Free House Appraisal

How to Appraise Your House Online

There are plenty of sites out there that advertise a free house appraisal online. Unfortunately, the appraisals you’ll get from these sites are remarkably inaccurate. Here, I’ll show you the best way to appraise your house for free.

First, let’s start with the bad news. If you’re not paying for a professional house appraisal, the best you’ll be getting is a rough estimate. If you’re selling your house yourself, a professional appraisal is a must. It’s worth the small investment. To read why, click here.

There are just too many factors to consider when trying to determine a house’s value for a free online tool to be effective. Do you really think that a site can deliver an accurate, instant house appraisal when the only information they require is your address and how many bedrooms you have?

It’s just not possible.

The best way to appraise your house for free

The best way to quickly (and roughly), determine the market value of your home, that I've found, is to use Trulia’s Real Estate Data in an effective way. Trulia is an established and well respected home selling site, and they organize a lot of public data to give you a good sense of your community’s real estate market.

On their front page, click on the Recently Sold tab, and enter in your town and pick the Property Type (single-family, condo, etc...) of the house you’re trying to appraise. Also, you’ll want to specify how many bedrooms and baths in order to narrow down the results to more accurately reflect your home’s value.

You’ll end up with a list of homes that have recently sold:

Scan this list and try to find a home that is as close to yours as possible. Look for similar size, age, condition, etc... The better you filter out dissimilar homes, the more accurate this method will be.

These homes will give you a rough, yet truthful value for your home. After all, these house have actually sold for the price shown. And though a house’s price and value are not always the same thing, if you can find a few houses similar to yours, you’ll have a pretty good idea of the current market value of your house.

Additional Information...

If you want to dig a little deeper, under the Stats and Trends tab, click on “Real Estate Overview”. This will give you a decent snap shot of your neighborhood’s real estate market. Are prices higher than they were six months ago? Are they lower? How many homes have sold? How many have foreclosed?

With a little bit of work you can get a decent an accurate idea of your town’s current real estate market.

Don’t get Scammed

Avoid any site offering a free house appraisal that asks for any personal information like your e-mail address, or your phone number. These sites are, best case, just trying to sell you something, and worst case, looking to scam you.

Remember, if you're just curious, a free house appraisal can be fun. But, if you're a FSBO seller, the best way to appraise your house is to higher a professional.

For more info, read our article on Home Appraisal Tips or Why You Shoud Get a Professional Appraisal.

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