Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Home Values

Selling real estate is daunting in today’s market. I hear horror stories every day. The key to selling is to be informed. Ignorance is not bliss when trying to sell your home.
The unfortunate reality is the fact that home values have dropped significantly over the past few years. This applies to every piece of property; no exceptions. The market does not care what you paid for your home, how many years you have owned it, or the wonderful memories relating to the house. The market is now driven by supply and demand, upgrades, appraisals, absorption rates and the like. Viewing your home with objective lenses squelches all sentimental instincts with regard to our nest. Think about all the profound quotes relating to our home: “Home is where the heart is.” “There is no place like home.”
Home values are not constant. Like the stock market, the values are altered dramatically, based on the market conditions.
Appraisals provide the best objective opinion of value. When selling, if an offer is accepted by both parties, the deal might not go through if the appraisal does not come in at equal or better than the agreed upon price. This is happening quite often now.
The best preparation for selling the home, is managing your expectations. Get an appraisal before listing your property. If it quacks like a duck, it’s a duck. If the appraisal is at a figure that you can’t live with, then don’t put your property on the market. It’s that simple. List the property at about slightly above the appraised value, and start packing. Buyers are savvy, and expecting a fair market price. The properties that are priced appropriately are selling. The number of transactions is up this year, the values are down. So people are buying, at lower prices.
Best of luck to you!

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