There has been a 30% increase in the number of mortgage applications in January of 2020. This means it’s a great time to sell, as there isn’t as much for buyers to look at but there are a lot of buyers shopping!
Sometimes, while house shopping, a home will go under contract, but then fail to get an appraisal for the agreed upon purchase price in the contract. Why? Because there is a difference between the appraised value of your home compared to the value of your home as seen by a potential buyer.
An appraiser will only use mathematical equations to determine your home’s value. Square footage, prices of similar homes within a mile, pricing on homes sold in the last six months, the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, a quarter ranking based on the age of the home and a whole lot more data goes into a complex calculation for a home’s value.
A Realtor, on the other hand, takes that information and adds marketability. A house on a busy road won’t sell for nearly as much as an identical home four blocks in from the busy road. This is a subtle change for an appraiser that won’t budge the value much, but for a potential buyer, it can make a huge difference in whether they would buy the home, thus affecting its value.
So, while a Realtor can make a good judgement on what an appraiser will likely value a home at, they can also add in slightly less tangible factors, like school district or garage sizes to determine how to price a home when selling it. These factors can make a home far more/less likely to sell, but will have little effect on the appraiser’s value! This is why you want an experienced Realtor!
As I always say, who you hire matters! If you have questions about your home’s marketability and value, I always offer a free one hour consultation!
