Many factors impact home prices in Fayette County
John F. Brothers | 缅北禁地
A SWC Properties sign announces that a home on Charles Street in Uniontown is on the market.
John F. Brothers | Herald-Standa
SWC Properties sign on Virginia Street in Uniontown.
Local real estate agents and appraisers agree that many factors affect the sale price of homes in Fayette County.
鈥淚t鈥檚 supply and demand,鈥� said Scott Cavinee, a real estate broker for SWC Properties in Uniontown. 鈥淎 house is worth what a buyer is willing to pay and what a seller in willing to sell for.鈥�
Every year for the last few years, there have been about 330 to 360 homes for sale in the county, Cavinee said.
A large number of homes on the market can force prices down and a smaller number can push prices up, he said.
Demand increases when the economy is healthy and decreases when times aren鈥檛 so good, he said.
Available financing impacts demand, Cavinee said, noting that government-backed home loans are more difficult to obtain now.
鈥淚t all goes to supply and demand,鈥� Cavinee said.
Taxes are what buyers consider first followed by the condition and amenities of a home, said Franklin A. John, an appraiser in Uniontown.
鈥淔irst is taxation. In Uniontown, there鈥檚 65 homes for sale. The tax in the city is 12.235 (mills),鈥� John said referring to the city鈥檚 real estate tax rate, which does not include school district taxes. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 got to come down. Where as you move to LH (Laurel Highlands), it鈥檚 60 percent cheaper. It impacts the selling rate.鈥�
He said city provides full-time services that other municipalities don鈥檛, but they come at a cost.
鈥淥f course, Uniontown has a police department and a fire department. You get the amenities, which is good. The city is a fine place to live because you have all the amenities here,鈥� John said.
The condition of bathrooms, the kitchen, windows, roof and heating system are what buyers inspect first when they look at homes, he said.
鈥淚f you don鈥檛 like the color of the walls, you can change that,鈥� John said. 鈥淭hey appraise higher if you have insulation, public sewage, newer roof and you鈥檙e not in the flood zone. That鈥檚 very, very important, if you鈥檙e in a flood zone.鈥�
SWC Properties agent Claudette Franks said many factors can impact the price a seller wants and what a buyer wants to spend, but the firm uses the sale price of comparable homes to set prices.
鈥淲e base prices on comparable houses sold in that area,鈥� Franks said.
The price of a home outside of the county tends to be less than a comparable home in the county, Cavinee said.
鈥淏uyers from out of the area are shocked to see our prices here,鈥� Cavinee said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been that way since I鈥檝e been a realtor.鈥�
Franks said location is always a factor in pricing homes to sell.
Some people want to live closer to shopping centers and in certain school districts, and some want the open space offered in rural areas, Franks said.
Most homes for sale need at least some updating, but 70 percent of buyers want homes in move-in condition, Cavinee said.
Eugene Rosky Jr., an appraiser from Mount Pleasant who says he does about a third of his business in Fayette County, said sellers can ask any price, but buyers are limited to what they can afford.
鈥淭here鈥檚 not a silver bullet kind of answer (to what impacts prices most),鈥� Rosky said. 鈥淚f it was easy to determine, we wouldn鈥檛 need appraisers.鈥�
Location and curb appeal influence buyers most, Rosky said.
The condition rating that an appraiser gives impacts prices, he said. A leaky roof hurts the condition, but adjustments are not made for new roof, he said.
鈥淏y and large it鈥檚 location,鈥� Rosky said. 鈥淎 beat-up house is helped if it鈥檚 in a nice area. A nice house in a bad neighborhood has a lower value.鈥�
If a house is priced correctly, it should sell in 60 days, he said.
Most buyers pay 93 percent of the asking price, Rosky said.