When you're looking to purchase a house it's wise to do as much research beforehand as possible. The better informed you are the more intelligently you can make your offer and the other decisions you need to complete during the home buying process. Not only is it wise to remain as informed as possible about the properties and neighborhoods you're investigating for your own sake, you need to remember you will be negotiating with a cadre of other individuals and institutions who are happy to trade on your ignorance to enhance their profits. The most important time to be as informed as possible is when you're about to make an offer on your house, and the best way to inform yourself before making this offer is through appraisal research.

What is appraisal research? Simply put appraisal research refers to doing research to have a complete knowledge of how much the different homes in your prospective neighborhood have been appraised, and sold, for on the recent market. The price of a property is determined by a number of factors including the size of the property, the amenities the proper offers, recent repair or renovation work, energy efficient construction or appliances, and a whole host of other factors. But above all the most important factor determining the price of a home is the price of other home's in its neighborhood. A property's value is primarily determined by the value of its neighboring properties, and knowing what values neighboring properties have recently been appraised and sold at is the most intelligent way to determine how much you're willing to offer on your new home.

There's one school of thought which argues the further back your appraisal homework goes the better informed your offer will be. This makes sense on the surface (more data = greater accuracy) but in the real world it doesn't perform as well as simply doing appraisal research for the last 6 months of your prospective neighborhood. The reason behind this truncated level of research is simple- property values can change dramatically in a short period of time. Property values from a year ago may have no bearing or real relationships with property values from the last 6 months. Working these older, less accurate, numbers into your calculations will skew your neighbors and cause you to potentially make an incorrect offer on your desired properties.

Appraisal research on the last 6 months of your property's neighborhood will give you the most accurate data possible while providing you with enough information to know whether these values are presently rising or falling in your prospective neighborhood. If property values are falling you will likely be able to cite this data and make a lower offer than what the true present value of your prospective home is. On the other hand if you're buying into a neighborhood whose values are on the rise you might surmise it's wiser to bid a little more than the true present value of a property.

No matter what your chances of making an accurate and attractive offer on your desired property is only possible if you perform appraisal research going back a solid 6 months.