Home Value Estimator

No, not if you have a mortgage. This calculator has no input for an outstanding loan balance, so "Estimated Equity" is calculated as exactly the same figure as Estimated Current Value -- it does not subtract anything you still owe. Real home equity is current value minus remaining mortgage balance, so if you have a mortgage, subtract your current loan balance from the Estimated Current Value figure yourself to get an accurate equity number.

It's a reasonable long-run historical average for US home prices broadly, but individual markets vary widely and can run well above or below that figure in any given stretch of years -- some metro areas have appreciated far faster over the past decade, while others have been flat or declined. Since this calculator simply compounds whatever rate you enter, the output is only as reliable as that assumption; check recent local market data rather than relying on the national average for a specific property.

Because purchase price is the base amount that gets compounded, while the appreciation rate only determines the multiplier applied to that base. A larger starting purchase price scales every subsequent year's value proportionally, whereas a change in the appreciation rate has a smaller relative effect over a typical multi-year holding period -- which is also why an error in your remembered purchase price throws off the estimate more than a modest miscalibration in the appreciation assumption.

Yes, this calculator adds the full Improvements Value figure you enter directly on top of the appreciated purchase price, with no discount. In reality, home improvements rarely return 100% of their cost in added resale value -- the return varies widely by project type (kitchen and bathroom remodels tend to recoup more than average, while highly personalized upgrades often recoup less) -- so treat this as an optimistic upper bound rather than a guaranteed dollar-for-dollar value increase.