If you are thinking about listing your home in the Greater Clear Lake or Pearland area, one of the biggest factors that may be holding you back from doing so is the value of your home. You may have a decent idea about the value of your home by researching recent solds from a Monica Foster Team Market Snapshot but you will not be able to get a more accurate valuation without a comparative market analysis (CMA) from the Monica Foster Team. This can help you to make a more informed decision on not only whether to sell or not but at what price. The good news is that there is an extreme shortage of inventory (in all of the Greater Houston area really) at the moment causing homes to be sold for the highest fair market value possible. Thus understanding the components of home valuation process is critical.
The Characteristics Of The Home
Factors like the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, the size of the living areas, and overall square footage of the home directly affect the value of your home. The layout (i.e. open kitchen, upstairs master) as well as condition of wearable aspects (roof, A/C, foundation, appliances) affect the desirability of the home but do not directly affect the value of your home. However, these aspects can cause a reduction in price to compensate since fair market value assumes a home in good condition (appraisers will often reduce the value for a roof near the end of its useful life or for extreme foundation issues). Because of these factors, it is not always easy for a homeowner to determine value with accuracy, and the insight of a knowledgeable and experienced agent is important.
The Square Footage Of The Home
An experienced Realtor® who knows the Clear Lake and Pearland areas will know the average price per square foot of the homes in your area, and this price per square foot can be applied to your own home. However, keep in mind that there is a difference in the price per square foot between smaller and larger homes. Generally, smaller homes (often one-story homes) will have a higher price per square foot than larger (often two-story) homes.
The Condition And Special Features
When your home is being evaluated, you will receive additional value for special features that have broad market appeal or for an improved condition over other homes in the community. For example, if your home has a recently updated the kitchen, bath, or flooring you may have a value for your home based on a higher price per square foot than other homes in your area. Keep in mind that the value you get is rarely equivalent to what it cost you as the seller to put in. This is especially true if you have over-improved your home with regard to other homes in the neighborhood. The neighborhoods in our area where modernizing upgrades can have the most dramatic effect are the older ones such as Countryside, Old League City, The Landing, and Brittany Bay in League City as well as Clear Lake City itself along with parts of Seabrook just to name a few.
Determining the value of your home is not always a simple process. An experienced real estate agent from the Monica Foster Team will take into account market conditions, the appropriate radius for comparable homes and any adjustments for differences between comparable homes (age, size, etc.). They will also eliminate for consideration builder homes (since they are not priced based upon market conditions but rather demand and what the market will bear), foreclosures and other outliers. Finally, they will adjust for the condition and special features of your home to determine a value.
If you are interested in the value of your home or market conditions in your area you can receive these at http://MarketSnapshotByMonica.com or http://HomeValueByMonica.com. For seller information please visit our seller’s page at http://RealtyByMonica.com/sellers/.
Understanding the Value of Your Home
Every year during the holidays, many homeowners decide to either not list their home or take it off the market until next year. Often this is because sellers do not want to be interrupted during the holidays. However, this is a mistake. Buyers moving at this time of the year tend to be very serious and often want to get settled in before the school year resumes in January. Also, there is less competition from other sellers during the slower winter months and holiday decorated homes often appeal to buyers. Buyers can imagine themselves in your home for the holidays!
While slightly higher than last year, average FICO credit scores for FHA and conventional loans are still lower since 2012, sitting at 757 for conventional and 688 for FHA. Down payments are still low as well. Thanks to delays in enacting portions of the Frank-Dodd Act you can still get a mortgage with 3% down, especially with FHA (83% are 3% or less). So if you are considering purchasing a home in the league city, friendswood, seabrook, kemah, pearland, or the greater clear lake area, the ability for you to obtain a mortgage has never been better even if you don’t have perfect credit or a large downpayment!