Home Value and Mortgage
The Challenge of Home Value for Buyers and Mortgage
One of the biggest challenges in shopping for homes is estimating home values. Needless to say, overpaying for homes can be very costly not only in terms of mortgage amount, but interests over the lifetime of the home loan. As internet technology continues to expand, there are many web tools that offer online home data and home value estimates.
Clearly, these web tools provide an advantage to the buyers by providing them with essential data and keeping them from overpyaing for homes. There are disadvantages as well. The only estimates are not always accurate, especially during volatile real estate market as the one that we are in right now. The psychological effects can be quite complex. If a buyer sees the listing price as higher than the online estimate, naturally the buyer is less inclined to make offers that are higher than the online estimate even if the home is worthy that much. On the other hand, if the listing price is lower than the online estimate, the buyer can become suspicious of the home conditions and wonders if there is any wrong with that house.
So what should you do? Overpaying for homes with larger than necessary mortgage is costly, but one has to remember that estimating home value is not pure science with compex algorithms; it is an (subjective) art as well. If the home appeals to you and you can see your family living there for years and have your children grow up there, that is worth quite a bit though it’s hard to dollarize it.
In summary, use online tools as references.
Here are some popular websites for home buyes:
zillow.com
trulia.com
redfin.com (a broker site)
ziprealty.com (registration is required)
cyberhomes.com
eappraisal.com
