March 23, 2008 at
9:55 am , by
Jenel Looney
| Happy Easter! Spring is here, and it’s a great time to sell a home. At least, that seems to be the general consensus. We’re still seeing a lot more New Listings than Solds. 63 residential listings came onto the market in MLS areas GTE and GTW, while only 12 deals made it to the closing table. That’s a ratio of more than 5 to 1. It’s great news for buyers, because it means that you have lots of wonderful options when choosing your new home. The new listings are priced from $65,000 all the way up to $1,195,000, with 29 falling in the best-selling price range of $100,000-$200,000. |
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| Yesterday, while showing houses to a client, he said that he felt that the Williamson County Appraisal District’s appraised property values were pretty accurate. Since a property’s market value is whatever someone is willing to pay for it, I was curious to see whether he was right. I decided to look at the homes that had sold over the past 30 days. Then I looked up each property’s appraised value, one by one. I discounted new properties because their appraised value was based on unimproved land, and I also took out properties that sold for more than $600,000. I was left with 67 properties, a decent sampling. |
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| In the chart above, I’ve drawn a baseline at 100%. Homes sold everywhere from 77% to 134% of appraised value. In fact, only 12 of the 67 homes I sampled sold within 2% above or below that magic 100% mark. 24 homes sold for less than the appraised value, while the other 43 homes sold at or above the tax district’s appraisal. (Does anyone know a good synonym for “appraised”? I feel like I’m repeating myself!) 17 of the homes sold for at least 110% of the value placed on the property by Williamson County. |
| The best advice I can give you when you’re shopping for a home is to decide how much that house is worth to you, and make an offer accordingly. I can help you find comparable sales in the neighborhood to help you make that decision. Don’t base your decision on the appraisal district’s value. They do a great job, but market value and appraised value can be two different beasts. Call me at 512-876-6544 or drop me a line at Jenel@HometownGeorgetown.com. I’m here to help! |
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