Short answer: your home is worth what a ready, willing buyer will actually pay for it today, based on recent comparable sales, its condition, and its exact location. An online estimate guesses at that from public data. A real comparative market analysis, or CMA, from a local agent measures it. Real talk, not sales talk, here is how the number actually gets made.
Here is the honest answer: your home is worth what a ready, willing buyer will actually pay for it today. Not what a website guesses, and not what you paid years ago. The market sets the number, and my job is to help you find it before you ever list.
An online estimate is a helpful starting point, but it is an automated ballpark built from public records: square footage, bed and bath count, the last sale, tax data. It is fine as a rough guide. But it has never once stepped inside your home, so treat it as a starting point, not your list price.
They miss three things that move value the most. First, condition: an algorithm cannot see your remodeled kitchen, your new roof, or the updates you poured your heart into, and it cannot see deferred maintenance either. Second, your exact location: two homes a block apart can be worth very different amounts. Third, current demand: online numbers lag what buyers are actually doing right now.
Four things, weighed together. Recent sales of homes truly comparable to yours nearby. Your home's condition and updates. Its exact location and lot. And current supply and demand. An agent weighs all four; an algorithm only estimates a couple of them.
A comparative market analysis, or CMA, is prepared by a local agent who reviews recent comparable sales, walks your home, adjusts for condition and location, and factors in current demand. An online estimate is generated by an algorithm from public data with no eyes on your home. One is a computer's guess; the other is a researched, market-based opinion of value.
No. A CMA is an agent's market-based opinion of value that helps you price to sell, and it is usually free. An appraisal is a formal valuation by a licensed appraiser, typically ordered by the buyer's lender after an offer is accepted. Both lean on comparable sales, but they serve different purposes, and loan questions go to a licensed lender.
It rarely works that way. An overpriced home tends to sit, lose the momentum of its first couple of weeks, go stale, and often net less than a home priced right from day one. Pricing to the market from the start is what protects your result.
Before you trust a website with the biggest number in your life, let's find your real one. A free, no-obligation CMA, and no pressure to list.
Request your home value from Cory Salisbury, Realtor with KW Westfield, helping Utah families since 2012.
General education, not mortgage, tax, or legal advice. Loan eligibility, rates, and terms are determined by a licensed lender. Cory Salisbury, Realtor, KW Westfield. Equal Housing Opportunity.
A Zestimate is a helpful starting point, but it is an automated guess built from public records and broad data. It cannot see your updates, your home's true condition, or your exact location's quirks, and it lags real-time buyer demand. Treat it as a rough ballpark, not your list price. For a real number, get a CMA from a local agent.
An online estimate is generated by an algorithm from public data with no eyes on your home. A comparative market analysis (CMA) is prepared by a local agent who reviews recent comparable sales, walks your home, adjusts for condition and location, and factors current demand. One is a computer's guess; the other is a researched, market-based opinion of value.
Your home's value is set by the market, meaning what a ready buyer will pay right now. The biggest drivers are recent sales of truly comparable homes nearby, your home's condition and updates, its exact location and lot, and current supply and demand. An agent weighs all of these; an algorithm only estimates a few.
No. A CMA is an agent's market-based opinion of value used to help you price your home to sell, and it is usually free. An appraisal is a formal valuation performed by a licensed appraiser, typically ordered by the buyer's lender after an offer is accepted. For loan and financing questions, talk to a licensed lender.
Because your neighbor's home is not your home. Even on the same street, differences in updates, condition, layout, lot, and timing change what a buyer will pay. Automated tools smooth over those differences; a CMA accounts for them by adjusting each comparable sale to match your specific home.
Ask a local agent for a no-obligation comparative market analysis. Cory Salisbury with KW Westfield prepares a free CMA for homeowners across the Wasatch Front, with no commitment to list. You get a researched number and the reasoning behind it, so you can decide on your own timeline. This is general education, not financial or legal advice.
General education, not mortgage, tax, or legal advice. Loan eligibility, rates, and terms are determined by a licensed lender. Cory Salisbury, Realtor, KW Westfield. Equal Housing Opportunity.
