Page 8E — Real Estate & Home Builders Guide — January 2016
Factors that might hurt a home’s value
N
owadays, homeowners looking
to sell their homes know it’s
not as easy to do so as it might
have been a few years ago. A
struggling economy has made it difficult
for many homeowners to sell their homes
for a price they’re comfortable with.
But the sagging economy is not the
only thing can make it difficult to sell
a home. In fact, a host of other things,
some obvious but some not so obvious,
can hurt a home’s value as well.
Location: A home’s location is
arguably its best or worst selling point.
A home in a great location won’t be
as difficult to sell as a home in a bad
neighborhood. But location goes beyond
a neighborhood’s reputation, especially
in recent years. Homeowners who live
in a neighborhood or development with
many foreclosures might find those
foreclosed properties are hurting their
own home’s value. Lots of foreclosures
could negatively affect a neighborhood’s
reputation, which might make a home
within that neighborhood less attractive
to prospective buyers.
Appearance: A home’s appearance
is another obvious variable that might
affect its resale value. Homeowners
might want their home to ref lect their
own individuality, but that’s not going
to help when the time comes to sell the
home. If the exterior paint is out of the
ordinary, then it might be wise to choose
a more traditional or conservative color
before erecting the “For Sale” sign out
front. The same goes for a home’s inte-
rior. If the interior design is especially
unique, a more traditional interior decor
might help the home sell faster.
Size and style: Another thing to
consider when selling a home is its size
and style. A home that stands out on the
block might be an attention-grabber, but
that’s not always attractive to prospective
buyers. For instance, a colonial sitting in
the middle of a street filled with contem-
porary homes will stand out, but likely
for all the wrong reasons. It will likely
appear dated and out of place, which is
something buyers might not want. In
addition, if the home is considerably
larger or smaller than the surrounding
homes, then this could hurt its value.
Non-conformity: In many ways,
conformity is not considered an admi-
rable trait. But when selling a home,
conformity could make the difference
between a home selling quickly or
remaining on the market for months if
not years. When shopping for a home,
buyers often shop in certain neighbor-
hoods and towns and might see many
different homes within a given ZIP
code. Homeowners with homes that
don’t conform to others in the area might
find it difficult to sell their homes. For
instance, homeowners trying to sell a
two bedroom home in a neighborhood
filled with three bedroom homes might
notice their home’s value is not as high
as that of surrounding homes, regardless
of the neighborhood or how similar the
home’s exterior is to surrounding homes.
Age: Older homes might have
character and a sense of nostalgia, but
appraisers take age into consideration
when determining a home’s value. And
buyers tend to lean toward newer homes
for a number of reasons, not the least of
which is the feeling that newer homes
have far more modern amenities than
older homes.
When it comes to a home’s value,
there are a host of things that could ulti-
mately increase or decrease that value in
the eyes of prospective buyers.
Discover why
over 17 million
homeowners
trust State Farm .
®
With your new home comes new responsibilities – like protecting your
new investment with the right amount of homeowners insurance.
That’s where we can help.
Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. ®
CONTACT AN AGENT TODAY.
Factors like location, appearance and size can affect the value of a home.
%OXH-HDQV
5HDOW\
Rocky Mikesell
Principal Broker/Owner
Phone: 541-379-8690
Fax: 866-858-8491
rockymikesell@msn.com
Pendleton, OR 97801
Dan Ceniga, Agent
1704 SW Frazer Ave
Pendleton, OR 97801
Bus: 541-276-3182
dan.ceniga.b739@statefarm.com
Stan Henderer, Agent
33 SE Dorion Avenue
Pendleton, OR 97801
Bus: 541-278-0880
stan.henderer.lo18@statefarm.com
statefarm.com ®
0907508.1
State Farm Fire and Casualty Company, State Farm General Insurance Company, Bloomington, IL
HVLGHQWLDO
5
&RPPHUFLDO
RXQWDLQ3URSHUWLHV
0