For most of us with family homes, our homes have value beyond compare. However, when it comes time to downsize and leverage the equity in our property, we need to know approximately how much our home will bring.
Of course, there’s the ‘true value’, which is what someone actually pays for your home, and ‘perceived value’, which is the range of prices a potential buyer is willing to spend. In effect, you’ll learn what the perceived value is when the offer prices start coming in.
So what does a real estate agent look for when assessing value?
Top attributes of your Caringbah home for calculating value
Block size
If your home is an older-style property on a large block, it affects the value of your property. If it’s in an area that’s up for rezoning to medium-density housing, or commercial, your property could attract a higher sale price.
Number of bedrooms
Many people buying in Caringbah, and the Sutherland Shire in general, are young families who are looking for several bedrooms. Even if they don’t have a large family, they look to that extra bedroom as a possible home office or study. Some young families are also setting up their homes for co-generational living so if your home has a granny flat or a bedroom suite with a separate entrance, it will add to the value of your home.
Interior condition
As real estate agents, we know that potential buyers are generally put off if a home looks like too much work. Even if buyers are planning to put in a new kitchen, bathroom or laundry, generally they want to be able to move in without needing to do anything. That means that the interior should be clean and smell fresh, with good paintwork and floorcoverings. You should think about general maintenance, too, when assessing your home’s value. Any dripping taps? Windows that don’t open or close? Cupboard doors that stick? Any and all of these will detract from the perceived value of your home.
If you’ve made any improvements, make sure you keep a record of what they were and approximately how much they cost, and provide this information as part of a sales pack for home buyers.
Exterior condition
Most potential buyers will drive by a home for sale before they ever attend an open house. So when real estate agents in Caringbah assess your home, they look at the condition of the outside. Is the paintwork clean and bright, or dull and flaking? Are all hedges and bushes trimmed? Is the lawn mowed? If there’s outdoor entertaining, is the area clean and tidy? Pool? A pool can be a huge bonus for young families but a turn-off for older couples or singles. So if you have a pool, you need to weigh up the advantages versus disadvantages.
Parking
Especially in Caringbah and Caringbah South, parking spaces add a great deal of value to your home. A lockable garage is a popular inclusion but even a carport and an extra parking space will prove valuable, especially for families with more than one car (which is pretty much everyone these days).
Proximity to schools, shopping centres, public transport
The closer your home is to public transport, good schools, shopping centre or medical centre, the more valuable your property becomes.
Proximity to medical and commercial zones
As we mentioned earlier, if your home falls into a medical services zone, or a commercial zone, it might attract interest from developers – at a price that reflects its value to them.
Can we help with an appraisal?
At LOCATION, we have decades of experience in selling in Caringbah and the Sutherland Shire. We give meticulously researched appraisal figures, based on all we’ve discussed above, and comparing sales of similar properties in the region.
Can we help with advice on downsizing?
Having navigated the home sale and downsizing process not only for our real estate clients but also for members of our own family, it’s an area in which we’ve amassed a wealth of knowledge. So don’t hesitate to seek out our help – no obligations.