What is Your Home Worth?

The ultimate question for homeowners right now is, "What is my home worth?" Websites such as zillow.com are killing our industry with their misleading values of homes. Zillow.com says my home is worth $469,900, but that my neighbors across the street who have the exact same house and a new roof, their home is worth $424,000. The true value of both our homes is closer to $400,000, which is down about 15% since 2005.

A home's worth is based on so many factors, the biggest being what the market will bear, that it is virtually impossible to get an accurate market price on these home value websites. It really takes a true real estate professional, such as an agent or appraiser to give a correct home value. Trying to convince a client that their home is worth a lot less than these home value websites report is quite difficult and makes for an uphill climb in trying to price a client's home accurately for sale. Take these home value sites as a means to a general idea as to the value of your home, but calculate at least at 10-20% difference, either higher or lower, but typically lower.

A Home is an Investment in Your Life, Not a Day Trader Stock

Today in the Sacramento Bee's Business section was an article interviewing three local home builders and their take on the market. One of the interviewees, Christopher Cady, from Pulte Homes mentioned that buying a home is not like trying to beat the stock market, as day traders tend to do.

A home in an investment in your future, your quality of life and a means of providing the best possible shelter within your budget. Many would-be buyers are on the fence waiting for the bottom and no one really knows where or when that bottom is. We only know today, and only you know if it's the right time for you.

"So, how's the market doing?"

On a regular basis, someone will ask me, "So, how's the market doing?" And with all the negative press the housing market has gotten lately, I can see the anticipation of waiting to enjoy in the misery of how bad the market is currently. However, I refuse to wallow in the "this market is so bad" that I hear so many others doing. Instead, I'm taking the glass half full route -- regardless of what the market may look like that day, week or month. If I let myself, even for a moment, feel the full effect of a "bad market," I'm setting myself up for failure. I love my job too much to go there. So, if you ask me, "how's the market doing?" I will respond with, "Great!" And I mean it, because that's how I see it. It's always a good time to buy or sell a home, if it's the right time for you, regardless of market conditions.

An Idea to Blog from My Dream this Morning

While still in that moment of being half-asleep and half-awake, I had the idea to start a real estate blog. And in that moment, three different blog entries came to mind, of which this is not one. I majored in English and had planned to be a New York Times Bestselling novelist, but somewhere along the way stopped writing. So now, I will pick up writing again in this blog to post my thoughts on real estate, a passion as much as writing, and combine the two.