Knowing property value estimates can be important in a number of situations, like when you refinance or sell your home, or take out a loan against it.
Typically, a home is your largest asset. So it’s important to know how much it’s worth since it plays such a key role in your overall financial picture.
Fortunately, you can estimate property values easily. As you’ll learn below, there are several ways to get an estimate – and they’re all straightforward and simple.
Among the fastest ways to learn the estimated value of your home is to use one of the many online tools, or property value estimators. Here, you’ll find details on the top websites for free estimates, which you can get in a matter of seconds.
In this article:
- What is Home Worth?
- How Can I Estimate the Value of My Home?
- What is the Most Accurate Site for Home Values?
- Top Websites to Find Your House Value Estimate
- Zillow
- Refin
- Chase Mortgage Services
- Realtor.com
- ZipRealty
- Trulia
- RE/MAX
- RocketHomes
- ForSaleByOwner.com
- HomeGain.Com
- Eppraisal.com
- What Will My House Be Worth in 5 Years?
What is Home Worth and Why is it Important?
Your home’s worth, or current value, is the price it would likely sell for on the market. Knowing the value of your property is important for a number of reasons.
For one, when you sell a home, you and your realtor will want to list it for the right price.
You’ll want a prices that competes in the market to attract more buyers. But you’d also want to maximize your gains and aim for as high a price as possible. Property value estimates can help determine your target price.
Also, when you sell a home, knowing what your home is worth can help you figure out the best time to sell. It can also shed some light on whether you should upgrade or remodel your home to improve its value for buyers.
Knowing how much your home is worth is important to estate planning, budgeting for taxes and for determining how much home insurance you’ll need.
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How can I Estimate the Value of My Home?
You can use a number of methods to estimate the value of your property. Many people hire an appraiser. This process is simple, but it can be time-consuming because you may need to provide details and wait for an appraiser’s report.
An appraiser will physically inspect your home and factor in the different features that could affect it’s value, such as a newly remodeled kitchen. They take into account sales of homes in the area as well as the condition of your own.
The current market conditions also play a role in how an appraiser determines the value of your home.
You can also turn to online sources that offer calculators for estimating the value of your home. With these digital calculators, you can simply input information about your property like your address, and you’ll get an estimate instantly.
Online calculators often base their estimates on the square footage of your home. They also factor in how much other homes in the area have recently sold for.
What is the most accurate site for home values?
A home’s value is a relative term. It’s “value” before a sale is really an estimate of what a buyer will pay for it.
No one knows how much as house will sell for until it’s sold. So, a home estimate is not a hard and fast number – and there is no precise formula for determining it.
Still, some estimates seem to be more reliable than others. The most trusted sources for home values are ones that use MLS data and have a wide customer base, like Zillow, Redfin and Chase among others.
MLS, or Multiple Listing Service, is a databased used by Realtors to help clients buy or sell properties.
Top Websites to Find Your Property Value Estimates
Here are 11 websites that help you find out how much your home is worth.
You might want to check several of them to get a good average because every calculator has a different way of determining an estimate on your house.
Also, remember that online estimates are good starting points for knowing your home’s worth. But they are not substitutes for official estimates from professional appraisers or real estate agents.
1.) Zillow
Zillow is one of the most popular websites for starting a search for a new home. Many people start their home searches with Zillow because it’s so easy to use.
How to Get Property Value Estimates on Zillow:
Zillow’s online calculator could not be any easier. You simply enter your address and instantly get a “Zestimate” of your home value.
Zillow says its Zestimate uses a proprietary formula that factors in public data as well as user-submitted data. The data for the Zestimates are updated daily.
Once you get your initial Zestimate, you can claim the property as your own and enter in more details about it to get a more accurate value estimate.
Once you claim your property, you can also get regular updates for value estimates as the market changes.
2.) Redfin
Redfin, based in Seattle, is a real estate brokerage with a searching site similar to Zillow. It earns money from sellers, who pay a fee to list their properties.
How to Get Property Value Estimates on Redfin:
Redfin’s Home-Value Estimator is very straightforward. You simply enter your address in the search function, and it returns an estimated home value.
Redfin, as a broker, uses MLS data in the area of your property to calculate its estimate. Again, MLS data is the proprietary data many real estate agents use to help their clients in buying and selling.
You can also request an in-person estimate through Redfin, which will recommend a realtor.
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3.) Chase
Chase also provides estimates for home sellers looking for guidance on what price to list their homes. Buyers can also use the estimator to help determine the likely final sales price, which can provide them with more information for negotiating.
As a bank, Chase’s mission with providing an online home value estimate is to help you get a better understanding of what loans you may qualify for – and for how much.
How to Get Property Value Estimates:
Chase’s home value estimator bases your home value on surrounding properties, but you can add in projects and renovations that may increase the value of your home.
