Determining Your Home's Value

It seems like there should be some formula that helps you decide how you should price your home. Unfortunately, there is no scientific method for determining the value. Assessors and REALTOR® understand that this process involves a number of factors, all subject to human opinion and/or error. Before you sit down with your REALTOR® and determine where you should price your home, there are a couple of things you need to consider.

Price-Setting Tip #1: Use Recent Comps Only

If you've ever had your home assessed, you have certainly seen a list of comps or comparable homes, which the assessor compares your home to. This is the first important step you can take when you are considering setting the price for your home. When you decide you are ready to look at comps, keep the following factors in mind.

Avoid using properties in the area that sold more than a year ago. Include only comps that sold within the past year

Consider the market in your area in order to determine the duration of the peaks and valleys. The Rolla/ St. James market has peaks and valleys that are much more gradual, so a year back is a sufficient starting place.

Price-Setting Tip #2: Use Sold Homes Only

The second mistake that plagues sellers is using comparing their home's price to another home still on the market.

Homes that are still on the market obviously have not sold. Their price might be the reason, so using their price to set your own might not give you a good indication of fair market value. A house's price is no indication that it will sell.

Looking at homes that have already sold will help you focus on the goal of selling your home and give you a good indication of what has actually been successful.

Finally, consider the size of your community when deciding the area to use for your search. In small communities (like Rolla and St. James), make sure that you are searching in a larger area. Whereas large communities are able to use a small area to find comps, like a 5-block radius for instance, in a smaller community you need to expand your search because you have a smaller sample from which to draw your comps.