LiveMARYLAND Seller Tip: How Appraisers Determine Your Home’s Value

Your home may look like it came straight out of an HGTV show, but that's not how a valuation is determined by an appraiser. While the condition of your home is important, it's only one ingredient in an appraiser’s home valuation recipe!

If you haven't been living in a bubble over the past 2 years, then you would know home values have been on the rise at an aggressive pace - and this can be a challenge for appraisers because they haven't seen values like these in many neighborhoods for quite some time.  

So what are all of the ingredients in a home appraiser’s valuation recipe?

Condition - but not just of your home - how does your home’s condition compare with recent sales in a the surrounding area? Is your home in better condition, about the same, or a little worse than others in the neighborhood?

Location - an appraiser will look at other recent sales within a certain radius. The size of the radius largely depends on the density of the neighborhood, as well as the city, county, zip code, and school district.

Age - Not just the age of the home, but of the systems inside the home as well - the roof, plumbing, electrical and more.

Size -  the square footage, total "usable" living space, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, whether the basement is finished or unfinished

Home Style - Townhomes are compared to townhomes, Rowhomes are compared to rowhomes, Condos are compared to condos. Single family homes are evaluated based on comparable homes of similar styles (colonial vs colonial, rancher vs rancher, split level vs split level).

Extra Features - Parking, garages, sheds and outbuildings, parking / garage, lot features and views, outdoor space, custom finishes, screened and covered porches

Market Performance - there is a commentary section where additional adjustments can be made based upon local appreciation & other expert opinions on value.

Appraisers will use all kinds of data to scrutinize and compare nearby sales, and will use that information to make adjustments to the value of the subject property, so the more information you can share with the appraiser about updates and special features, the better:  think about "effective age" and "condition" in addition to overall buyer desirability.  

If you're curious about what your home might be worth today, reach out to us for a market analysis - we’d be happy to help!  

The McIntyre Team of Keller Williams Integrity

Direct: (443) 870-4268 | (443) 574-1600