Should I Sell My House Below Market Value?

This question of, “should I sell my house below market value” is one we get often.

The value of a home is subjective.  If you were to have three appraisers appraise the same property, in the same month, you may get three different appraisal values.

How is that possible?  When an appraiser evaluates a property, there are many aspects that are taken into account.  Some are subjective, and some are unsubjective.

The unsubjective elements are things like square footage, age of the home, lot size, neighborhood of the property, year built, age of furnace, hot water tank, roof, numbers of bedrooms and bathrooms, developed basement or undeveloped basement, etc.

With all of the above elements, all three appraisers would come up with the same answers, and likely affix the same value to them.

Subjective elements are things like how renovated or unrenovated the property is, paint colors, flooring types, location in the neighborhood, proximity to ravines, schools, or apartments. Other subjective elements include style, ie modern or contemporary.  All of these may be viewed by all three appraisers, but elicit a completely different valuation by each.  (This variance in evaluation may be based on personal taste, even though the appraiser is supposed to be as objective as possible.)

Appraisers are like judges.  And, like judges, some of what they make decisions on is undebatable, the facts of the case, and then they also have to decide on some subjective elements as they apply to the case, you can end up with judges having different results, even with the same case.

Home appraisal or evaluation is no different.

Appraisers have very detailed checklists and all of them use the same checklists when they view the home.  Then, they look at sold comparables on the MLS from the last year, against the characteristics of the property being evaluated, to see how it compares to other properties sold.  This is where the subjective nature of appraisal, comes into play.

One appraiser may look at what a neighboring house sold for on a ravine, river or lake, and if the subject house is two houses off the ravine, how do they evaluate it?   Is it 10%, 20% or 30% less?

Also, seller motivation may affect sale the sale price of a house.  Let’s say a family just got transferred, and wants to buy a home in the new city, and can’t afford to carry two sets of mortgage, taxes, insurance and utilities.  All of a sudden, they need to sell their home and sell it fast.

Or, a family inherits Grandma’s house, but has no money in the estate to cover all the expenses once the probate is complete.

Or maybe a house goes into foreclosure due to job loss, illness, or some life event interrupting the incomes of the owners.

Or, a house is in all original condition, and rather then renovate, the family just wants to sell it cheap so they can move on.

In a cases like these, all houses will often sell for less than full market value, because all the sellers need the property sold quickly, to preserve their credit or to reduce the stress from owning a property that has become a liability instead of an asset.

So, when you look at the recent sold comparables in a one year period for a neighborhood, and the values appear to be all over the map, with no rhyme or reason, some of these other issues may have come into play.

Often the number of months a seller has available to complete a sale, will often end up with a higher sale price than a home where the Seller needed to Sell fast.   It only stands to reason, that if a seller needs to sell a home fast, it often requires a lower price to move it fast.

If you have a house you need to Sell Fast, We Buy Houses Edmonton is your go-to buyer.  You can sell your house in any condition, even if the situation is complicated, and We Buy the House With Cash, so no need for any drawn out approvals.

If you want to see if your house qualifies for our quick and easy closing program, give us a call at 780-483-2006, or fill out the form on this site and we will be in touch right away!   We look forward to getting you a quick solution to your property problem.