What Is My Home Worth Right Now?
There are only three real answers to this question: an instant automated estimate, a free comparative market analysis from a local agent, and a licensed appraisal. They differ in speed, accuracy, and cost, and picking the wrong one is how people end up mispricing a listing or getting surprised at a refinance. Start with the range below, then decide which of the three you actually need.
Why every site gives you a different number
Automated estimates guess from records
An AVM reads tax records, past sales, and public listing data. It has never seen your kitchen. Typical national error ranges run roughly 2–8% on active listings and wider on off-market homes, which is $10,000–$40,000 on a $500,000 house.
Upgrades and defects are invisible
A gut renovation, a new roof, or a finished basement often does not appear in public data. Neither does a failing HVAC, an unpermitted addition, or a busy road at the end of the driveway. Those are exactly the things that move a real offer.
Thin comp data widens the range
Rural areas, custom homes, and neighborhoods with few recent sales give the model almost nothing to anchor on. The estimate still prints a confident-looking number — the confidence note is what actually matters.
Estimate vs. CMA vs. appraisal
| Method | Speed | Accuracy | Cost | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Online estimate (AVM) | Seconds | Roughly ±5–10% — wider on unique or off-market homes | Free | A starting range when you're curious, tracking equity, or deciding whether to look further. |
| Agent CMA (comparative market analysis) | 1–3 days | Roughly ±3–5% — a licensed agent adjusts for condition and location | Free from most local agents | Pricing a listing, planning a sale, or sanity-checking an online estimate before you act on it. |
| Licensed appraisal | 1–2 weeks | The defensible number lenders and courts accept | Typically $400–$800 | Refinancing, removing PMI, estate settlement, divorce, tax appeals, and any dispute over value. |
How a real valuation picks comps
5 to 8 recent sales
A credible CMA leans on five to eight closed sales, not one lucky neighbor. Fewer than three good comps is a signal the range should widen, not narrow.
0.5 to 1 mile radius
Half a mile in dense suburbs, up to a mile where lots are larger. Crossing a school-district or municipal boundary matters more than raw distance.
3 to 6 months recency
Sales older than six months get discounted or time-adjusted, because the rate environment underneath them was different.
Same style and size band
A comp should be within roughly 20% of your square footage, the same story count, and a similar bed/bath configuration.
What gets adjusted, and why an algorithm misses it
| Factor | Effect on value |
|---|---|
| Roof age | A roof past 20 years reads as a near-term cost to the buyer and typically pulls value down. |
| Kitchen and bath condition | The two rooms that most influence perceived value, and the two AVMs are blindest to. |
| Lot size and usability | Flat, fenced, and private beats large-but-sloped almost every time. |
| Home office / finished basement | Adds value when permitted and heated, far less when neither is true. |
| Garage and parking | In dense metros this can swing value several percent on its own. |
| Energy upgrades | Solar owned outright, new windows, or a heat pump can add value; leased solar often complicates a sale. |
| Street and setting | A busy road, power lines, or backing onto commercial property is a real deduction a model rarely catches. |
| Permits | Unpermitted square footage usually cannot be counted at all in an appraisal. |
Get an instant estimate
Enter what you know. The more detail you give — lot size, year built, renovations — the tighter the range we can show you.
This range is an automated estimate, not an appraisal. It is generated from ZIP-level market data and the characteristics you entered, data freshness varies by county, and it is not a valuation, an offer, or a commitment to lend. Refinancing, PMI removal, estate, tax, and legal use cases require review by a licensed appraiser.
Get a local agent valuation
An automated range is a starting point. Before you list, refinance, or make a decision with real money attached, have someone who has actually walked homes in your neighborhood check the comps.
Request a free agent CMA
A local licensed agent walks your comps, adjusts for condition and location, and sends a real value range. Free, no obligation to sell.
When you need a licensed appraisal
An appraisal costs money and takes a week or two, but it is the only valuation a lender, a court, or a tax assessor will rely on. These are the situations where nothing else works.
Use sold homes, not list prices
List price is an ask, sold price is the answer
A neighbor listing at $625,000 tells you what they hoped for. A closed sale at $587,000 tells you what a real buyer with real financing paid. Only the second one is a comp.
Watch the concessions
A $600,000 sale with a $15,000 seller credit is effectively a $585,000 sale. Credits are disclosed in the transaction record, and a good agent nets them out before comparing.
Price per square foot is a sanity check, not a valuation
Cost per square foot falls as homes get bigger, so applying a small home's $/sqft to a large one overshoots badly. Use it to spot outliers, then adjust room by room.
Days on market tells you the direction
Comps that sold in a weekend above ask and comps that sat 90 days and cut twice imply very different pricing strategies today.
What is moving values in 2026
Mortgage rates
Rates set the payment a buyer can carry. When rates move a point, the price a given buyer can afford moves roughly 10%, and asking prices follow with a lag of a few months.
Inventory
More homes for sale in your ZIP means more substitutes for yours, which compresses price. Track active listings in your price band, not the national headline.
Insurance and taxes
In wildfire, wind, and flood-exposed markets, premium increases are being priced into offers. A high-premium home now sells for measurably less than an identical one with a cheaper policy.
Days on market
Rising median days on market is the earliest reliable signal that list prices in your area are ahead of what buyers will pay.
Hyperlocal beats national
National indexes and your ZIP frequently move in opposite directions in the same quarter. Comps within a mile of you outrank any national number.
Common questions
Not sure which number you need?
Talk to a licensed local agent. They will tell you straight whether a CMA is enough or whether your situation calls for an appraisal.
Get a local agent valuationKeep going
This page is educational information, not real estate, lending, tax, or legal advice. Estimate ranges shown here are automated and are not appraisals. Accuracy depends on the freshness and completeness of public records in your county, and unique or recently renovated homes will vary more. For refinancing, PMI removal, estate settlement, divorce, or a tax appeal, use a licensed appraiser. Confirm any number you plan to act on with a local licensed agent or appraiser.