Why Everyone Thinks Their Home Is Worth More Than It Is (and How the Market Actually Decides)
One of the trickiest conversations I have as a Realtor isn’t about interest rates or contracts — it’s about value.
Almost every homeowner starts with a number in their head. That number usually comes from Zillow, a neighbor’s sale, or what they need their house to be worth for their next move to work.
None of those things are how the market decides.
The market is pretty simple (and honestly kind of ruthless). It doesn’t care what you paid, how much you love your kitchen, or what you’re hoping to walk away with. It only cares about what buyers have recently paid for homes that are actually comparable.
Zillow can be a helpful starting point, but it’s not walking through your house. It doesn’t know that one home backs to open space and another backs to a fence, or that one was remodeled in 2022 and the other still has original finishes. It’s averaging, not evaluating — which is why two houses on the same street can sell for very different prices.
Renovations are another place people get tripped up. Updates absolutely make a home nicer to live in, but they don’t always translate dollar-for-dollar when it’s time to sell. Buyers tend to pay more for things like layout, lot, location, and overall condition long before they pay extra for designer tile.
And then there’s the comparison factor. Buyers don’t look at homes in isolation — they’re constantly weighing one against another. A three-car garage, a bigger yard, backing to green space, more natural light… those differences matter, even when the houses are close together.
At the end of the day, your home is worth what a well-informed buyer is willing to pay for it compared to their other options at that moment in time — not what Zillow says, not what your neighbor got, and not what you need for your next house to pencil. That’s where the part I actually enjoy comes in: helping you understand what really moves the needle for value and what makes a home easier to sell, or at least giving you the clarity to decide how you want to approach it based on your own goals.