Property Appraisal: How do I price my home?

If you are a homeowner, knowing the current price of your property is interesting for you for many reasons. If you are thinking of selling it, setting the right price will help you achieve the maximum possible profitability without delaying the transaction because your offer moves away from market prices. If selling is not in your plans, knowing the real value of your assets will not only be a good basis for making decisions regarding your economy, such as, for example, assessing the possibility of requesting a loan and determining its amount using the home as collateral.

In a market such as real estate, the price of a home is, ultimately, that someone is willing to pay for it, which, in turn, depends on a multitude of factors of different nature. Some of the most important are:

• The location: city, neighborhood, district or even street.
• Basic services (health, schools, public transport) available in the surroundings.
• Type of property: is it an attic or a ground floor? What is the orientation? Is it a flat or an apartment? How many rooms do you have and what is their arrangement?
• Age of the building
• Condition and equipment of the property
• Appearance: houses, like food, enter through the eyes. That is why trends such as home staging are still in vogue to get a better sale price and accelerate the time of sale of homes.
• The demand current market
• The mortgage interest rates at the time in question
• The urgency with which the seller needs liquidity

With all these circumstances in mind, there are different ways to set the price of a home. Some of the most used alternatives are:

1. Online valuation tools

A simple search on Google will be enough to find dozens of tools aimed at property valuation, some more developed and sophisticated than others. Its reliability depends fundamentally on the quality of the data sources from which the tool in question draws, although, in any case, these are estimates that, although they can be a good starting point, it is to be expected that they will have considerable margin of error.

2. Conduct a market research

In this case, it is a question of carrying out the analysis by oneself using the large amount of publicly available information. An internet connection and a little time will be used to review official studies on the price of the square meter in the area in question or make a comparison in the main real estate portals to determine the sale price of properties with similar location and characteristics.

3. Carry out an official appraisal

It will be the one that grants a more precise amount, although, as against, it is also the most expensive alternative. Commissioning an official appraisal can be very convenient, especially if the purpose is to price the home with the intention of selling it quickly. You can contact a professional real estate agent that can help you appraise your property.

4. Put the house on the market

Buying a home is not usually a decision made lightly and, as a result, potential buyers often accumulate a wealth of information about the real estate market in the area that interests them. Putting the house up for sale and receiving visitors who are really interested in buying will be a good source of information that will help to establish a reasonable price range.

5. Have the advice of a real estate agency

The main added value of real estate companies is that they have enough experience and knowledge of the local market to advise on the best sale price without having to pay an official expert opinion. A real estate agent in your area will know how to advise you on the prices at which properties similar to yours are currently offered or have recently been sold and, in addition, they will also be able to inform you about the trends observed in the market (which will help you make the decision of accept or not an offer based on upward or downward forecasts of price developments) as well as offer you some advice on how to increase the market price of your home or get sell faster.