You Want How Much for your Orange County Home?

In today’s Orange County real estate market, many sellers are having to face the realization that their property isn’t worth what it was a few short years ago.  With a drop in median home prices of 40%, this is a major adjustment for most sellers.

However, potential sellers need to realistically view the true value of their home, not the one that used to be before the huge changes the real estate market and the economy have experienced in the past few years.

To decide the true value of your home, you need to look at the homes that have recently sold in your neighborhood that are most similar to your home.  Also, review the homes that are currently for sale to see what your competition would be.

Don’t expect that a buyer will fall in love with your home and pay any price for it, no matter what.  These buyers will be looking at the other homes in your neighborhood and comparing them to yours.  Even if they prefer your home and it is the best, they will most likely need a loan.  Their lender will require an appraisal, and if the appraisal comes back too low, they will either need to bring the extra money over the appraised value to close or they will come to you and ask you to lower the price to the appraised value.

If you expect that a cash buyer will come along and pay any price for the property, be aware that most cash buyers are looking to buy properties under market value and expect that their cash should help them to do this as a cash buyer does not have a loan contingency and is therefore more likely to close.

Additionally, many cash buyes are savvy and looking for a good return on their cash investment.

If your home is truly one of a kind or has something unique to offer, like a whitewater ocean view, these may allow you to expect that a cash buyer might pay more than market value, but usually, a property needs to be priced properly to sell.

To obtain a fair market value for your property, please contact Christine  Donovan at 714.319.9751.