Today I want to talk about why price per square foot does NOT matter when determining the value of your home.
Before we jump into the topic, I want to remind everybody you can go to www.ShannonR.com and click on the Buyer or Seller tab to see hundreds of videos with lots of tips about buying and selling.
Now back to the topic on hand…why price per square foot shouldn’t be the only factor used to determine the value of your home.
You can easily go online and see homes that have sold and the price per square foot. You might think that you can take that square foot price and multiply it by the square footage of your home to determine the value. And yes, if your home is identical to every other home in the neighborhood, then you could do that. But in reality, when somebody buys a home and moves in, they either improve the home, maintain it, or wear it out, and that is why you cannot solely go off the price per square foot. There are all kinds of other factors that go into determining the value of that home, such as: Upgrades, view from the home, acreage, and functionality of the home.
Additionally, there’s an inverse relationship between the price per square foot and the square footage of a home. That means that a 1,500 sqft house, in a neighborhood, is going to sell for more per square foot than a 3,000 sqft house. Why is that? Well, because the most expensive things are already in that 1,500 sqft house. It has a roof, a heating and air system, a kitchen, and bathrooms. All of that is compacted into that 1,500 sqft house. That same stuff is in this 3,000 sqft house, but then there are also empty rooms. Those empty rooms are not as expensive to build as the kitchen, bathrooms, and roofline. Plus, a 2-story house will usually get less per square foot than a ranch house, an all one-level, because it costs more to build that one level home that has a larger foundation and roof line. Even though the square footage might be the same on both the homes, the one-level home is probably going to get a higher price per square foot.
So, if you need to know the value of your home, call a professional! We will come out & visit the home. We will look at all the upgrades and determine the value of the home based off of all those other factors. We will even give you tips about what you might want to do to maximize the return on your home with little investment. We can also let you know what buyers are looking for in today’s market! I do also want to mention that there are some upgrades that you may want to avoid because you won’t get your full value back when you sell the house. For example, a $10,000 water-softener system. You’re probably not going to recover that entire expense. Not all buyers value a $10,000 water-softener system, so they’re not going to be willing to pay $10,000 more for your house than another similar house. Or a $70,000 upgraded landscape package. It may look beautiful and it may help it sell quicker, but you may not recover that full investment.
If you need to know about the value of your home, give me a call! My team and I are on standby 7 days a week, 9am to 8pm, ready to help you take the smoother road to sold.