Rita -

This is a buyers market. Current market value is what any given buyer is willing to pay for the property.
If you want to know if the home is competitively priced you can work with a real estate professional who can provide you with a comparative marketing analysis or you can research other homes which are listed for sale in the area. Using a real estate professional will save you time & money if you are not familiar with the area. Value - ultimatley it comes down to what a buyer is willing to pay for the property.

Good luck!
Tammy

wow, so many answers around "find a good realtor to do it for you..." Some of us just want to do it fast and usually that means doing it ourselves. Especially when you dont need an exact value but just ballpark. Try http://www.redfin.com and similar sites where you can search for actual sales over the last year. Real sales are the best piece of the puzzle, current listings are helpful too but are a distant second since people can ask whatever they want. And by the way, saying that all listings on realtor.com are spot on and priced at the true market price because professional realtors have listed them--thats the furthest thing from the truth I have heard in a long time. There are plenty of realtors that take shortcuts or cave to the seller's wishes to overprice. You can tell these because they sit on the market for many, many days--sometimes over a year! That is not the norm (most realtors are good and professional) but to say there are none is nonsense!

To find the most accurate market value of your property is to seek out a very knowledgable Realtor, they use the same information that appraisors use plus they give you the local statistics. It has been my experience that appraisors from out of the area seek help of the local Realtors, so find yourself a good one.
Good Luck
Dianne http://www.DianneMitchell.com

Rita - I apologize for temporarily hijacking your post.

Jonathan - Thank you for confirming the “technically correct”, as for the “practically incorrect” I would have to disagree with. By definition, established and set forth by the Arizona Legislature and the Arizona Revised Statutes title 32 chapter 36 32-3601 definitions #1 states, and I quote - “Appraisal or real estate appraisal means a statement independently and impartially prepared by an individual setting forth an opinion as to the market value of real property as of a specific date and supported by the presentation and analysis of relevant market information”.

There is also a lot more to determining market value that just looking through sales. Appraisers do provide “current market value” if that is what the client is requesting when ordering an appraisal, however, appraiser can and do provide “market value” for other purposes and for other specific time periods, besides the use by lenders in determining the collateral risk in a mortgage contract. Such as pre-listing or pre-purchase appraisals for buyers, sellers, investors, and property owners, and pmi (private mortgage insurance) removal, property tax disputes, estate settlements (date of death valuations), retroactive appraisals, divorce and bankruptcy cases, condemnation actions or eminent domain cases, bail bond collateral, and relocation appraisals to name a few and not mentioning consulting assignments. All of which provides the “current market value” for the date in time requested by the client and in conjunction with the intended use or purpose of the report.

The revised statutes also state in the same title and chapter – quote “All real estate appraisals and appraisal reviews performed on real property in this state shall be performed only by individuals licensed or certified in accordance with the requirements of this chapter. No person, other than a state licensed or state certified appraiser, may assume or use that title or any title, designation or abbreviation likely to create the impression of licensure or certification as an appraiser by this state.”

In addition, it also states – quote “A real estate broker or salesperson who is licensed in this state and who, when acting as such, gives an opinion or other means of comparative market analysis as to the PRICE of real estate, can do so IF this opinion IS NOT referred to as an appraisal and WHO DISCLOSES that the estimate is NOT AN APPRAISAL, as defined in 32-3601.” Many realtors tend to ignore and/or violate this one.

I hope that clears up some of the misconceptions.

This is a common misconception. An appraiser doesn't provide "current market value" ... they provide the value of the risk the lender is willing to take for a home. That's why appraisals for a refinance, for instance, tend to come in higher than an appraisal for sale. One loan is based partially on current equity as collateral for the loan, the other has no such built-in collateral.

Current market value can be considerably different than the figures you get looking through sales of similar listings. That is one of the problems with Zillow - the data's not always good going in and doesn't take into account current listings.

David's technically correct but practically incorrect. After all, any agent willing to provide that information clearly is doing so in the hopes of earning your business (or that of whomever is asking.)

Rita - Richard is correct in his answer. Only an appraiser can provide market value of real estate. That is what the license issued by the state to appraisers is for, same as in Canada. No one, by Arizona State law can provide or determine market value without an appraisal license. A realtor with a license to sell real estate can provide a cma (market analysis) for a suggested selling or purchase price value, only in an effort to obtain the listing or service contract. I am an appraiser, licensed by the State of Arizona, and if I can be of any service, feel free to contact me.

Every house listed with realtor can be found in realtor.com and the prices in realtor.com are priced by licensed professional realtors that are always price right, the market price. So, it is very easy to find out.

Keep in mind, every house in realtor.com is priced by licensed realtors who are professionals and eagar to get it sold, so there is no reason why they will not price it right and waste their marketing expense ...

Rita,
The best way of obtaining a market value it to find a realtor that takes all aspects of this market into consideration. What I mean is that, only taking sales over the last 3-6 months will not give a true picture in a declining market. Yes, unfortunately most area of the valley still has prices dropping. The good news it that inventory is starting to stablilize which mean prices will also stabilize. To determine value, you have to look at previous sales, the makeup of those sales (foreclosures, rentals, new homes, etc), supply of inventory (how many months are onhand-sometimes years), what the competition is doing related to price and features, future impacts on the neighborhood (good or bad), etc. etc. There are still tons of good deals out there. This is a great bargain time in the Phoenix metro area. If you plan to hold the property for a couple of years, you'll do very well, even if prices drop another few percent. No one will know when we hit the bottom for about 3 months after we hit it. I'd be happy to do the comprehensive value analysis for you if its in an area that I'm familiar with. I work most areas of the valley, but I can't be an expert on everything. Anyone who tells you otherwise is a dreamer and won't represent you very well.

Rita,
I am with the rest; your Realtor is the best source of information on market value. Also a Realtor can point you toward information that comparable sales just won’t show, what the owner owes on the property and how long the home has been for sale and at what prices. Also, other information that may affect future valley such as school, job reports, HOA information and more
Good luck.
I have been keeping track of the post from Maricopa Realtors on Trulia, these Agents know there stuff. Call or email someone from this forum.

Hi Rita,
If you are working with an agent, they should be able to provide you with a market analysis. If not, you can search public records at http://www.maricopa.gov/assessor/. If you do not have an agent, I would be happy to provide you some additional information and a market analysis.
Best Regards,
Jamie

Yes Rita you can obtain the market value of a property listed for sale.
As a Realtor I am able to research the
Solds for the last three months
The current pending sales, and active sales
Then do a comparable to the property in question.
In addition, Sales at auction, which are a little more difficult, and different than trustee sales.
Of course we have to take into consideration the Foreclosures, and Short sales. Local government, and schools. Projected market trend.
Seems complicated, however we can come up with a "ball park " number.

There is an old saying, "A home is only worth how much someone is willing to pay"

Good Luck
Patrick

Rita, as a Realtor, I can run a comparative market analysis for the property you are interested in. However, market value can only be determined by an appraiser. I would be more than happy to do that for you if you tell me the address.

Rick Dobbles

The best way would be to look at sold properties in the public records like Maricopa.gov which will give you sales which were on the MLS and private sales, because not all sales are on the MLS. Review sold properties and compare to the ones listed to arrive at an estimated value and also compare to competing properties on the market to guage current trends.