Two things to consider in valuing a home are, first, how does it compare to similar homes that have sold recently? Is the asking price fair? And second, what value do you place on the advertised features and amenities? Yes, other people might value them highly, but do you?
Performing a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) are among the many algorithmic (generated by a computer model) starting points in figuring out the value of a home. It shows you how the home is relative to other homes in the area, but you need to add in all the things that only someone who has seen the house knows. You can do that by contacting Robert J Russell, and then you create your own estimate and see how it stacks up against the asking price.
Looking at "Comps"
Knowing whether an asking price is fair will be important when you're ready to make an offer on a house. It will be even more important when your mortgage lender hires an appraiser to determine whether the house is worth the loan you're after.
Check on with your agent, Robert J Russell or other websites to see recent sales of homes in the area that are similar, or comparable, to what you're looking for. Print them out and keep these "comps" in your three-ring binder; you'll be referring to them quite a bit.
Note that "recent sales" usually means within the last six months. A sales price from a year ago may bear little or no relation to what is going on in your area right now. In fact, some lenders will not accept comps older than three months.
Market activity also determines how easy or difficult it is to find accurate comps. In a "hot" or busy market, with sales happening all the time, you're likely to have lots of comps to choose from. In a less active market finding reasonable comps becomes harder. And if the home you're looking at has special design features, finding a comparable property is harder still. It's also necessary to know what's going on in a given sub-segment. Maybe large, high-end homes are selling like hotcakes, but owners of smaller houses are staying put, or vice versa.
Real Life Example
Who: A brother and sister were looking for a house to buy together in Honolulu a few years ago.
Circumstances: They wanted a place with room for their mother as well as for the brother and his wife to live.
The house: They found a good candidate near the university, tucked away with a few other small homes in an area surrounded by mid-rise apartment buildings.
The dilemma: Their agent (and, later, the bank's appraiser) had a difficult time finding comparable properties. Even though the housing market in Hawaii was jumping, none of the other small, older homes in the neighborhood had been sold recently, and no others were being offered for sale. However, the siblings had been house-hunting for several weeks and believed the asking price was fair.
Solution: The bank's appraiser had to search for sales in other neighborhoods of about the same age and to make a number of allowances in order to place a value on the house. As it happened, the final appraised value was quite satisfactory to the bank.
Critical Elements
The elements most critical to an accurate comparison are:
- Area or location. Although the ideal comps will be right in the same neighborhood as the house you're interested in, it may be necessary to go farther afield, to a generally similar neighborhood, with homes that were built at about the same time. The more familiar you are with the characteristics that distinguish one neighborhood from another -- and the more familiar with the state of the housing market in these areas -- the better you'll be able to judge whether the comps are truly fair comparisons.
- Amenities. Does your target house have a pool? A great view? An extra, or "bonus", room, such as an in-law or guest suite over the garage?
- Size. The number of rooms, the total square footage of the house, the size of the garage, and the size of the lot all make a difference in finding good comps.
- Age of the house. Generally appraisers like to compare homes of similar age, since they will usually have similar amenities. (Of course, a house built in 1950 and completely remodeled in 1999 is not strictly comparable to a house built in 1950 but never remodeled. See my website to adjust for these situations.)
Sometimes unknown or unexpected circumstances can skew prices:
- If a home sale was the result of a divorce or death, for example, the seller(s) might have accepted a lower price just to get the deal over with. If the sale price of a comp looks unusually low (or high), see if you or your agent can find out more about it.
- Factors well beyond your control -- actions by the Federal Reserve Board, national and international events (read: elections, wars, oil prices) -- can cause housing prices to rise or fall significantly in a matter of weeks. While it's tempting to think you might be able to "time the market", it's probably better for your mental health just to roll with the punches and accept that last month's buyers' market is gone and sellers have advantage.
What's It Worth to You?
If you're working with an agent, you may find yourself experiencing some upward pressure: "Yes, it's priced a little higher than you were looking for, but it's got [pick one: an extra bedroom, a really great backyard, a family room, a pool]."
To be fair, first-time buyers, and even experienced buyers, can apply this pressure all by themselves: "Gee, look at this one: for just a little bit more we could get..."
Amenities such as new wall-to-wall carpet or a swimming pool might be a real selling point for some buyers. If you're not one of them, you need to make this clear to your agent.
For one thing, you'll establish that you're serious about your budget. It will also help the agent negotiate for you later. If the seller can find another buyer who appreciates those features, more power to him. The point is that for you the new carpet is actually a negative if you'll want tear it out to get to the hardwood floor underneath.
Also, be sure to compare the listing description to what you see. Is everything there that was promised? Question anything that's not clear. Sometimes a listing will say something like, "square footage doesn't match tax records." What does that mean, exactly? Is there an addition that was made without permits, for example? That might be okay for now, but how will that affect the re-sale value of the home?
To get more answers about how to value a home - email wediditagaingroup@yahoo.com or call Robert J Russell - 972-679-9029 http://www.robertjrussell.com
