Tuesday, December 20, 2016

How Do You Know if a Home Is Priced Fairly?


How do you know if a home is priced fairly? What is fair market value? We’ll answer both of these questions today.


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How do buyers know if a home is priced fairly?

Fair market value is determined by who’s looking and who’s competing because that changes moment by moment. So does the value of a home.


One of the ways a real estate professional can determine whether or not a home is priced accurately is to pull recent comparable sales. Your agent will look at similar homes in the same area that have sold within the last three to six months. They will compare those properties to the one you are interested in and see how the features and amenities stack up.


On the mortgage side of things, that is very similar to what the appraiser will do. The appraiser will compare other properties to determine whether the home is at, below, or above market value.

Fair market value is determined by who’s looking and who’s competing.
Now, what happens if the home does not appraise? Your loan is based on the value of the appraisal. Typically, the mortgage covers 95% of the purchase while you put 5% down. If the appraisal comes in too high, the consumer can decide to pay that or not. You just need to come up with extra money.

Recently, we had an appraisal come in $4,000 under the sales price. We worked with the seller and managed to pay the fair market value. That is fairly common. Even if you are receiving financing from the government, the contract needs to be renegotiated and revisions have to be made if the home doesn’t appraise.


If you have any other mortgage questions for David, you can give him a call at (708) 705-7911 or email him at Dave.Bowen@imortgage.com. In the meantime, if you have any real estate questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I would be happy to help you!