Think you know how much your home costs? It is often hard to pinpoint a value on your home, especially when the time comes to selling your property. In most cases, it could seem to be quite arbitrary – features that you find add value may be to others what depreciates the property. There are, however, some factors that are sure to affect your home’s price.

The key factors that contribute to a property’s value are:

• the location of the home
• the home’s layout and floor plan
• the current fixtures and state of the home
• the age of the home
• remaining lease period or other restrictions for ownership or occupancy of the property
• the state of the property market

The main reason for getting a reliable estimate for the price of your home is to make sure you are not shortchanging yourself when you sell the home. Everyone wants to sell their home at the best possible price. However, it is also crucial not to overprice your home, as that will deter potential buyers and result in your home not being sold at all. The following tips will help you gain better insights into the value of your home, and help you set a better price for your home.

Comparative market analysis

If you prefer a hands-on approach, you can conduct your own review of home prices. The process involves gathering a list of recently-sold homes with comparable features and comparing their prices. For example, if a balance unit sold in the vicinity of your apartment shares numerous similarities with your home, including the size, layout, and age, you can expect your property to go for a similar price. Also, make sure to take into account differences that will affect the price. For example, if that home is identical in all aspects, except that it is on the 24th floor whereas your home is on the 4th floor, you can expect that your home price will be lower as lower floors generally command lower prices.

This method is suitable for apartment homes where comparable units are easily found for comparison. For private properties where the home size, layout, and home features are so vastly variable, it will be more challenging. Another difficulty is in figuring out how much a contrasting feature will cost your house. For example, the home you are selling does not have the luxurious amenities like swimming pools and bowling alleys like those found at Treasure at Tampines, even though they share other similarities like location and size. So the question is, how much does the absence of those amenities affect your home’s value, as compared to Treasure at Tampines prices?

Online valuation tools

If you find it too tedious to do it yourself, technology has made it easier to perform checks on your home’s value. Online home valuation tools are easily accessible on the internet, making it so simple to get an idea of your home’s worth. The advantage of this is that it can gather massive amounts of data such as details of your home, prices of your competitors, and history of home prices. With more data than you can possibly gather and analyse by yourself, it calculates a pretty reliable estimate of your property.

This method is an excellent starting point, but one quip is that it cannot take into account the state of the interior of your home. Another limitation occurs when there is limited open-source information for the relevant area. When this happens, there is less information to work with, resulting in a less reliable estimate.

Work with an expert

Your best bet is probably to hire a real estate specialist to give you a personalised home valuation. Real estate specialists have a wealth of experience in valuating properties, and they have access to much more information on the property market than online tools do. The process is mostly the same, where they perform an analysis of comparable homes. The difference is that they have more tools and resources to help them do this!

The real estate specialist can also perform a site check on your home, and factor in any home fixtures and renovations that may affect the value of your home. Their ability to factor in both external and internal features of your home in the price valuation is probably the biggest advantage of hiring a real estate specialist.