How Do You Find Out What Your Home Is Really Worth In Scottsdale?

Most Scottsdale homeowners who ask what their home is worth have already looked it up online. Often they found several estimates, and none of them agreed. Valerie Moe, a real estate agent with Keller Williams Realty Sonoran Living in Scottsdale, Arizona, hears this often. It isn't a sign that something is wrong with your home. It's a sign of how hard Scottsdale homes are to value from a screen.

Here is why the estimates miss, what actually sets the price, and how to get a number you can understand and use.

An automated estimate knows your address, your square footage, your bedroom count and nearby sales. That's all it has. It can't see inside your home, and it can't stand in your backyard.

In many places, that's close enough for a rough idea. Scottsdale is harder. Homes here vary a great deal, even on the same street. A golf course lot and an interior lot can look identical in public records. So can a home with a full McDowell Mountain view and one that faces the neighbor's wall.

Each estimate also picks its own comparable sales and weighs them its own way. Different inputs give different answers, which is why the numbers spread out.

The details that often decide what a buyer will pay only show up in person. Valerie walks through a home before she gives anyone a number for that reason. These are the things she looks at:

• The view and the lot. What you see from the patio, and what sits behind the back wall.
• Upgrades and finishes. A remodeled kitchen, new flooring or a resurfaced pool, and when the work was done.
• Condition. The roof, the air conditioning, the water heater and anything a buyer's inspector will flag.
• Layout. How the home lives day to day, which square footage alone never shows.

After the walk-through, the value comes from four places.

1. Real sales, not asking prices. Recent comparable sales, adjusted for the differences that matter. An asking price is a hope. A sale is what a buyer actually paid.
2. The community and the village. A home in Silverleaf and one elsewhere in DC Ranch are different markets, even though they sit close together. The best comparisons usually come from inside the same community.
3. Club, HOA and schools. What a club membership costs, what the HOA covers, and which of Scottsdale's three school districts serves the home all affect what buyers will pay.
4. Today's competition. What a buyer will see alongside your home if it lists now, and how quickly similar homes have been selling.

Age matters too. In communities like Grayhawk, built mostly from the late 1990s to the mid-2000s, updates often separate two homes that look alike on paper.

No. An appraisal is done by a licensed appraiser, usually hired through the buyer's lender once a home is under contract. Its job is to support the loan.

A valuation from an agent comes earlier. It helps you decide whether to sell, when, and at what price. A good one also prepares you for the appraisal. When the reasoning behind a price is documented, the upgrades, the view and the comparable sales are easier for an appraiser to see.

Knowing your home's value helps with decisions well before a sale. It shows how much equity you have for a move up or a move to less house. It helps you decide whether a renovation makes sense. And it gives you a starting point if you're planning a move a year or two out. If you're weighing that kind of move, read what to think about before downsizing.

If you are thinking about selling, the valuation is the first step in a net sheet: an estimate of what you walk away with after the costs of selling.

A little preparation makes the number more accurate. Before the walk-through, gather what you can:

• A list of upgrades and repairs, with rough dates and costs.
• The ages of the roof, the air conditioning units and the water heater, if you know them.
• Your HOA dues and what they cover, plus any club membership details.
• Anything you already know needs attention. A known issue is usually easier to plan for before you list than after a buyer's inspector finds it.

Then ask for the reasoning, not only the number. Valerie has priced homes for twenty years, including sales up to $20 million, and the method doesn't change with the price. You'll see the comparable sales she used and why. See how Valerie prices a home.

Start with what your home is worth in Scottsdale. If you live in another part of the Valley, see the home valuation page. If you're ready to list, read about selling your home in Scottsdale.

When you'd like your number, contact Valerie. There's no pressure to list, and the first conversation costs you nothing.

Q: How accurate are online home estimates in Scottsdale? They're a rough starting point. They can't see inside the home or weigh the view, lot, club access and upgrades, which often decide value in Scottsdale.

Q: Do I have to list my home if I ask for a valuation? No. Many people ask for a valuation to plan a move, a renovation or a future sale.

Q: What is the difference between a valuation and an appraisal? A valuation from an agent helps you decide whether and when to sell, and at what price. An appraisal is done by a licensed appraiser, usually for the buyer's lender, once a home is under contract.

Q: What do you compare my home against? The most similar recent sales, often inside the same community or village, adjusted for view, lot, club access, condition and finishes.