What is My House Worth?

What is My House Worth?

You may be asking, what is my home worth? Appraisers, brokers and insurers may have different opinions of a home's value.

If you’ve ever tried to figure out how much a home is worth, you may have become very confused by the wide variations among real estate valuations that can be used. These definitions may help:

The asking price is the amount the owner of the property believes the property may be worth or the amount he or she may be willing to accept from a buyer who wants to purchase the property. The asking price is set by the seller, often in consultation with a real estate agent, when the property is offered for sale.

The purchase-offer price is the amount the buyer believes the property may be worth or the amount he or she may be willing to pay the seller to purchase the property. The offer price is set by the buyer, again often in consultation with a real estate agent, as part of the buyer’s purchase offer.

The market value is the agreed-upon price that the seller is willing to accept and the buyer is willing to pay for the property.

A comparable market analysis, also called a competitive market analysis or CMA, is an opinion of the property’s value that’s prepared by a real estate agent, usually to help the seller determine an asking price or help the buyer determine a purchase-offer price.
An appraisal is an opinion of a property’s value that’s prepared by a state-licensed real estate appraiser. An appraisal is based on the location and condition of the property and prices of recently sold comparable properties. Lenders typically require an appraisal paid for by the borrower as part of the home loan process.

The tax-assessed value is determined by a state or local tax assessor to levy property taxes and other ad valorem assessments. The tax-assessed value is rarely the same as the asking price, purchase-offer price, market value or appraised value of the property.

The insured value is the maximum amount an insurance company could pay on a homeowner’s insurance claim if the home were damaged or destroyed in a fire or other covered disaster. The insured value considers the size and features of the home and the estimated cost per square foot to rebuild the home, but shouldn’t include the land value. The insured value doesn’t guarantee that the home could be rebuilt for that amount.

Article from http://www.life123.com/ July 11th 2009 – no author mentioned

So now you know why the different "value" amounts are different.

If you want to brainstorm about buying or selling your home in the Metro Denver, Colorado area
feel free to contact me at dwambs@msn.com - (scroll down to the bottom of my postings page and click on the icon to see a GREAT way to take a look at the house of your dreams!!