Whether you are purchasing a home or selling a home, the value of the property will be of great interest to you. The value of any given property depended on quite a few different things. It would be nice if the value was based on the property alone, but this is not the case, factors that are out of your control also play a big role in determining the bottom line value of a home.
The Neighborhood - The neighborhood that the home is in is one of the major factors in determining value. This is partly due to the fact that homes bought & sold in the neighborhood will be used to compare when the original asking price for the home is determined. Also, the quality of the neighborhood itself plays a big role. An area where the yards are well kept, the streets are clean, and the homes are well maintained will have higher baseline real estate values than an area that is run down and dirty.
Schools - Whether or not you have children, schools have a definite impact on home values in their areas. People with children are always looking for homes in a good school zone. Plus school zones are usually more established areas and as such have a higher value.
Shopping & Recreation - Area that have close access to shopping centers (not too close mind you) tend to have a higher value as people do not want to have a long trip to pick up the necessities of daily life. Also being close to sites of recreation is handy, especially if you have kids who are into sports.
Crime Rate - The number of crimes in the area will have a huge impact on home prices as people will tend to shy away from purchasing in a high-crime area. Buyers will also likely take notice of what kind of crimes are most often committed in an area before moving in. It would seem the home buyers are concerned about home-based crimes, naturally.
City Planning - Also known as zoning. This is what will determine the future of the neighborhood and area in general. Are they planning on dropping a huge big box store in your backyard? This will no doubt have a huge effect on the value of a property and the neighborhood.
Selecting your area is one of the most important choices in home buying and is extremely important in the sales game. It is harder to sell homes in less developed areas and areas that are run-down. So plan ahead for your purchase or sale and get the most out of it.
Ok, let's get down to the nitty-gritty on making an offer on a home. This process can be quite different depending on how the local market looks at the time of the offer. In a seller's market there may be competition for any given home and competing offers can drive the price of a home up quickly. However, the national market has definitely shown signs of moving towards a buyer's market and that is a whole different ball of wax. In a buyer's market it is possible for the buyers to go a little overboard, or "underboard" as the case may be when making their offers. Just because it is a buyer's market does not mean that sellers are going to accept an offer that is less than the actual value of the home.
Low-ball offers are difficult things to deal with. Usually they are received with scorn by the sellers who cannot believe that someone would make that low an offer. For instance, offering $75-100k less than the asking price is not likely to be well received by the seller. Chances are that if an offer that low is made then it will be under the appraised value of the home and the seller would be taking a loss in selling it. A buyer's market can mean some great deals on homes but it does not mean that sellers are willing to let their homes go for less than they are worth. There is one good way to avoid insulting sellers by low-balling their home. Ask your realtor what homes are being valued at in that neighborhood. Once you know this information you can tailor an offer that will be seen as valuable and fair.
The funny thing about low-ball offers is that every now and then, they are accepted. Either out of a desperate need to sell or perhaps relocation needs to be done quickly. If you can find these sellers then you may be able to get away with making a lower (yet not insulting) offer. Networking with your realtor is the best way to deal with these situations as they will be better equipped to gauge the seller's situation and how quickly they want/need to sell their home. Generally if someone is desperate to sell then your realtor should be able to recognize that and inform you of the situation. Just keep in mind that ever a desperate seller will bristle at getting a dismally low offer.
Both Kelli Bennett & Lee Cameron are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Kelli Bennett has sinced written about articles on various topics from Air Filters, Real Estate and Site Promotion. Kelli Bennett is a real estate agent specializing in Breckenridge real estate. is your leading site for all your Summit County and. Kelli Bennett's top article generates over 1600 views. to your Favourites.
Lee Cameron has sinced written about articles on various topics from Property Investment, Install Flooring and Real Estate. Lee Cameron is a professional REALTOR? serving the market. Lee has consistently proven his talent and knowledge in the real estate business and. Lee Cameron's top article generates over 4400 views. to your Favourites.