A - Home Pricing: Internet sites offer help? | Set price

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A - Home Pricing: Internet sites offer help?

Value: It's hard to be objective about your own home’s value. Owners come to accept–and dismiss–the minor and sometimes major drawbacks in their own homes.

Visit open houses that are in the price range you’re contemplating. Look at other homes in a true, objective sense–just like buyers will when they’ll be touring your home.

Sources for homes ACTIVE on the market:

There are over 900 MLSs (Multiple Listing Services) in the US. Local MLSs often allow the public to view homes for sale via the internet. Many individual agencies now offer this service.
The best place to see all the homes in your area is on realtor.com.
Sources for homes that have SOLD:

Local newspapers list sold prices. County deeds offices record all sales and many are internet accessible.

Searchsystems Low cost access to many public databases US and Canada
Records.com Has sale prices but could be months behind in updating
MelissaData Sales activity and price trends for an individual zip code
City-data Displays number and average selling price by town and by zip code
NOTE:

Anytime you see pricing information for homes currently on the market, remember, it's the asking price that is shown. However, it's the selling price, not the asking price that is most important in determining the probable selling price of your home.

Internet appraisal sources:

Automated appraisals are available

Several companies provide a free or low cost estimate of your home’s value using automated evaluation techniques. They rely on calculations and estimates and attempt to match some combination of criteria about your home against similar homes that have recently sold in your area: number of rooms, bedrooms, baths, square footage, tax assessment, etc.

They provide a questionable estimate of worth. They don’t consider factors such as views, lot location, updating, condition, curb appeal, etc. that your home or the comparable properties offer. These are dynamics that influence a property’s desirability and subsequent marketability.

Automated estimators have the most success with comparisons between homes in a neighborhood of similar homes. However, as these homogeneous housing developments age, the comparisons become suspect since owners make additions, finish basements, install new kitchens, etc. This makes automated estimating subject to serious inaccuracies.

Here are some value-estimate sites

These display values through their own estimation techniques. After looking up a property, see how your own home is valued using the site. Still feel comfortable using the site?

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