c: What Your Home is Really Worth in a Declining Real Estate Market

As the market changes one will need to modify what this article brought to the four two years ago so be flexible as you go about the valuation.


Unless you happen to be in the upper 1/2 % of home buyers, you are likely seeing your home value disappear in a very down real estate market. Even if you have been the best credit risk in the world, you have likely been experiencing the sinking feeling of seeing your home value go down through no fault of your own. The real estate market is down for a variety of reasons, reasons that you have little if any control over. So what has your home value dropped to in this real estate market? It’s a bit different depending upon; the region of the country you are in, your home value when the market turned your neighbors’ situation, the banks situation and your ability to pay. But with a little effort you can track down all this data to put a home value on your Home in this terrible real estate market.

Take it off the top

Home value depends upon many things. Unfortunately, you can take a nice percentage off the top in this real estate market. Each region is a bit different but start by lopping 10% off what you thought it was worth to begin with. Now you can start taking more off as you complete your real estate market assessment to find a home value (of sorts.)

Consider regional issues

Even after you have taken the initial chop at the homes value you’ll need to now consider the value of the region you are living it. Has the region’s economy taken a hit more or less then the nation as a whole? What sort of job base does it have to support its real estate market? A region that has a solid corporate management base is likely to have better home values then ones that have a manufacturing base.

The neighborhood situation

To figure out your home value in this real estate market you’ll need to consider the neighborhood that your home is located in. Is your home just like all the others? Is it in about the same condition as the others? If yes, your home value should be about the same as the others, within a margin of error for improvements. Now, add into the home value equation, in this real estate market, other considerations that a home value, in this real estate market, demands. Is there a foreclosure (s) in your neighborhood? Are there multiple homes for sales or empty homes in it? Your home value in this real estate market will be affected by these conditions.

Community and neighbors financial health

A community that is having a difficult time with today’s overall economy will likely depress home values. Generally, this is because the community needs to increase taxes because real estate values have dropped. In turn, people that are having financial issues to begin with, may not be able to keep pace with this because of other financial reasons. This causes them to drop their home price to make a sale, ultimately dropping yours. Each, and all, of these issues affect home value.