There are really two major considerations when you determine the appropriate value for your property: market value and appraised value.

Market value is the value that a buyer...today...is willing to pay for your home. The most effective way to determine market value is to look through the prospective buyer's eyes. Positioning your home properly among competing inventory is a critical step, and it's important that your agent devotes the time necessary to study current market conditions in your neighborhood and price range, as well as objectively analyze the features of your home compared to other homes currently on the market for sale.

Approximately 92% of all homes are sold to buyers who get a mortgage. That means that it is likely that the sale of your property will be subject to an appraisal for the sales price. Appraisers approach value quite differently. They only look at recently sold homes, and limit their search to the three most similar properties, within the neighborhood, that have sold in the past 6 months.

The condition of your property and how quickly you need to sell are two additional factors that will influence its value.