We’re all curious what our homes would be worth on the market, even if we have no intention of selling.  If you recently bought, you’re curious if the value has already gone up.  If you have owned for a while, you may be thinking of selling someday soon and want to know if you can even afford to.  And if you just got your tax statement, you might be shocked at how little value the county says you have…or how much they want from you in taxes!

Here are the three most common ways people obtain an outside opinion of their home’s value:

1.  Zillow.  Go on Zillow or another website that offers instant valuation. I mean, it’s 2am and you’re in front of your computer anyway.  Aren’t you at least a bit curious?  Nothing wrong with surfing online, but don’t trust those numbers.  They are based on algorithms, not on expertise.  Zillow certainly hasn’t seen the insides of any of those homes or your home, and much of the time the statistics they are basing value on aren’t even accurate.  Easy and quick, but not worth the pixels it’s written on.  Also expect a follow up from an agent you don’t know.  They will sell your contact info to a local agent.

2.  Taxes.  Even if you aren’t curious what your home is worth, the county or city sends you a letter telling you anyway. There was a time these tax assessed values were all uniformly way too low.  Then the economy collapsed and suddenly they were all uniformly too high.  Now days, they are most commonly a little low to considerably low.  But again, the city has not seen the insides of any of these homes.  So if your property is in disrepair, the tax value might be high.

3.  Me.  That’s right, me!  I’m just as free as the other options, plus I’m actually a living, breathing, thinking Realtor with Edina Realty.  I will happily provide you with a new market analysis.  Did I just do one for you last year?  Okay, then I’ll update that one.  You’re my past, current, and future clients.  I want you to have the best information from a professional that actually has seen all these houses.  And has certainly seen yours!  I’ve been doing this for over 10 years, and it turns out I need clients every year.  So it doesn’t matter to me if you are planning to sell now, later, or maybe never.  Just let me know if you are actually thinking of selling soon so that we can schedule you more urgently.