You may be making the biggest mistake of your life if you don’t really understand the underlying “value” in the area surrounding your home. Buying a home is an emotion driven event and it is a very exciting thing to do. However, when the reality of such a commitment begins to “hit home”, all kinds of doubt creeps into the picture. It doesn’t matter if you’ve bought one home, or three or four. In fact, the more experience you have in buying and selling the more you realize the importance of valuable information before you step up to a purchase.

In this uncertain market especially, you need to do more research, not less of it. So many mortgage lenders have “dumped” homes on the real estate market; there is an extraordinary amount of excess supply. It has caused prices to continue their downward spiral and forced sellers to sit tight or take a big hit on equity. So, when is a deal a good deal? You have to consider the history of an area not only in terms of price, but also in terms of negatives like foreclosure and flipping activity. Is the area in a state of negative appreciation?

Real estate agents need to inform their buyers about local conditions and sellers need to get realistic market data to price their homes properly. Market data goes way beyond sales comps and listed properties. You have to look at the downside trends. Neighborhoods don’t clean themselves up overnight. If an area has a tough history, that history doesn’t correct itself for years. Buyers need this knowledge going in a transaction. Sellers need to price their home right from the start.

Check out a few of the following websites to learn more.

www.homesmartreports.com
www.corelogic.com
www.firstam.com

It will help you get an idea about real market conditions and the data will be better support for your decisions.