Are you selling your home and unsure what the price should be? Discover the difference between “listing price” and a certified residential appraiser now.
Are you considering selling your house? Worried it’ll be challenging to find a buyer? Dreading the work involved in getting your house ready to go on the market?
You might even be worried about what the appraiser will say your house is actually worth.
With 35% of 15 million people having moved within the last 5 years, houses get listed and sold all the time. So, what’s the trick to selling your house with speed and ease?
Many real estate professionals will say pricing your house right when it hits the market is the number one factor in getting a quick sale.
But how can you be sure you’re listing your house with the right price? Read on to learn about the value of having a real estate appraiser involved in helping you come up with the right price for selling your house.
Listing Price and Fair Market Value
The truth is anyone selling their house wants to get the most they can for it. Sometimes sellers are unrealistic or basing their hopes on a selling price that isn’t based on data.
It can also get confusing when you start to hear the many terms being used by your real estate agent. Listing price and fair market value, what’s the difference? And more importantly, how should you come up with the correct price to list and sell your home?
The listing price is the price that you put on the listing. It is the number you are asking buyers to pay. Your real estate agent will put the listing price on the marketing materials related to your house listing.
The fair market value is really what a buyer is willing to pay. This can be impacted by several factors like what other houses around it are selling for or what the economy is like at the time.
Ideally, you want your listing price to be what the fair market value price will be too.
So, how do you make sure your listing price is accurate so people will be willing to pay that amount? This is where a real estate appraiser is very helpful in the selling, and even buying, process.
Certified Residential Appraiser
What does a certified residential appraiser do? How are they different from a real estate agent?
Real estate agents know about buying and selling homes. They can look at a house and recognize potential selling points and problems. Their experience lies in working with buyers and sellers and guiding them through the process.
A certified residential appraiser, on the other hand, knows properties. They are professionally trained and licensed. Their role is to look carefully at the property and related information to come up with a number that shows the value of the house.
Often the real estate appraiser is an independent entity separate from real estate agents or banks writing the mortgage. Since they are not involved in the sale, they can be objective about the pricing based on their analysis of data.
What Is Appraised Value?
The appraised value is the value of a house that comes from an assessment done on the property. The real estate appraiser is trained to look at the actual house, houses around it, and other data points to establish a value.
The certified residential appraiser comes to inspect the property. They will look at the exterior, the lot and the condition. They will evaluate the size and condition of the house. When determining value, they also look at the features of the house.
A certified residential appraiser will consider home improvements and their impact on the value of the property. They will also consider the lot size or property and what other key features the house offers.
They can work with a real estate agent or independently to look at the neighbouring houses that have sold. How do the features of those houses compare to the appraised house to help determine value? They study the real estate marketing data to help come up with worth.
Why Appraised Value Is Important
There are several reasons the appraised value is important. First, as a homeowner, you want to get the most money you can from your house when you sell it. If the home is appraised wrong and you put a list price on it that’s too low, you lose potential money in your pocket.
Listing the house with the wrong price can lead to a few things. First, you could sell it for less than it’s worth and lose money. You could also put a list price on it that is more that it’s worth. Remember, the number one way to sell a house quickly is to price it correctly.
Finally, this one is important. Banks will only finance a house based on its appraised value. So, someone hoping to buy a property and get a mortgage needs the house to not be overvalued or they might not be able to get a mortgage for it.
Pricing Your House to Sell
Let’s come back to selling your house. You can see the relative importance of working with a certified residential appraiser. They can help you to understand the value of your house based on data and real estate statistics, not your emotions as they relate to your house.
If you price your house right on the listing, remember, you have a much better chance of selling quickly. Using a certified residential appraiser to evaluate the best asking price for your home when you sell.
Use a Certified Residential Appraiser for the Most Accurate Pricing on Your Home
If you’re considering selling your home, use a certified residential appraiser to help guide your decisions for the sale.
Here at the Trillium Team, we have an appraiser as part of our real estate team. Contact us today to get more information about his services and how we can help you buy or sell a house.
-AVL