How to Determine a Home’s Value
Many people think about a home’s value when they are considering selling their home or buying a home. If you’re thinking about buying a home, you may want to know its value so that you can determine whether you can get the mortgage amount you require from the lender. As a seller, you may want to know your home’s value so that you can decide on the listing price. This article discusses methods you can use to determine a home’s value
Methods of determining a home’s value
The following are ways you can determine a home’s value:
1. Look at your BC Assessment
BC Assessment provides a valuation of your property based on July 1 of the previous year. These assessments come out the first week of January. You can use this value in conjunction with market statistics to determine the current ballpark value. Keep in mind that assessments are not always accurate and have a large coefficient of variation due to the mass assessment techniques that are used.
2. Collaborate with a realtor
When you are prepared to go further, you may ask a local realtor for comparative market analysis (CMA). Realtors have methods for determining a home’s value, and it is useful to get a second opinion to accompany the approximations from an online valuation tool.
When developing a CMA, realtors usually search recently sold homes with similar:
- Location
- Size
- Number of bedrooms/bathrooms
- Home type
- Style and view
- Selling price
3. Get an expert appraisal
Since a realtor has other motivations when providing a CMA you may want to get an unbiased opinion from a real estate appraiser. Alternatively, when a person buys a home, the bank may require them to get an appraisal before they underwrite a loan. As the seller, you are not required to get an appraisal, but it can be an excellent idea if you don’t want any second-guessing concerning your home’s value when listing. Other reasons for getting an appraisal include tax or capital gains purposes, marketing/listing purposes, separation/divorce or perhaps you want to sell privately and want to determine a fair valuation done by an unbiased professional appraiser.
A real estate appraiser will evaluate the features of the home, including:
- Location
- Age
- Design
- Interior and exterior condition
- Recent improvements
- Total number of rooms (with extra value-added for each bedroom and bathroom)
Real estate appraisers also assess site influences, such as land topography, traffic, positive or negative views, nearby amenities, and recent comparable sales. They will present their findings in an appraisal report using what is called the Direct Comparison Approach, or DCA. The DCA uses recent comparable sales, makes adjustments for any and all differences, and provides an exact value of the subject property as of a given date.
Real estate appraisers in Vancouver
If you want to know a home’s value and are searching for a real estate appraiser in Vancouver, contact us at Adlaw Appraisals Ltd.
We provide home appraisals for mortgage financing, market and listing, estate, tax, litigation, separation, and relocations.
Order an appraisal online or call us today at 604-809-8506 to learn more about our residential and commercial appraisal services.