What Your Home Is Really Worth: A Recent Conversation With a Local Homeowner (Plus What Anyone With Homes for Sale in Schoharie County NY or Montgomery County NY Should Know)

If you’re thinking about selling — or even already have homes for sale in Schoharie County NY or homes for sale in Montgomery County NY — you’ve probably noticed this: every online home value tool gives you a completely different number.

Just last week, I had a homeowner in Carlisle call me to talk about this exact issue while I was sipping my tea. It felt like one of those conversations many sellers are having right now, so I want to share it.

She said, “Heather - One website says my place is worth $215,000, another says $289,000, and a third one says $260,000. How does anyone know what’s real?”

It’s a great question — and honestly, a very normal one in our local market. Rural Upstate NY Gets Valued “Strangely” Online

I explained to her that the reason these estimates are all over the place is simple. Our area doesn’t behave like the big suburbs these algorithms were built for.

In Schoharie and Montgomery Counties, two homes that look similar online can be completely different in reality. Small differences in acreage, barns, outbuildings, updates, road type, past flooding, and even the specific pocket of the county can change pricing dramatically. Online tools simply can’t “see” those things.

So we talked through a couple of real factors that DO shape true market value here:

1. Acreage isn’t linear - Two acres in one neighborhood might add serious value. In another, buyers may not care.

2. Condition matters more than square footage - Many local buyers want “move-in ready” and will pay for it. Others are specifically looking for fixer-uppers. Algorithms can’t separate those buyer groups, but your market value depends on which pool is currently more active.

3. Demand isn’t evenly spread across towns - Some towns see faster interest based on schools, commute routes, taxes, and even broadband access. A human sees that. An online estimator doesn’t.

4. Recent sales tell the real story - Not five-year averages. Not national trends. Your true value comes from what buyers have recently paid for similar homes within your exact area.

My Carlisle homeowner agreed and said, “That makes way more sense than what those websites tell me.”

You Don’t Need Guesswork — Just the Right Data. You don’t have to become an expert in real estate. But you do deserve a clear explanation grounded in actual local market behavior, not a random computer output.

My background is in insight-driven decision making, which simply means this: I take real data and translate it into something people can actually use.

So if you’re wondering:

• “What is my home truly worth right now?”
• “What should I fix before I sell?”
• “What would buyers pay for my property in this exact part of the county?”

…I’m here to walk you through it in a way that feels human, local, and honest — just like that tea-side conversation.

If You’re Selling in Schoharie or Montgomery County, Let’s Chat!

Whether you have homes for sale in or near Schoharie County NY, homes for sale in Montgomery County NY, or you’re just starting to think about it, I’m happy to sit down with you, too.


Want a personalized complimentary home valuation? No pressure. No commitment. Just clear insight to help you make the right next step to understand what your home is worth and showcase your home at it’s very best.

Get Your Home's Value for FREE

Questions? Reach out anytime.

Heather Riedinger
Country Boy Realty
518-500-3215
heatherrcbr@gmail.com


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