Home has a lot of meanings. Sometimes, home is your refuge. Your safe place away from the world. 

Other times it’s an escape, a place to get away for the weekend, or even just for the night. 

Your home has an intrinsic value to you, but it has an actual value as well. One that tends to fluctuate, depending on the market. 

Those ever-changing markets may leave you wondering, “What is my home actually worth?” Especially if you’re looking to put your home on the market. Whether you’re buying or selling, you need an experienced Breckenridge Realtor® to navigate the ups and downs.

Paffrath & Thomas can help you understand the current market trends, including how much your home is worth. Our team of Summit County Realtors® know our mountain towns inside and out, and can guide you on your journey to the best outcome.

So how can you determine what your home is worth? And how does that affect not only your sale, but your next purchase? Continue reading to learn more, or contact Paffrath & Thomas today!

Determining Your Home’s Value

Your home’s value is based on a lot of factors, some of which you can’t control. Things like market conditions, time of year, and rental restrictions can all have an impact on your home’s value.

Market conditions

You’ve probably heard the term “Buyer’s Market” and “Seller’s Market” before, and they’re both pretty self explanatory. During a buyer’s market, a buyer is more likely to get a good deal, and sellers benefit most during a sellers market. 

Seller’s market conditions

Certain conditions create a market where the seller has an advantage in the marketplace.

Those conditions can include:

• Lower inventory levels: Creating a higher demand for existing properties. 
• High economy/buyer confidence: An optimistic fiscal outlook means more buyers choose to enter the market, making more competition for the same listing.
• List price to sales price ratio: Confidence in the economy means a seller can expect to get closer to their list price—or maybe even over it with multiple offers.
• Less days on the market: In a seller’s market, properties tend to sell fast, sometimes selling to one buyer while another buyer is looking. This competition typically results in stronger offers. Plus it gives the seller a bit more negotiating power. 

Your home’s value is likely to be at its highest during a seller’s market. You’d think that means that’s the best time to sell, but that really all depends on your plans after selling. If you’re also starting the buying process at that time,, you’d be buying a house at its highest price with more competition. 

Buyer’s market conditions

The conditions to create a buyer’s market align mostly with the same that make a seller’s market, except in reverse. 

• Higher inventory levels: Lots of inventory keeps prices in check.
• Interest rates: Higher interest rates can generally slow down a market. The slower the market the slower the absorption rate of properties, increasing inventory levels and possibly resulting in decreased prices 
• Overall economy/buyer confidence: When the economy approaches choppy waters, even if only perceived, this can affect how quickly a property sells.
• Sales Price/List price: During a buyer’s market you will see the percent of sales price to list price decrease. This is a key indicator showing that sellers are more likely to negotiate to sell their property. 
• Days on market: During a buyer’s market properties can often times stay available longer. This results in higher inventory levels and more choices for a buyer.

As a seller during a buyer’s market, your house may not actually drop in value. What you will need to be prepared for is making concessions during the buying process. 

The delicate balance of the buyer’s and seller’s market, and how they affect homes here in Summit County, is why you need an experienced Breckenridge Realtor on your team like Paffrath & Thomas. 

Pricing

Current market conditions and inventory help to identify a price strategy that’s advantageous in the current environment. 

In Summit County, those conditions can change a bit slower than they do in other parts of the country. Properties around here are destinations, so part of their value is their intrinsic draw. That’s something we understand deeply after decades of experience as a top Breckenridge Realtor. 

Time of Year

The seasons affect the showings. They impact how you can prepare for them, and how well a buyer is able to view the key characteristics of the property. Choosing the right time for your properties will make all the difference for achieving the best results.

The winter in particular here in Summit County is an interesting time. The beauty of the mountains in winter draws skiers, vacationers, and fresh-air enthusiasts to our crisp peaks and heated restaurant patios.

At the same time, the real estate market slows down. It’s mostly because more people like to use their properties during the ski season or rent them. That makes access to properties for sale a little more complicated due to being occupied.

The plus side is that selling doesn’t stop during winter! Buyers still seek their mountain dream home, and motivated sellers make sure their property is kept ready for showings. As experienced Breckenridge Realtors, we’ve seen a winter or two around here. We can aid you with:

• Snow removal
• Clearing the house exterior of hanging ice and walking hazards 
• Making sure the furnace/boiler is functioning correctly

While there might not be a large pool of buyers available during this time, your home is seen in all its winter splendor. This can woo the right buyer to pay your best price in order to secure the mountain home of their dreams. 

How Paffrath & Thomas can help

Clearly, there’s a ton that goes into your home’s value. And you’re not a home buying or selling expert. Even if this is your rental property or vacation home, you can still use the advice of an experienced Breckenridge Realtor. 

The main thing we want to do is determine your ultimate goals. You’re looking into your home’s value for a reason, so let us help find your best path forward. 

Upsizing

There’s many reasons you may be looking to increase your home’s size. You may have a growing family, and your once perfect-sized house is now a bit cramped.

You could also want more entertainment space, a bigger kitchen, or a better view. No matter what your reason for upsizing, knowing your home’s current worth—as well as the price range of your next home—is a crucial step. 

Related: More on upsizing your home in Summit County

Downsizing

On the opposite end of the spectrum we have downsizing. Just like upsizing, there’s many reasons you may consider reducing your home’s size. 

You might want to reduce your cost of living, thus moving to a smaller home with a lower mortgage, as well as less square footage to heat and less yard to maintain. 

You also might have recently found your nest emptier than it was, and you just don’t need as much space without kids around. Reducing your home could free up expenses to travel or even buy another property. 

Knowing your home’s value when downsizing is almost more important than when upsizing, because the more you get out of your home the more equity you potentially have left over. 

Say you sell your home for $800k, and you purchase a new smaller home for $600k, giving you $200k leftover after the sale. If your home was actually worth $850k, you missed out on $50,000 you could use for traveling or any other expenses you have. 

Related: How to downsize your home in Summit County

With a knowledgeable Breckenridge Realtor like Paffrath & Thomas on your side, we can make sure you’re getting the most value out of your home. 

The Extra Mile

The Paffrath & Thomas difference means we don’t just want to help you buy or sell a home. We want to help you join us in living the mountain life. That’s why we also like to go above and beyond for every one of our clients. We’ll dig into the nitty gritty— the hard details—as much as you need. 

We’ve even helped people move in by grabbing boxes and putting them in rooms! It’s our pleasure to welcome you the way mountain people do, with a smile and helping hand.

If you need more help, we’ll give you solid recommendations on companies. We’re not just a Breckenridge Realtor, we’re a real resource. We are an ally to managing your property. We’ve developed relationships with many businesses in the surrounding communities. 

These people are our fellow neighbors and friends. When you choose to move here, you won’t come in as a stranger; you’ll be part of the Summit County family. 

Helping Find the Value in Your Home

At Paffrath & Thomas, we love our work, and we love where we work. It’s the glue that keeps us together, living our best lives.

We invite you to share it with our real estate company in Breckenridge. You can check out our listings online, plus contact us there via the internet or by phone. And always feel free to stop by our office for a look at our properties, and a cup of hot coffee. Make it part of your wonderful day in Breckenridge. 

You’ll soon find out why so many people come for the winter, and stay for the summer. We’ll be here, as your Breckenridge Realtors®, neighbors, and friends—ready to help you come home.

Explore with us, make memories with us, live your purpose with us. Allow our Paffrath & Thomas family to guide your family home.