Making the decision to sell your home is often affected by what your home is worth, but how can you find its value? A good place to begin is with a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) or appraisal. The CMA, which is performed by your qualified real estate professional, estimates the value of your property based on a number of factors including other recent sales and sale prices, community factors, etc. If you have made the decision to sell your home "By-Owner", have the property appraised.

What Determines A Property's Value
For many of us, the place we call home has an intrinsic value. It has meaning for us, our children, our family, and that value is often different from what the market value of your home may be. The property's value, or market value, is determined by a number of factors including:

Property Features
Obviously the first place to begin when establishing the value of a home is to look at its features including the number of bedrooms, number of bathrooms, total square feet, size of the kitchen, etc. A home that is well suited to a variety of potential buyers has a greater demand, hence a greater value.

The Neighborhood
A safe, attractive neighborhood will result is higher property values. Your neighborhoods location, its streets, and even its residents can play a big role in the value of your home.

Amenities
Amenities are like intrinsic benefits of living in your neighborhood and they add to the value of your home. Being close to schools, near parks & recreation, bikepaths, shopping, etc., can have a major impact on the value of your home. Why? Because the greater the benefits of purchasing your home, the higher its value will be.

The Community
The value of your property can also be determined by the community and its services. Good schools, easy access to highways or transportation, property taxes - these are all things that make a place more appealing to the home buyer. If your community has a thriving economy, sound government and city services and low crime rates, it generally translates into stronger property values.

Determining the value of your property can be a difficult task because the conditions we described above are only a few of the factors which can influence the ultimate price you receive. Some other factors include the number of homes on the market, the number of buyers looking for your type of home, even the interest rates available. All of these factors can play a role in the market value.