How to Evaluate a Home's Resale Value

Research recent real estate activity in your area to get an idea of how much your home will appreciate in value over the years.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Home Comparable Reports
• Real Estate Agents

1. Contact a local real estate agent and request a comparative market analysis (CMA) that lists the sales activity of homes in your neighborhood during the past year.

2. Review the CMA report to examine the sale prices of similar homes in your area.

3. Study the CMA report to determine the extent of real estate activity in the area, including the percentage of homes actually sold out of all homes listed for sale and the average amount of time for selling a home in the area.

4. Drive by neighborhood homes listed in the CMA to get a feel for the general appearance and current market value of similar homes in your area.

5. Ask local real estate agents for their input on the resale value of your home, based on current market conditions and a CMA.

6. Consider obtaining a professional appraisal to determine the resale value of a home.

7. Determine the resale value of your home based on a comparative market analysis and the opinions of professional real estate agents.

Tips & Warnings

• Realize that the golden rule of real estate - location, location, location - can be one of the prime factors in determining the resale value of your home.
• Sometimes agents only have access to sales that have occurred within the past three to six months.
• Be aware that perceptions can distort reality; the emotional impact and "curb appeal" of a home can impact its resale value.

on 11/22/2005 If your county has an economic forecast project, you can find great information about changes in property values in its reports. A good place to find this information is at the library. Ask the librarian to locate its annual or quarterly publications!