How to Check Home Values of Friends and Neighbors

Home values of friends and neighbors may not be any of our business, but they sure are interesting. There are many reasons to check home values in your area. You could be checking the value of your current home compared to others, you may be checking for dips or rises in the real estate market, or you might be just plain nosey. Whatever your reason, this article will show you exactly what you need to do to check home values of your friends and neighbors.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Computer
• Internet Connection
• Phone book

1. Find the address. If you have the phone book handy, check that. Otherwise, do a search on Switchboard.com. This is a wonderful site for finding anyone's address. You probably won't be able to find any home values without having the exact address.

2. Determine the county of residence. This step is extremely important. One way I check for counties is to search on Google, "San Diego California county". Typically, you will find your answer immediately on the search results page.

3. Do a Google search for the county assessor. The assessor's page has everything you need to determine home values of your friends and neighbors. Type, "California assessor". Of course substitute the name of your state. Then, click on the assessor's Web page link.

4. Click on "Parcel Search" or "Property Search" or "Property Value". You will need to type in the address of your friend to find home values.

Tips & Warnings

• In very rare cases, counties with tiny populations may not have a county assessor website. In this case, you must go directly to the assessor's office for the information.
• Don't confuse assessed value and market value. Market value is what someone will pay "right now" for a property. Assessed value is the value the county assessor deems the property. They can be completely different or very similar.