Changing Times in Real Estate: Home Value Realities

We have all done it from time to time. We check the online values of our home based on the different value estimators and their metrics. That creates an estimate of value for sure. For most of us, we also think our home has special features and upgrades, and we know what we paid for those upgrades.

We also know about the high priced sale from early last year and we cannot get that number out of our head. We also believe our home is better, so our home is worth more, right?

This is the point where it starts to get challenging. Your home may be more valuable than the high priced sale of last year, but the question is, what would that home sell for in today's market?

Currently, we are faced with many different factors which impact affordability and cost of ownership that last year simply did not exist. The cost of ownership was down last year, so many more buyers were available to compete for our limited inventory. Homes were selling very fast, and for very high amounts. Multiple offers were escalating prices well above the list price.

When this information is properly explained and presented to you by your chosen real estate professional, it becomes easier to understand what current pricing trends will have as an impact on a strategic marketing price.

If we try and only rely on ourselves without that valuable input, we may be setting ourselves up for disappointment and unrealistic expectations regarding our potential home buying or selling transaction.

Understanding and keeping in tune with all the market fluctuations as well as inventory absorption rates in our current market is an invaluable asset that every good realtor should have in their portfolio. It is important to gauge those factors constantly, and also to realize who really sets the value of a given property.

Buyers search for their homes in unique ways. Over 92% of those buyers are beginning their search online. Mostly, they will be searching on a website that has used metrics to establish their opinion of value for the home in question. That will represent an impression in a buyer's mind.

Other websites will have valuations as well, and they will most likely not be the same, as each website has their own methodology for arriving at the value. Now the buyer has more information, and it is not helping him determine its value for himself. The next step is for the buyer to see the property, which he will do if the property is priced within a range that seems accurate to him.

Now we are getting somewhere! You see, when the buyer views a home that he feels represents a good property for a fair price and he is pre-qualified, we have a ready, willing and able buyer.

Assuming the home is accurately priced for the current market, we then have created a deal where both parties have satisfied themselves. That is the goal for realistic buyers and sellers. The buyer ultimately sets the price for the home to sell at a reasonable offering price. The seller was satisfied because he was guided by his professional realtor to the proper strategic pricing. Definitely a win-win.

If you are seeking guidance with either buying or selling a home, we are here for you. Ken Follis and Sharon Robinson Group have been assisting buyers, sellers and investors for many years. We would welcome the opportunity to sit down with you and guide you through your next transaction. Our marketing and negotiation skills are top notch, and we look forward to hearing from you. Come on by for a Chat!

Ken Follis, 760-803-6235, and Sharon Robinson, 949-295-1161, can be reached at their downtown location at 100 N. Main in Fallbrook.