7 Reasons to Check Your House Value (and Where to Get an Estimate)
It’s important to keep abreast of your home’s value. The 2024 U.S. Houzz & Home Study, which surveyed over 30,000 respondents, found that 56% of homeowners undertook a renovation project last year. Of these, 8% planned to sell their home soon and were motivated by the desire to increase its value.
They may be onto something. If your home’s value increases beyond what you paid for it, you can potentially leverage that equity. Perhaps you’d like to refinance your mortgage at a lower interest rate. If your property value has decreased, on the other hand, you may be able to get your property taxes lowered. At the very least, knowing this information will provide a picture of your financial health, so you should check your house’s value periodically.
A nationwide housing shortage and homeowners’ reluctance to give up their ultra-low mortgage rates have led to low inventory, keeping home prices high. This increases the chances that your home is worth more now than when you bought it.
But if you’re not sure how to check house value or even where to start, we’ll help you understand how to find out, why it’s important, and when you need to know your home’s worth.
We’ll start by providing a Home Value Estimator (HVE) tool that can give you a rough idea, but we’ll also explain why these Automated Valuation Models (AVMs) are merely a starting point and shouldn’t be relied on for conclusive numbers.
Next, we’ll share our research results with you and introduce experts Kevin Yoder, a top-selling agent in Grand Rapids, Michigan; Mike Ford, a Southern California-based general certified real estate appraiser since 1986; Warren Boizot III, SRA, a state-licensed appraiser in the Denver, Colorado metropolitan area; and Megan Toll, an experienced Philadelphia agent with The Kevin Toll Group, all of whom can guide you through the process of finding out if your home is worth more than you paid for it.
