What Is Your Home Worth Right Now?

Thank you for asking. Here is what happens now. We pull the homes that sold near your address in the last few months, plus the ones under contract and the ones still for sale. Then we call you within 2 hours to talk through what we found.

That first number is a range, not a promise. A price gets sharper once someone has walked through the house, because condition moves the number more than almost anything else. While you wait, this guide explains what goes into your home's price, so the conversation makes sense from the first minute.

It comes from Surroundings. Maggie B. Hopkins is a real estate broker and a mortgage broker in Sacramento, so she reads a price the way a buyer's appraiser and lender will read it.

Comparable sales, or comps, are not only the closest sales. They are the sales a buyer would also have considered. Here is how we sort them.

• Closed sales carry the most weight. They are the only prices a buyer actually paid. Pending sales show where the market is heading. Active listings show your competition, not your price.
• Price per square foot is a check, not the answer. It helps compare homes of different sizes. It falls apart when one home has a pool, a remodeled kitchen or a much bigger lot.
• Adjustments go both ways. If a comp has a third bathroom your home does not, its price gets adjusted down to match yours. If your home has a newer roof, yours gets credit.
• Homes that did not sell matter too. A listing that sat for months and was pulled tells you what buyers would not pay.
• The appraiser comes after the buyer. If a buyer is using a loan, the lender orders an appraisal. A price far above the comps can mean a low appraisal and a renegotiation in escrow.

When we call you, we will show you the actual sales we used and why each one was picked. You should be able to see the reasoning, not only the result.

Not every dollar you spend comes back at the sale. Before you call a contractor, walk the house with this list.

Usually worth doing:

• Fresh interior paint in neutral colors where walls are scuffed or bold.
• A deep clean, including windows, carpets and the garage.
• Yard cleanup: trim, mow, fresh bark, and clear the walkways.
• Small fixes buyers notice in the first minute: dripping faucets, burned-out bulbs, sticking doors, broken screens.
• Anything that is an active leak or a safety issue, because a buyer's inspector or lender may flag it later.

Usually worth leaving:

• Full kitchen or bathroom remodels started right before listing.
• New flooring throughout, unless the current flooring is damaged.
• Major upgrades to suit your own taste rather than a buyer's.

Worth pricing instead of fixing: a home that needs a roof, a new electrical panel and a full update may net you as much or more if it is priced for a buyer who wants to do the work. We can lay out the fix-it path and the sell-it-now path side by side, with your likely net under each, before you spend anything.

Have these handy for our call. None of them are required, but each one sharpens the range.

• The year you bought the home and what you paid.
• A list of updates and when they were done: roof, HVAC, water heater, windows, kitchen, bathrooms.
• Any known issues: leaks, foundation cracks, permits that were never finaled.
• Your rough loan payoff, so we can estimate what you would net.
• Your timing, and whether you are buying another home after this one.
• Any offers or letters you have received from investors.