Lately, I have had more “regular” sales than “short sales” or “foreclosures” — which I feel is a good sign. The fact that the regular sale is appealing to those burned by short sales and scared by “as is” foreclosures is also heartening. Regular sellers have several options to find out how much their house is worth: contact a full-time Realtor; look up on the Internet at sites like Zillow.com or Realtor.com; ask neighbors what they sold their homes for (not very reliable); or go to open houses and query the agent selling your neighbor’s house for local “sold” comparables.
After gathering this information about what a house is worth, it is important to remember that the seller is still in an “estimate status” because the buyer still ultimately decides the value of the seller’s house, (i.e., the buyer has to want to pay what the seller is asking). When the two minds meet, a contract is agreed upon, but, unfortunately, if the house is to be financed, the bank and its appraisers — who most of the time do not see the same value as the seller/buyer — will find the home as less in value than the agreed-upon price, causing the house to sometimes fall out of escrow and forcing the seller to start over.
Mostly, sellers who did not take out a home equity loan, a second mortgage or have refinanced with money taken out of principal are sitting a lot healthier than those than did take out equity. If you have to sell in today’s market and have not touched your equity since 2004, most likely the house will have kept the same value as in 2004. Then, to reach a starting price, add 3% of value to the house for each of the last six years along with improvements and location.
Selling your house in this market can be tricky, but more “non-distressed” sellers are finding that they are also benefiting from the soft market when they buy.
