When someone is thinking about selling their home, the first question that always comes up is, “How much is my home going to sell for?”

It’s completely valid to be curious about your home’s worth in the open market. You might check Zillow or another home estimate website for a ballpark figure. While these online tools can provide a general range, they’re not always reliable and can sometimes be wildly off. So, if you’re using those numbers to plan your next move, proceed with caution.

If you really want to know your home’s current market value, you have two solid options.

Option 1: Hire a professional appraiser.  A licensed expert will come to your home and perform a full appraisal. They’ll look at your property’s size, condition, improvements, and similar homes recently sold nearby. This will give you a professional opinion on what your home is worth. However, even if an appraiser says your home is worth $650,000, that doesn’t mean a buyer will offer or is willing to pay for it. 

Option 2: Ask a real estate professional to do a CMA. This might be your best option. When you bring in an experienced agent who knows the local market and understands how pricing works in real-time, they can put together a comparable market analysis, or CMA.

A CMA looks at homes similar to yours that have recently sold. A good agent will factor in the time of year, the current market conditions, and what’s happening in your neighborhood. They’ll give you a price range, not an exact number to the dollar, but a realistic bracket based on what buyers are actually paying.

“Your home’s value isn’t what a website says; It’s what a buyer is willing to pay.”

That range could be $25,000 to $50,000 wide, especially if your home falls in the luxury category or a fast-moving market. It’s not meant to be exact, but it’s often the best way to understand what your home will likely sell for in today’s market.

Is there a way to increase my home’s value? Yes, and you can do that by updating your home. This is only if you have room within your hyper-local market where homes like yours sell for more than you think your home is worth. You can improve your home by upgrading areas of the house, enhancing the exterior, and boosting curb appeal.

But tread carefully because it’s easy to go overboard on renovations that don’t raise your price tag much. Upgrades like fresh landscaping, curb appeal, kitchen updates, and paint tend to bring the best return, but only within reason.

If you plan to sell, getting a professional opinion, not just a website estimate, is better. Whether through an appraisal or a market analysis from a trusted agent, the right guidance will help you price your home realistically and confidently. 

If you have questions about getting your home ready for the market, please call me at (312) 437-7799 or email [email protected]. I’m here to help.