Now is a great time to think about selling your Champaign County home. The winter weather has held down the inventory and kept many buyers from being as active as they would like. Besides the low count of homes, we are also lacking the supply of good, quality homes in the Champaign area that will be needed in the coming months.
Determining Your Home’s Value
Do you know what your Champaign County home is worth? Below, you’ll find three valuation methods frequently used.
Appraisal – A common valuation method is a professional property appraisal. This system is also used anytime a home buyer obtains a mortgage for the purchase of the property. The cost ranges from $300-$500 and is relatively low compared to the value of your home. Pros: An appraisal is completed by a professional that visits your home and verifies the details, both good and bad. They use real data and while the outcome is based on personal opinion it uses verifiable facts and market data. An appraisal can also be used to obtain financing. Cons: An appraisal mainly looks at the past. It doesn’t focus as much on what the trend of the market is looking into the future. It frequently doesn’t account for the current style, taste and market demand from buyers.
Tax Assessment – I consider this to be the most misguided representation of a homes market value. Your Champaign County property’s tax assessment is easily available online and is based on a number of factors (lot size, finished sqft, bedrooms, garage, etc.) Pros: & Cons: I have a hard time thinking of any benefits of using this number to establish a market value. We see the tax assessment vary from 30% high to 30% low for various properties. On a practical basis you would likely want to get your tax assessment as low as possible to keep your real estate taxes as low as possible.
True Market Value Assessment –When our team markets a property we provide you with a comprehensive assessment of your property’s market value.
- It starts with a look at the overall home sale trends in your neighborhood. What does the balance between supply and demand look like? How long it is taking to sell homes in your area?
- Next we look at the active competition. In any given time-frame only a certain number of homes will sell. How does the home need to be priced to compete against the neighbors but still maximize the value for features and amenities in the property? Are there features of the home we can promote that will allow us to bring a higher sale price?
- The third step involves comparing the home we are marketing to prior sales in the area. We search the sale records for similar properties and then analyze the details making adjustments up and down for different features and benefits. We’ve been through thousands of homes and put this knowledge into the numbers.
The only drawback to the Market Value Assessment (commonly referred to as a CMA) is that it can’t be used to obtain financing like an appraisal. As an added benefit we provide it free of charge.
Get Started – If you want to know what your home is worth you can start with a free online tool – ChampaignValues.com This allows you to sign up for a market snapshot detailing sale prices, days on market and much more. It’s provided free via email and comes in a great looking, interactive report.
Contact Us
If you have thought about selling your home this year contact us and find out what your next steps are. We can provide advice on pricing, staging and presenting your home to maximize your equity. We’ve successfully helped clients sell homes in Champaign and the surrounding areas for years and are ready to put that experience to work for you. We look forward to hearing from you!
It’s going to be a great year for Champaign County Real Estate!
Champaign County Real Estate 
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