You may have seen RealEstate Business Intelligence, the research division of the listings services MRIS, announced the median home price in the District is now at $455,000 – surpassing the peak of $438,500 hit in 2006.  And yet, you might be wondering, why isn’t MY home value up enough for me to finally sell and move on?  Let’s take a look at three things to remember about real estate:

1.      Real Estate valuation is hyper local.  Statistics may tell you generally what’s happening in the market, but they don’t necessarily tell you anything about your value.  Market value is driven by several difficult to measure dynamics like neighborhood momentum, building reputation, crime perception, and cultural shifts – to name a few.  If you want to know what’s happening to your home value – you need to connect with a local Realtor who can interpret how the broader market statistics align with your home.

2.      The median is the number in the middle of all market brackets, and doesn’t necessarily reflect an increase in value in your market bracket.  For example many higher end brackets have not seen much upward movement in pricing (above $1.2 million in DC) though many 1st time home buyer brackets certainly have.  This may in part explain why the median is up.  Which bracket your home is in makes a huge difference as to whether or not you see a bump when the median goes up.

3.      Market trajectory changes quickly – your value may indeed be up and you just don’t know it!  When you look at historic market cycles the shift in momentum from up to down and down to up occurs abruptly and frequently catches people by surprise.  You will need a local Realtor to advise you about your current value.

In summary use statistics as a general guide to market conditions and momentum, though when it comes to your home call in a Realtor to help interpret the statistics to your particular situation.  If you’d like more specific information about your home, contact Amber Cummer at 202-318-1623 ext 7006, amber@brandongreen.com and she can set up an appointment.

Posted on Monday, July 16th, 2012 at 4:08 pm. Follow responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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