What you need to know to research home prices

A chapter of your life is closing. There is a lot of money on the table. You may be thinking "Does my house have a price?" too high?" "Too low?" "Am I leaving too much money on the table?" These are great questions. Fortunately, you have a few resources at your disposal for figuring out where your home stands in the crowd.

Turn to Local Experts — Because They Really Know Their Stuf

The good news: Local market info is freely available online, so you, the seller, can get a sense of what your house is worth.

The bad news: Local market info is freely available online, so most buyers will also have a general idea of what they think your home is worth.

When pricing your house, a listing agent has your back in a way an online property listing site just can’t. An agent:

• Has real world experience in your community.

• Knows the nuances of your neighborhood’s micro-market.

• Can expertly assess how your home compares to similar ones recently sold in your area.

• Can tour your property to determine, inside and out, where your house fits in the real estate landscape.

Search Online Property Sites — Because They’ll Give IRL Experience Some Context

The internet is there for you as well — to an extent — when you’re ready to sell your home.

Online property sites like realtor.com® can give you a sense of local real estate trends, including your city’s median listing price, median closing price, and the average price per square foot. As you search, there are a couple important things to do:

1. Pay attention to houses in your area that are similar to your own in terms of size, attributes, and location. When you work with a listing agent to price your home, these houses will provide the main criteria for setting the amount.

2. Take notes about what makes your house different from the pack. As you look at online listings, think carefully about why your house is worth more or less than similar houses in your community. The better you’re able to articulate these nuances to your listing agent, the better prepared the agent will be to list your home at an accurate and competitive price.

Try Online Price Calculators — With Caveats

As long as you’re on the internet, you might decide to try an online home price calculator. With these calculators, property sites use sale prices near you (and overall market data) to approximately predict your own home’s value.

You’ll find an online home price calculator at almost any property site, and they all work a little differently. Realtor.com®’s home estimator tool (https://www.realtor.com/sell), for instance, factors in your home’s square footage and recent home sales in your area to calculate an approximate recommended sale price.

Plug your ZIP code or address into a site to see:

• Homes for sale in your community, which can give you a sense of the overall market

• Estimated prices of similar homes in your area, which can provide a general range of home prices in your area

• Property descriptions and photos of local homes for sale, which can give you a feel for how other homes are being marketed to buyers (and how you can do even better).

Estee Soto

Estee Soto is a real estate agent with eXp Realty, a certified mentor and eXp Latino ambassador, and the CEO and founder of TagCrush LLC, an all-in-one digital marketing platform for real estate agents. She leads the TAGHOMES team, specializing in luxury properties, new developments, and international buyers across Florida.

More information about Estee Soto HERE