Understanding Niskayuna Comps
Niskayuna comps – comparable sales – are perhaps one of the best real estate tools for both buyers and sellers to understand. Niskayuna comps refer to the home prices of similar home sales within the Niskayuna area. A buyer might look at Niskayuna comps to decide home much to offer for a home, while a seller might use those same comps to decide how much to ask for his or her home. Real estate agents look at comps every day to gauge the housing market.
Regardless of whether you’re the buyer or not, it’s important to know what factors affect Niskayuna comps and how you can use them when buying or selling a home. Here is our quick guide to Niskayuna comps and how you can use them to make a smart home decision.
Location, Location, Location
The location of the home can be the biggest factor in determining a property’s comp. If you’re really trying to look for an accurate price of a home, the home within the same Niskayuna neighborhood will help you best in determining a good price for the home. Try to stay within a few blocks of the home to find that value.
Timeframe
When you see a home listed as “pending,” it means the buyer and seller have reached a deal. That deal will give you the most up-to-date statistics on the home, which can be extremely helpful when other sales around the neighborhood are several years old.
If no sales are pending in your neighborhood, look at sales that have occurred over the last three months to accurately set your comp. Anything older may not be a good reflection.
Home Features
Other than the location and timeframe, certain features on the home can increase the comp of it. For example, having extra bathrooms could add to the price. If the backyard has a pool in it, then the price may also go up.
When looking at home features, you do want to make sure you compare apples to apples. If you’re home has three bedrooms, then you probably shouldn’t price it higher than one with four bedrooms in the same Niskayuna neighborhood. To get an accurate comp, you need to look at similar home features, such as size, the number of bedrooms and bathrooms as well as the location of bedrooms.
Once you find a home that has a similar layout, you can then take other features, such a an upgraded kitchen or finished basement, into account.
When settling on a comp, it’s important to remember to take a step back. Overanalyzing Niskayuna comps sometimes forces buyers and sellers to focus on the tiny details instead of the whole picture. Working with a good real estate agent can help you better understand comps and how you can pretty predict a home’s value. Remember, a home next to a fire or police station, for example, could force a home to differ greatly in value from the other homes around it.