How do you determine value of house before listing?

[SonicblueGT03]

We've been thinking about moving out of the city, or at least finding a bigger lot that I can put a shop on. I looked a place about a mile from me, in North Richland Hills, has 1/2 acre lot, house is right at 2300 sf, built in 1986, has a nice 24x36 shop on it already. Appraisal district says it's on the books at $130,600, but they're listing it at $249,000. Kind of threw me off after seeing that. I always thought you used the appraisal value as the basis of listing price.

So what are the determining factors in deciding on a listing price?

[1carcrazyguy]

We've been thinking about moving out of the city, or at least finding a bigger lot that I can put a shop on. I looked a place about a mile from me, in North Richland Hills, has 1/2 acre lot, house is right at 2300 sf, built in 1986, has a nice 24x36 shop on it already. Appraisal district says it's on the books at $130,600, but they're listing it at $249,000. Kind of threw me off after seeing that. I always thought you used the appraisal value as the basis of listing price.

So what are the determining factors in deciding on a listing price?

Price per sq ft. vs comparables in the same market. Over here on the west side of Fort Worth newer houses are selling between $79 and $86 a sq ft. The houses listed at $100+ sq ft are sitting.

[slow99]

Comps

[SonicblueGT03]

This one is $105/sf. Seems ridiculously high to me. Really have no desire to go through the custom build process again, but if these are the prices we're going to find, may have to.

[OrangeChevyII]

See what the taxes are on it. They have an appraisal on the house market there.

[Sean88gt]

Not sure, I don't think it has ever been done...

[1carcrazyguy]

This one is $105/sf. Seems ridiculously high to me. Really have no desire to go through the custom build process again, but if these are the prices we're going to find, may have to.

Having a larger lot will bump the price per sq ft. However if the house was built in 86. It is probably needing repairs and will not be as energy efficient as a new build. A new build is a pain but will likely give you more of what you want in the end.

When we moved back here in 2011. Here was our list.
Larger lot with a shop (or enough room to build one)
newer house for efficiency
fireplace (wood burning)
2 living areas
close to work
move in ready (did not want to spend more $ on paint carpet yada yada)
single story house
WE DO NOT WANT TO BUILD
WE WILL NOT SETTLE FOR A SMALL LOT

Well....after a year of looking we
built a new house (2 story)
on a small lot
out in the country not even close to work
and it has a fireplace (gas not wood burning)


It worked out well since we had a 3 car garage. However after 2 years.....we are moving. Going to have a shop this time!!! We listed our house and it sold in 14 days to the 3 person to look at it. First looker wanted to put a contract on it. But they had a house for sale in Richmond Virginia that needed to be sold first. So we declined that contract. The second looker was very interested and it turned out that his co-worker lived next door. His wife put the skids on that idea. The 3 looker...contract in hand! We close next week!!

[War Machine]

zillow.com

[bcoop]

The value on county tax appraisal means diddly. Comps are the way to determine real value. I'm not sure how shops are valued in though.

[yellowstang]

The value on county tax appraisal means diddly. Comps are the way to determine real value. I'm not sure how shops are valued in though.

Also, look if the person is over 65, taxes never go up if they are, so maybe that tax value is an old listing that never goes up anymore.

[1carcrazyguy]

The value on county tax appraisal means diddly. Comps are the way to determine real value. I'm not sure how shops are valued in though.

And that varies depending on who does the appraisal. We tried to buy a house that had a 60x80 shop (insulated), had air lines ran through the whole shop, floor drain, full bathroom, a game room/entertainment area with stained concrete floors, full rustic look (in the game room) that was super nice, cooking and deep sink area in the game room. Anyway, the appraiser only allowed 20k for the shop due to it being "oversized and overbuilt" for the 1.06 acre lot. The seller said he had over 100k in the shop. Seller would not come down to appraisal price and we would not go above. It all worked out for the best. Our current house turned out to be a LOT easier to sell since we were only in it 2 years.

[UserX]

zillow.com

Bingo, they're really close is most cases.

[jewozzy]

Bingo, they're really close is most cases.

They're usually 20% wrong in one direction or the other. They said the house I sold was worth around $78000 I sold it for around $95000 after a month on the market.

[dblack1]

Bingo, they're really close is most cases.

Zillow
Can be close in a subdivision type situation where everything is the same. On things over a few hundred k I've seen it off a few hundred k

[SonicblueGT03]

Zillow shows $172,000. Much more in line with what I was thinking. They also show the house to have been built in '78, not '87.