The search starts with just your address, providing you with results in seconds. You can make tweaks to the details of your home right on the results page – from number of bedrooms to square footage.
4.) Realtor.com
Realtor.com, a real estate listings website, launched in 1995 just to serve realtors, but it has since opened to the public.
How to Get Property Value Estimates on Realtor.com:
With Realtor.com’s home value estimator, you submit your address to get an instant estimate of what your house is worth.
You can also connect to a Realtor.com agent for more specific information about housing price trends near you.
5.) ZipRealty
ZipRealty is a listing site for properties. It uses embedded maps to help consumers navigate their searches. ZipRealty also puts you in touch with local agents, if you’re in the market for one.
How to Get Property Value Estimates on ZipRealty:
To see what your home is worth on ZipRealty, use its interactive pricing tool. Like many online estimators, you simply type in your address to get an immediate estimate. You can find comparable properties in your area to get a good sense of the local price range.
6.) Trulia
Trulia is another listing site that is actually a subsidiary of Zillow. So, it has a similar layout and search tools. Like Zillow, agents pay to have their listings featured at the top of the search results on Trulia.
How to Get Property Value Estimates on Trulia:
Use Trulia’s Estimates to get an approximation of your home’s market value based on surrounding property values. Just enter your address on the home screen for more details about your property.
Trulia estimates are based on public information like the property’s physical characteristics, property tax information and recent sales data from the area.
You can correct facts about your home on Trulia to get a revised estimate.
7.) RE/MAX
RE/MAX, which stand for Real Estate Maximums, is one of the largest U.S. real estate companies. It operates on a franchise system with thousands of agents nationwide.
How to Get Property Value Estimates on RE/MAX:
Enter your property address on the RE/MAX Home Value Estimates page. You’ll then confirm your property’s details. RE/MAX provides several estimates from other calculations, like Eppraisal.com, SmartZip and Zillow so that you can compare the price ranges.
You’ll also see some examples of comparable homes in your area.
8.) Rocket Homes
Rocket Homes connects buyers and sellers as well as guiding borrowers to lending products. Its website allows users to search homes, similar to other listing websites.
How to Get Property Value Estimates:
You can use Rocket Homes’ free property report to get a better sense of what your house is worth based on trends in your area. You can also instantly connect with an agent.
Rock Homes’ estimate is based on the recent sales prices of homes in the area of your property.
9.) ForSaleByOwner.com
ForSaleByOwner.com allows sellers to directly connect with buyers through the listings. Buyers can browse listings from “do it yourself” sellers.
ForSalebyOwner connects sellers with all the services they may need to sell the homes themselves – like attorneys, photographers, handymen, home stagers and professional appraisers.
How to Get Property Value Estimates:
Type your address into ForSaleByOwner.com’s Pricing Scout to get a sense of how much your house may be worth.
ForSaleByOwner.com says it uses a “complex set of algorithms” with data from comparable sales in the area.
10.) HomeGain.com
HomeGain.com aims to connect buyers and sellers with its approved real estate agents.
How to Get Property Value Estimates:
To get a sense of your home value from HomeGain.com,
11.) Eppraisal.com
Eppraisal.com’s main focus is helping people figure out how much their home is worth so they can figure out how much they can borrow against it.
So, Eppraisal.com often points people to financial products like HELOCs, or Home Equity Lines of Credit.
How to Get Property Value Estimates:
Start from Eppraisal.com’s homescreen and enter your address. You’ll see Eppraisal.com’s estimate compared to Zillow’s estimate for your home, along with a map of the area.
What Will My House Be Worth in 5 Years?
As a major part of your financial picture, you may want to know how much your home will be worth in the future. This will allow to plan for what you can expect to get from a sale, or how much you could expect to borrow against your home in several years.
Many factors affect the housing market, including whether the value of your home rises or falls, and by how much. Some things that can affect the value of your house include interest rates, the job market and changes in the economy. All of these factors are beyond your control, and they are hard to predict.
Traditionally, the housing market has helped housing prices steadily rise year over year. However, as we saw in the recent housing market crash of 2006, that’s not always the case.
The bottom line is there is no way to know for sure how much your house will be worth in five years. The best you can do is use historical price trends to predict what price your home may be worth.
For example, if prices in your community have risen about 2% per year on average the past five years, you can estimate how much your house will be worth if those trends continue by adding 2% per year to the value of your home for five years.
But, again, there’s no certainty any economic trend, including housing market trends, will continue.
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The Bottom Line
While getting your home value estimate online can empower you to make better decisions with buying and selling property, these estimates are not official.
An appraiser or realtor can best provide an official estimate on your home. However, the process with a professional appraiser is definitely more time consuming.
If you’re just looking for a ballpark estimate that you can use as a starting point for other decisions, these online property value estimator tools are ideal for fast results.
