Do you know how to determine the true value of your home in Omaha? Whether you’re selling your house now or later, it’s a good idea to keep tabs on the value of your property. We offer a few tips for determining its value in our latest post!
Many sellers believe they know what their house is worth but sometimes, their numbers can be off! It’s not quite as simple as looking at Zillow or even relying 100% on your property appraiser to tell you the best selling price. It’s wise to do a more thorough analysis of your own. There are a few things you can do to get an even more accurate understanding of the true value of your house.
Run a Competitive Market Analysis (CMA)
A Competitive Market Analysis or CMA, is often prepared by real estate agents. A CMA will take information from recently sold properties in your area in order to provide a good comparison (these properties aren’t still “for sale” but have already “sold”). Looking at “sold” properties will provide you with a more realistic picture of what your house may sell for. The data can be found on sites that shares MLS data, such as Zillow or Trulia. You can do your own CMA by looking at at least three properties that are as similar to yours as you can find (in the same neighborhood, square footage, number of rooms, age of the home, size of the lot, etc.). You can average out the sale prices to determine a good base point for the value of your home. Keep in mind some real estate agents will provide you with a CMA free of charge. Just make sure that if they do so there isn’t a catch, obligating you into a listing you may not want or be ready for.
Online Calculators
There are several helpful tools out there to help you determine the value of your home. These home value calculators use information you feed into them about your property, so make sure your facts are accurate! Some of the sites you can use include Chase, Zillow, Redfin, HomeGain, Remax, and Realtor.com. Make sure to look at a few of these sites, so you can compare the numbers and determine an average. No site is completely fool-proof, and your value might vary a bit from site to site – just something to know in advance.
Hiring a Home Appraiser
When you’re trying to determine the value of your property, hiring an appraiser can give you an important professional opinion. An appraisal can be performed for a few hundred dollars and may offer additional insight for you. Before choosing an appraiser, take some time to do a little research. Look at their experience levels and specialties. Check to be sure they’re licensed. Many sellers choose to schedule appraisals and inspections before putting their homes on the Omaha market so they can better address questions from prospective buyers.
Watch the Market
As you probably know, property values fluctuate. Often you can discover trends as you study home values over time. Your property may be worth more in the summer than it is in the winter, for example. Values can fluctuate for a variety of reasons, not just depending on the season but due to new employers moving in to (or out of) an area, or on unexpected crises (like a pandemic which causes an economic downturn). Right now, inventory in many cities like Omaha is low. We are definitely in a seller’s market! It’s a good time to consider selling a home. The market changes from month to month, so if you know you’re going to sell, start watching the home sales in your neighborhood and track sales prices, days on market, and any other facts that you can use to educate yourself.
Having a good sense of the value of your home before going into a sale will help you achieve a better outcome for your Omaha property.