One of the first things a real estate agent does when helping a homeowner determine list price for their home, or to determine if a house a buyer is interested in is priced at fair market value, is to use comparables to see what other similar homes in the area have sold for.

It’s not always apples to apples — but experienced agents know that some common sense factors such as being in the same neighborhood, school district, house size, property size, age of home, and similar features all play a part in separating the "good comps" from the bad.

Other factors play a key role as well. It’s not enough to have similar homes — timing plays a big factor in the credibility of the comp. House A and House B may be nearly identical — but if house A sold two years ago or even two months ago in a volatile market — that price point is more than likely not still viable. So a wise agent uses all the tools at their

disposal to come up with the closest possible comparison, and determine the fairest market value mapping out factors such as the ones above, plus date sold, number of bedrooms, number of bathrooms, and amenities such as pools and fireplaces.

One thing agents do have to caution home sellers on when choosing price is the dollar value they put on the improvements they’ve made. Some are wonderful, upgraded kitchens and bigger bathrooms, etc. Some are more individual tastes. Ultimately the market price of a property is determined by the market — what a buyer will pay in that market at that time.

If you want to learn how much your home is worth in today’s market or how it compares to others — give me a call. I can help map it all out for you!