Determine House Market Price Yourself

How Can I Find Out The House Market Price?

As a first time home buyer what can you do to determine the house market price of that home you want to buy?

First time home buyers sometimes feel lost without a clue as to what to do next much less understanding whether they will be able to secure a home of their own without paying too much for it.

For this reason, it is necessary to know how to calculate the house market value.

Simply put, the market price of an existing property is what a seller is willing to sell for and buyer is willing to pay.

The value is not necessarily going to be the same as it may have been a year ago, or even what it will be next year.

I'm sure you realize since the mortgage bubble burst in 2008, property values can vary from state to state and even within different areas of your town or city.

As you search for your new home, here are some things that you can do to help you to determine the fair house market value of the home you are interested in.

For starters, you may want to check the sales history of the home you're looking at by going to the tax assessors office. They should have a sales history and have a current assessed value.

The assessed value is normally not the actual value of the home. Often times it can help you get close to what a home may be worth. In many cases the assessed value represents 80%-90% of a homes actual worth.

Once again, this varies from state to state and so forth.

Follow These Simple Steps To Help You Get A House Market Price

Make a list of the features of the house you are interested in. That should include the year it was built, square footage, number of bedrooms, garage size, roof style, counter tops and flooring materials, landscaping, fencing, fireplace and or pool.

Find information about three or more comparable properties that have sold in the immediate vicinity of the one you are looking at. These properties should be similar in size and structure. You can use Zillow or Trulia to help you here.
List these properties according to the actual selling price.
Make note of any differences that are found between the comps and the home you are looking at, and compare those differences according to age, materials and condition.
Adjust house market value for differences between the subject property and the comps such as age, condition and materials. For instance, if a comp is 10 years newer than the home you are looking at you will have to adjust the house market price accordingly.
Figure up all the adjustments for every property that you have information on and either add or subtract to come up with a realistic house market value for the home you are interested in. Check with realtors or contractors to determine the value of particular items on your list.
Find the average house market value by adding your adjusted findings together and dividing this by the total number of comps. This will render the estimated house market price for the property you are considering buying.

Once you have determined if this is the house you really want and that it fits what you are willing to pay, it may be a good idea to order an appraisal to verify your findings. This way you can firm up your decision and proceed to putting a purchase agreement on that awesome house.

If everything looks good, then you may want to proceed to make an offer after you have discussed things with your Realtor.

By comparing your research to what the real estate sales agent gives you, now you're an informed buyer.

It's better when you can work with a sales agent that has not listed the home since they will not be biased wanting to make the bigger commission. This way the CMA (comparative market analysis) they give you should be close to your market research.