Having a good idea what your home is worth is important for a couple of reasons. As a homeowner, knowing how much equity you have in your house can be useful when weighing your options with regard to refinancing or home equity loans. As a potential home seller, it’s even more important. That’s because, setting a fair price for your home will make a big difference in how it’s received by potential buyers. It can also save you some disappointment when it’s officially appraised. Since appraisers base the value of your home on what similar homes in the area have recently sold for, their estimation is going to reflect market conditions and won’t take into account your personal attachment to the property. For homeowners who have an inflated perception of their home’s worth, this can lead to disappointment. Fortunately, new numbers show that today’s homeowner has a fairly realistic view of home values. In fact, appraisal values in December were just 0.45 percent lower than what homeowners expected. This is an improvement over a couple of years ago, when homeowners believed their homes were worth nearly 1.5 percent more than their appraisal. More here.