Knowing the estimated value of your own home helps you price your home for sale, as a precursor to an official home appraisal. Understanding your home’s worth allows you to estimate the proceeds of a future home sale, so you can get a better estimate your budget for your next home. And, if you’re shopping, it’s also useful to check the value of homes in the area to ensure your offer is competitive.

Begin with your estimate, a useful starting point to help you determine an independent and unbiased assessment of what your home might be worth in today’s market. Try comparing your home to recently sold properties in the area to better understand its current value or estimate a possible sale price for your home. Your real estate agent will provide a more robust CMA for you after evaluating the home and taking into account any special features, its location and local market conditions.

Home values increase when buyer demand increases. Making home improvements can also increase the value of your house. Updating your home’s exterior, including the roof, siding, doors or deck often increase the true value of your home, which is what buyers are willing to pay for the property. Depending on the extent of the change, addition or renovation, and the ability of Axen to identify it, some changes may be reflected in the estimate while others may not. You can help by updating your home facts when changes have happened. Search your home address on Axen, claim the property as your home and update your home facts to reflect recent improvements.

Typically, home values increase over time and grow 3-4% each year in healthy, sustainable markets. However, home values are constantly changing depending on buyer demand and local market factors such as the amount of inventory, bidding wars or economic changes in the area. Local market conditions are the best indicator of projected (short-term) home value appreciation. Your estimate is updated regularly to keep up with fluctuating home values, making it an excellent resource for a free home value estimation. Review the history of your estimate for your neighborhood in order to to examine house value appreciation in your local market.