Your house is worth only what someone else is willing to pay for it.

All other estimates and appraisals are merely educated guesses.

But in a volatile market even settling on a ballpark figure isn't always straightforward.

Nationwide, housing prices have risen rapidly, but not equally. Home prices in San Diego Ca. jumped almost 20% in 2013.

No prescient source can put a value on your home -- after all, many reputable sources ignored the Cassandras of the housing bubble. So the best way to get a reasonably estimate of your home's value before putting it on the market,refinancing or assessing your financial situation may be to get as many guesses as possible.

In the end, you won't have captured your home's price to the nearest penny, but here are steps to get a reasonable idea of your house's worth.

1. Ask a Real-Estate Agent -- or Agents

An agent will provide you with either a Broker Price Opinion or Comparative Market Analysis. Most agents will do this for free. 

use this link: Smart Choice Home Evaluator 

example Comparative marketing analysis

2. Use an Independent Appraiser

This option will cost you between $350.00-$500.00.  It is a good indicator of true market value based on previous area history. 

3. Look at Comparables

There's nothing like a bit of shoe leather to give you a better idea of prices. Heading to open houses in your neighborhood gives you an idea not just of price per square foot, but of the overall condition of the house.

Houses may be in various states of disrepair.

 

4. Search Online

There's no dearth of Web sites that will give you prices of comparable homes in your area, among them Realtor.com,  Zillow.com. But the estimates can really ranges and are probably not an accurate picture. See example of how property address XYZ in San Diego 92115 is evaluated differently.

 

Valuation Estimates

 

5. Investigate Changes in Area Prices

The National Association of Realtors, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight and the Case-Shiller index all track home price. They paint home-price changes with a broad brush, taking into account home price changes in large areas, but you can get a rough idea of market housing price changes in your area.

Alternatively, you can get more local data with your area multiple listing service. But fewer home sales in an area means fewer listings, so their average home prices may change significantly with the sale of one especially expensive home.

 

Brian McFedries

858-405-5094

www.onepercentpropertylistings.com