There is so much information about real estate available on the web, which is great for consumers, agents and people just looking for ideas. Great, now what?

How do you take all this information and make it actionable? The answer to that burning question is…it depends. It depends on your individual situation. Are you buying? Selling? Interested in renovating and understanding how certain renovations affect your value?

For buyers, you want to focus on looking at houses that have been sold, and think about which ones you would have purchased. Look for houses in neighborhoods where you want to live. Then look at the sold prices of those particular homes. Do the prices fit your budget? Do you need to tweak some of your criteria to find a home that fulfills your needs and fits your budget? You should engage a licensed Realtor to help you. Most online records don’t show all of the information you need to make these determinations and someone who is a market analysis expert will serve you well. The services of a buyer’s agent are usually free, so leverage that expertise to your advantage.

For sellers, you want to focus on market trends that are specific to your neighborhood. It’s great to understand the national or regional trends, but when it comes to pricing your property, focusing on hyper-local data will be the most helpful. There is a lot of information that can’t be found on the web, so engaging a Realtor to get all the relevant information is the best way to determine your property’s value.

Thinking of renovations? This is a little bit more difficult analysis. There are several factors to consider, the most important one has to do with you and your family’s needs. Secondary to your needs is the cost of the renovation, and the third important factor is understanding how the renovations affect the value of your home. There are many articles on the web about what renovations increase the value of your home, so it’s a good place to start, but you need a Realtor to analyze that data against what’s going on in your neighborhood market.

All the available data can be interesting, but it’s useless unless it’s analyzed specifically for your needs.

Call or email us today to book an appointment to discuss your situation and get a custom analysis. [email protected] or 571-353-1531