Picking and buying your home represents one of the most significant investments of your life. You want to do everything you can to ensure that your property value remains high if you decide to sell. However, calculating your precise home value requires valuations related to various market conditions out of your direct control. You can have home appraisers come out and assess your home’s value when you start a refinance of your home mortgage, but there are other ways you can determine the value. Once you have the right number in mind, you can settle on a target price when you take your home to the open market. The following infographic showcases some of the main factors that go into determining your home’s value:
Location Is Everything
Among the determining factors that establish your home’s value is your location. It’s a broad topic that takes everything from the neighborhood, the local school systems, and your proximity to essential amenities. How well your neighbors maintain their property can influence how much people will ultimately offer for your home on the open market. With more families looking to move to new locations, they may weigh the nearby school system’s quality into their decision, and realtors will consider these factors when they help determine how much money your home is worth.
How Much of Your House Can You Use?
The questions relating to your house’s size and how much of it you can use are interconnected. Generally speaking, the bigger the house, the higher the home’s valuation since you can theoretically have more space to accommodate larger families and other needs. However, if new tenants cannot properly utilize the area in the bigger home, they won’t get the same value for a house of similar size.
Market Demand
One of the biggest factors that you do not have any control over is how the housing market is currently performing. When you put your home on the market in a supply and demand atmosphere, it will determine the value you can get for your home. If you are putting your house up in a seller’s market, you have more wiggle room to increase the starting price when you put your house on the market. In a buyer’s market, you’d most likely have to get creative with pricing to get the kind of offers you want for your home.
It’s in the Details
While there are plenty of forces that affect your home’s value, you do have the ability to impact how much your home is worth in a positive manner. For example, your exterior paint offers visitors the first impression of your space. When the paint job is clear and complete, your home gives off the vibe of being up to date and well kept. Conversely, if your exterior features chipped paint, uneven colors, or doesn’t look cohesive, then your property value can take a hit. Additionally, should you have outstanding home improvement projects that affect things like your HVAC system, issues with your roof, or damage to your siding, your home value will also be affected.
However, providing you stay on top of these maintenance issues and continue to make the improvements as they come along, you can begin to positively impact your home’s value. General upkeep routines can help protect your home and investment through the long term until you are ready to move onto the next chapter of your life.
Whether you are prepping your home for a sale or looking for a new summer home mortgage, Luna Lending can help you determine how much your home’s value is and how you can best leverage that information. Contact us to learn more about how we can help today!
AHL is an Equal Housing Opportunity Broker. NMLS: 17296528 DRE 02058505
