Checking out home prices
By Melissa
Wirkus
If you are thinking of buying a home in today’s
market, then you know that price is everything.
With all of the homes available
on the market, there are many too choose from but it
may still seem difficult to find one that fits your
specific needs.
The most important thing to consider when first starting
the home buying process is to make sure the price fits
within your specific financial
budget. That is why it is important to check out the
prices of homes before you even think about buying.
Not only to make sure it is financially feasible that
you are able to purchase, but to make sure that you
are not overpaying.
This is especially important since our slowing market
also means we are in the midst of a buyer’s market.
The more information you have before going into a home
buying
transaction, the better off you will be.
An October 21, 2006 article by Ellen James Marin of
TheLedger.com, “How to be an instant property
value expert,” looks at how to go about researching
a home’s value.
The first tip for potential home buyers is to focus
the home hunt on a particular area. This will give you
more specific data.
“Are you a wannabe homebuyer eyeing a particular
property that's captured your fancy? Yet are you petrified
that you'll pay too much? Even perfunctory research
on local property values could help put your mind at
ease.”
“Smart buyers narrow their search to the precise
area where they're looking, says Leo Berard, charter
president of the National Association of Exclusive Buyer
Agents
(www.naeba.org). If you like a house on Pine Street,
you should focus there solely. Data gathered on state
or national real estate trends will have little bearing
on your situation.”
Your best tool in getting the best deal in a home buying
transaction is to be educated on your current market’s
conditions. Right now, buyer’s have a lot of negotiating
power since most sellers are becoming more and more
desperate.
“A commanding knowledge of property values in
the section where you plan to buy will allow you to
craft an offer pegged at the right price for the local
market,
thereby reducing your odds of overpaying.”
“‘An on-the-ball purchaser operating in
a strong buyers' market should be able to negotiate
a healthy discount on the overall price or gain valuable
concessions from the sellers,’ says Sid Davis,
author of ‘A Survival Guide for Buying a Home.’”
An easy way to start your quest on becoming a home value
expert is to start on the Internet! This can be done
without ever even leaving the comfort of your own home.
“A profusion of Web sites now provides free information
on property values and can prove a valuable resource,
Berard says. One example he cites is www.zillow.com,
which allows you to search data at either the property
or neighborhood level.”
But remember, looking on the Web should only be the
start of your journey. A real estate professional will
always be the most accurate and helpful.
“Tap into your agent's database. The classic method
used by real estate professionals to reach an estimation
of value for a property is known as a ‘Comparative
Market Analysis.’ This technique is grounded in
data on recent sales of similar homes to the one being
judged.”
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