important as understanding what boosts it. Within your home, less space often means less value. Fewer bedrooms, a small living room/kitchen, and a lack of bathrooms can bring down the sale price. A cluttered or strange layout can also lower home value. Most buyers aren’t interested in quirky houses as much as they are neutral ones that they can customize themselves. Additionally, homes with older fixtures in need of repair are less valuable than homes with newer fixtures. If your home doesn’t have yard access, a porch, and/or a walkable street, that can also bring the value down.
When it comes to external factors, poor placement can majorly dock your home value. If your house is far off from essential businesses, not near any freeways, and/or doesn’t funnel into a decent local school district, your home’s worth can suffer. Even if certain factors that lower home value weren’t relevant when you moved in (i.e. a local school getting shut down/relocated or lesser-priced homes popping up in the area), they will still have an impact your home value when you decide to move. Knowing what can support and harm your home value can help you identify both how to make it marketable and how to price it fairly.
How can you sell your home fast?
Selling a home is a stressful experience, and if you’re trying to sell quickly, doing it alone is a nightmare. If you’re interested in valuing and selling your home fast, you might want to look into hiring a home appraiser. Appraisers can do the work of calculating your home value for you, ensuring that you get it on the market for a fair price. Overpricing your home can make it more difficult to sell quickly, yet underpricing it for the sake of a quick sale can hurt your pockets. Comparing your house to the value of other homes in the area can also help you assess your own market value.
If you plan on using a realtor, try to track down a realtor who has a history of making quick sales without discounting home value. You can also list your home on your own as FSBO (for sale by owner) and manage the sale on your own. If you’re trying to move quickly through a home sale deal, cutting out the middle man can sometimes quicken the process, though be sure to have your home properly appraised/valued if you plan on selling it yourself. All-cash offers or auctions can be a path to a quick home sale, as well.