February
15
15
What is My New Hampshire Home Worth?
What is my New Hampshire home worth? That is a great question, one that most home owners ask themselves when they are thinking about selling their home. When I first started in real estate a mentor gave me this illustration of what a home is worth from different points of view, and it's proven to be fairly accurate after being in real estate for 5 years.
[caption id="attachment_4115" align="aligncenter" width="446"]
This cartoon illustrates how your home is seen by different stakeholders in the real estate transaction process[/caption]
As homeowners, we always see the value in our home, mostly because it's where we have poured our blood, sweat and tears into and it will always special to us.
However, the true "fair market value" is what a willing seller and a willing buyer agree to. With that being said, a seller never wants to sell for less than the top dollar the property is worth. Home is where the heart is right? A buyer doesn't want to over pay for a property either.
As we all are aware there is a tax assessment from each town, and it does have some value into estimating what a property is worth. However, what it really is telling you is what the properties share of the taxes to support the town that it is located in. Each town has their own tax assessor that will give their subjective opinion. Many times the assessor doesn't enter the home and they base the tax value just on what they see from the outside. Most towns usually conduct a tax assessment of homes about every 3 years.
Then, there are the estimates that different websites offer of the properties value – the Zestimate per se. They use complex algorithms to estimate what the property is worth and most of this value is based on public information. Many times this is not up to date/online, at least in our neck of the woods. Some of the smaller towns do not have their information online and certainly don't update it all the time.
For instance, there was a home I did a market analysis for a property and the Zestimate was $76,000 and the Trulia estimate was $126,000 but the actual market analysis that I did based on similar properties that recently sold was well over $400,000.
So why the drastic difference in price? Because these websites never actually go out and look at a property. Had they, someone would have seen the mobile homes that once occupied the property had been replaced with a beautiful 3800 square foot home with detached 3 bay garage and another barn. Clearly worth well above what the algorithms suggested.
On another property I sold this fall, I looked up on Zillow/Trulia and their estimated values were close to $100,000 less than the fair market value the property actually sold at. The information they used was inaccurate - wrong number of bathrooms, wrong square footage and stated the basement was unfinished when it is completely finished. Not to mention they didn't even get the style of the home correct.
Now don't get me wrong, I am sure that in more densely populated areas that have mass-built neighborhoods where homes are very similar throughout, this could be a great tool, and although it's something that should be looked at by potential buyers and sellers, it certainly does not give a fair market price with enough accuracy to be relied on. This is especially true of any property that is in current use. Because the property is not taxed the same on the acreage that is in current use.
Ultimately, if you want to know what your home or a home you want to purchase is worth, talk to an experienced real estate agent who services that area. They will know the market. They have likely been in the homes that are comparable to yours. They will be able to tell you what all of the data out there really means. Sometimes Zillow and Trulia get it right, other times it is especially wrong.
You can also sign up for weekly, monthly or quarterly market insight reports on our website--straight to your inbox!
We are here to help – whether you are a seller looking to get fair market value for your home – or a buyer looking for just the right place.
This cartoon illustrates how your home is seen by different stakeholders in the real estate transaction process[/caption]
As homeowners, we always see the value in our home, mostly because it's where we have poured our blood, sweat and tears into and it will always special to us.
However, the true "fair market value" is what a willing seller and a willing buyer agree to. With that being said, a seller never wants to sell for less than the top dollar the property is worth. Home is where the heart is right? A buyer doesn't want to over pay for a property either.
As we all are aware there is a tax assessment from each town, and it does have some value into estimating what a property is worth. However, what it really is telling you is what the properties share of the taxes to support the town that it is located in. Each town has their own tax assessor that will give their subjective opinion. Many times the assessor doesn't enter the home and they base the tax value just on what they see from the outside. Most towns usually conduct a tax assessment of homes about every 3 years.
Then, there are the estimates that different websites offer of the properties value – the Zestimate per se. They use complex algorithms to estimate what the property is worth and most of this value is based on public information. Many times this is not up to date/online, at least in our neck of the woods. Some of the smaller towns do not have their information online and certainly don't update it all the time.
For instance, there was a home I did a market analysis for a property and the Zestimate was $76,000 and the Trulia estimate was $126,000 but the actual market analysis that I did based on similar properties that recently sold was well over $400,000.
So why the drastic difference in price? Because these websites never actually go out and look at a property. Had they, someone would have seen the mobile homes that once occupied the property had been replaced with a beautiful 3800 square foot home with detached 3 bay garage and another barn. Clearly worth well above what the algorithms suggested.
On another property I sold this fall, I looked up on Zillow/Trulia and their estimated values were close to $100,000 less than the fair market value the property actually sold at. The information they used was inaccurate - wrong number of bathrooms, wrong square footage and stated the basement was unfinished when it is completely finished. Not to mention they didn't even get the style of the home correct.
Now don't get me wrong, I am sure that in more densely populated areas that have mass-built neighborhoods where homes are very similar throughout, this could be a great tool, and although it's something that should be looked at by potential buyers and sellers, it certainly does not give a fair market price with enough accuracy to be relied on. This is especially true of any property that is in current use. Because the property is not taxed the same on the acreage that is in current use.
Ultimately, if you want to know what your home or a home you want to purchase is worth, talk to an experienced real estate agent who services that area. They will know the market. They have likely been in the homes that are comparable to yours. They will be able to tell you what all of the data out there really means. Sometimes Zillow and Trulia get it right, other times it is especially wrong.
You can also sign up for weekly, monthly or quarterly market insight reports on our website--straight to your inbox!
We are here to help – whether you are a seller looking to get fair market value for your home – or a buyer looking for just the right place.