Should you have a pre-listing appraisal done before you put your home on the market? When you are getting ready to list your home, you may be unsure about the price to choose that will bring you the best offer. A pre-listing appraisal can be a real advantage to you and to the buyer planning on making an offer on your home. We recommend that you have a professional appraisal done before you put your home on the market to determine the best price to bring you highest sale price possible. Then you will share the appraisal with interested buyers so that they know that your price is the correct price for your home.
Is a Pre-Listing Appraisal Beneficial?
There are several reasons to choose the professional appraisal. First, it gives the buyer confidence that your home is priced appropriately. In rapidly shifting markets, buyers may be reluctant to make an offer for fear that they are making a mistake and overpaying. By providing a pre-listing appraisal for the buyer to review, the buyer has confidence in the price and will be more willing to make a full priced offer. The pre-listing appraisal validates the list price in the buyers’ mind. it demonstrates to them that your home is appropriately value. Buyers are less likely to make an offer that is less than a professionally done appraisal.
In some instances, it is tactically useful to offer the property at a price slightly below the pre-listing appraisal. Since everyone loves a bargain, can you imagine the activity that you will get when buyers realize that they can buy your home at a price BELOW the appraised value. That kind of marketing can result in multiple offers at a final sale price over the list price.
Third, when the appraiser comes to do the bank appraisal, the appraiser will be busy. He or she will appreciate being able to review the previous appraiser’s valuation and the properties used to reach that determination. The bank appraiser will not be able to use your appraisal because they have been hired to do an independent appraisal. However, they will likely review it and find it useful. They will certainly appreciate not having to do all of the room measurements that the pre-listing appraiser has already done!
A professionally done pre-listing appraisal gives you confidence in your choice of a list price. No one wants to leave money on the table by under pricing their home, but no one also wants to over price a home and have it linger until it has to be reduced and reduced to attract a buyer.
Is Zillow The Same as a Pre-Listing Appraisal
Of course, you can see what Zillow and Trulia say about your home’s value, but can you rely on their numbers? Zillow and Trulia use algorithms to generate their “Zestimates” but they are only estimates. They look at recent sales but they don’t know if those properties have been renovated, improved beyond the value of other properties in the neighborhood or completely out of date. Zillow and Trulia can’t take into account whether a property backs to a park or sits under high voltage transmission lines. In short, Zillow and Trulia algorithms generate values at the mile high level!
Is A Comparative Market Analysis the Same?
Realtors can create a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) to establish a good range of value. A CMA uses comparable properties and provides what the realtor feels would be a good list price. While a realtor will choose properties which are more similar to yours, and therefore more relevant, the realtor is not qualified to make quantitative adjustments in the property analysis. You need a professional appraiser to determine your home’s value through an appraisal.
What does the Appraiser Consider?
If you want a more detailed appraisal of the property’s value, you can hire a licensed real estate appraiser. A professional appraisal is really the gold standard for pricing a home. An appraiser makes quantitative adjustments to the selected comparables based on differing features from the home being appraised. For example, if your home has 2 full bathrooms and the comparable property has one full bathroom and one powder room, the appraiser may make an adjustment of several thousand dollars depending on the area and quality for this difference. This will narrow down the range of value and the appraiser can reconcile an unbiased opinion of fair market value.
How Does the Lise Howe Group Use Pre-Listing Appraisals?
All these reasons led us to create our platinum listing package to assure that your home is listed for the correct price, presented to the market in its best condition, and then advertised extensively to bring you the highest and best offer. Please reach out to us at 240-401-5577 if you have an questions or would like to schedule an appointment to talk further.
