Knowing your CT waterfront home’s worth

As a homeowner, you’re probably wondering how much your lakefront property is worth. After all, you’re still paying your monthly mortgage, and on top of that, the yearly property tax amount is quite hefty.

While you don’t have a precise amount of what your CT waterfront home could be worth, you know that a waterfront home is more expensive than a non-waterfront property. The view alone already adds a substantial amount to the property’s worth. As a premium property, you expect your home to have increased its value over the years you’ve owned it.

What is your home’s value?

While there are many ways to estimate your CT waterfront home value, the easiest way to know is by knowing how much a seller is willing to pay for it.

That may be well and good if you are selling your Connecticut lakefront property, but what if you want to know because you’re considering a home upgrade? Or if it’s a vacation home and you want to know because you want to use the home equity for a business loan?

Valuating a lakefront property is quite different from valuating a non-waterfront home. Many CT river homes for sale are already considered luxury properties, so it can be daunting to price. There are also many things to consider when valuating a home so you can get the pricing right.

Setting the right price can be tricky. Price it too high and it can sit on the market for a long time. Price it too low and you leave money on the table.

To know the value of your waterfront home in Connecticut, you need the help of a local fulltime real estate professional who specializes in waterfront properties, like me, Deborah Laemmerhirt. As a long time resident of Connecticut, I am familiar with the local estate market of each county, and have made it my mission to get to know everything there is about selling and buying waterfront properties.

Please visit https://CTLuxuryWaterfrontRealEstate.com/about/ to get to know me better.

Factors to consider in a home valuation

The CMA (Comparative Market Analysis) is one of the most commonly used tools in preparing a home’s valuation. It takes into account the comparables or recently sold properties in the area that are close in size and style to your home.

The sold listings have a large influence on your property’s price. It says how much buyers are willing to pay for the property.

Another consideration in preparing the CMA is the active listings. This is the list of currently available homes for sale in your area. It’s a great way to check how much your competition prices itself so you can adjust your pricing accordingly. 

Aside from these two, the following are few of the other considerations included in a valuation.

1. Location. Yes, it may be a waterfront property, but how far is it from the water? Is the water easily accessible? These are some of the questions that you must look at when thinking of location.

2. What type of waterfront is it? Connecticut has over 3,000 ponds, lakes, and reservoirs, not to mention 96 miles of coastline. What type of waterfront do you have? There is no particular price set to add to a specific waterfront, but its kind and size will have an impact on your property’s price.

3. Waterfront visibility. While your home may indeed be a waterfront, how visible is the waterline from the property? Do you have a clear, large frontage or is the view blocked by trees and undergrowth? Generally, the clearer and larger the frontage, the higher the price.

There are many things to factor in a valuation to get to the right listing price of your CT real estate waterfront property. 

Other factors that can affect the value of your home

Aside from the one’s mentioned above, there are other factors that can affect the value of your property.

A friendly, peaceful and clean neighborhood can greatly affect the value of your home. Remember, the value of your home is how much people would want to pay for it. Everyone is looking for a quiet place where they can relax, feel secured and live comfortably.

It is true that first impression lasts. Also, first impression greatly affects how people perceives your home. That is why it is important that you give enough attention to your curb appeal. 

Make sure that you trim your plants, pick out unwanted weeds, and clean any fallen leaves. Clean the exterior of your house and repaint it with neutral colors. Make sure that your house is not an eyesore. Make it as pleasant to the eyes as possible.

Of course, the size of your property will greatly affect the value of your house. How many rooms do you have? How many bathrooms? How big is the kitchen? Is there a separate dining area?

Speaking of location, most families looking for a new home wants a property that is near schools or at least where schools are easily accessible. In line with this, accessible public transport is also a plus.

Other factors to consider

There are other factors that can affect the value of your home which are out of your control. 

For instance, when the economy is going down, no one would want to spend that much for real estate. On another note, mortgage rates can also affect the mindset of the buyers. When the interest rate is too high, buyers will think that its going to be a great burden for them. After all, paying for mortgage is a huge financial commitment.

The time of the year also affects the value of your home. There are certain months when homes sell better compared to other months. If you are planning to sell your house and you want to know how much you can sell it for, it would be wise to choose the right time of the year. Usually, people would not want to move during the holidays or at the start of the school year. Therefore, if you want to sell your house for a higher value, you should avoid these times of the year.

Consider the demand and supply

Let us say you need to know the value of your home because you wanted to sell it in the future. The main objective is to get the highest value as possible. Now, the value of your home may also depend on the demand and supply during the time of selling. 

If there are a lot of competition in the market, you do not expect to raise the value of your house. If you really want to get a higher value for your home, you should wait until the demand increases. This means you should wait until the number of interested buyers increase and there are lesser homes for sale in the market.

Check your neighborhood

To find the approximate value of your home, you should consider checking the homes sold in and near your area. Check how much these properties were sold. By doing so, you will be able to estimate how much buyers are willing to pay for your house.

If you want to get a better idea of how much your home is worth, it is best to consult an expert real estate agent in your area. The real estate agent can help create an ideal price list for you by evaluating and analyzing all the factors mentioned above.

Other alternative

You may also check some free online tools to check the estimated value of your home.

These online tools usually make use of free public records such as the type of home, when the home was built, number of rooms, bedrooms and bathrooms, square footage of the home and the lot, heating and cooling systems, number of parking spots and how much the previous owner/s paid for the house.

Although these online tools can help you get an estimate of the value of your home, they are not accurate. This is because they only depend on how much public records are available on the internet.

To ensure that you get a more accurate value for your home, it is best to check with an experienced real estate agent. Discuss the following questions with your agent:

Is my house value trending up or down?

Compared to other houses for sale in the neighborhood or zip code, how does my home value cmpare to them?

How does my home value compare to other houses for sale in other zip codes near my neighborhood?

What is the present market temperature? Is it a hot time to sell or a cold time to sell?

These information will help your real estate agent to set the right price for your home in case you want to sell in the future.

Are you ready to have your property assessed? 

Call me, Deborah Laemmerhirt, at 203-994-4297. As one of Connecticut’s preeminent waterfront real estate professionals, let me help find out your home’s value.

In case you cannot view this video here, please click the link below to view CT Waterfront Home Value on my YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/cChvTYiBpy4

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