When you're ready to sell your house in Atlanta, one of the first and most fundamental steps is determining its value. Understanding your home's worth not only helps you set the right asking price, but it also helps you get the value you want from the sale.
Are you asking yourself, “What’s my house worth?” Find out what different home valuations are available to you, how they work, and how you can get one.
Types of home valuation
Knowing what your home is worth is crucial for any real estate transaction. The different methods to assess home value can be highly subjective, and as such it is important to take a comprehensive approach when determining your home’s value. You want to understand how your property is evaluated in order to set an appropriate home sale price.
Assessed value
The assessed value of your home is used primarily for property tax purposes. Local government assessors evaluate your property to determine how much you owe in property taxes.
This value is typically lower than the market value and doesn't necessarily reflect what you could sell your home for on the open market. While important for tax purposes, the assessed value isn't the best indicator of your home's current market value. It’s not a good idea to use assessed value as a basis to set your sale price.
Appraised value
An appraisal value of a home comes from a professional appraiser who conducts a thorough evaluation of your home. Factors like size, condition, location, and recent sales in the area are taken into account.
This type of valuation is common during the home-selling process, especially when a buyer needs to apply for a loan in order to purchase a home in Atlanta. However, you can have an appraisal done at any time to get an accurate, unbiased estimate of your home's value. If you, as the seller, want a separate appraisal, then it will cost you a couple hundred dollars. An appraised value is a better estimate than an assessed value when you are pricing your home.
Market value
The market value, also known as fair market value (FMV), of your house is an estimated worth based on your home’s features, including location, demand, property features, and recent local comparable home sales, as well as the current conditions of the market.
This is essentially the amount that buyers are willing to pay for your house on the open market in usual conditions. In a sense, market value is a way to measure buyer demand.
How to determine home value
Are you wondering, “How much is my home worth?” Whether you choose to use online tools, conduct a comparative market analysis (CMA), or consult professionals, these valuation methods will give you a better understanding of your home's worth and help you make informed decisions.
Online calculators
Online home value estimators, such as those offered by Zillow and Redfin, can give you a quick and convenient estimate of your home's worth. These tools use algorithms aided by publicly available data to generate their estimates.
While easy and often free, an online home value estimate is not reliably accurate. It provides a rough idea of your Atlanta home's value but shouldn't be relied upon for setting an asking price.
FHFA House Price Index Calculator
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) offers a House Price Index (HPI) Calculator that uses a broad set of data to estimate home value changes over time. This tool considers the average home price appreciation rates in your area, providing another reference point for your home’s potential value.
While it's more reliable than some online calculators, it still doesn't account for specific characteristics of your home.
Comparative Market Analysis
Market value is often determined through a comparative market analysis (CMA), a method commonly taught in real estate licensing classes and used by real estate professionals.
A CMA involves evaluating recently sold homes in your area that are similar to yours in size, type, and features. You should compare your home to other homes that are sold within the same area in the last 6 months, are the same type of home (a 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom house, for example), and have the same square footage, plus or minus 250 square feet.
You should keep in mind that a CMA is not considered an official home appraisal. CMAs are completed in order to estimate the fair market value of a property.
How to get a fast offer
When you’re looking for a quick and hassle-free way to sell your house, look no further than We Buy Ugly Houses®. We are committed to making your home sale as simple and stress-free as possible with our 3-step home-buying process.
- Free consultation: We provide you with a no-obligation consultation where we’ll assess your property and its features. There’s no cost for us to visit your house, do a walkthrough, and answer your questions.
- Fast offer: Based on our evaluation and local comps, we can present you with a fast offer for your home. Our offers never come with any obligations.
- Flexible closing: Upon acceptance of an offer, we start the closing process, and we can sometimes close in as little as three weeks. But if that sounds too fast, we work with our sellers to determine a closing date that works best for them.
In the past 25 years, We Buy Ugly Houses has helped over 150,000 sellers across America when they wanted a fast home sale. To find out what it’s like to sell to us in Atlanta, read some of our verified seller reviews.
Sell your house with ease to We Buy Ugly Houses®.
With We Buy Ugly Houses in Atlanta, you can sell your house without an inspection and get a free consultation with one of our local property buyers.
When you sell to us, you get a home sale with:
- No commissions
- No need for repairs or renovations
- No lengthy waiting periods
Our team of Atlanta off-market home buyers specializes in buying properties in many different conditions, and we provide fast offers based on relative market comps, the current condition of your home, and other factors.
Do you want to sell your house hassle-free? Don’t wait—reach out to us today to take the first step toward a simple, smooth home-selling experience.
