What's my property worth?

"What's the property worth?" Boy if that question isn't fraught with subjectivity, or is it? Almost daily brokers are being asked this question, from both buyers and sellers in our market. Sellers are trying to figure out whether they should even be in the game right now and if they are, at what price. Buyers are fearful of paying too much and finding themselves with no equity in a property a year from now because the bottom fell another 15% to 20%. A professional appraiser could come up with an answer. May not be what you want to hear, but I guarantee you that through a systematic approach, they could come up with a price on a property. How do they do this? By looking at comparable sales and then applying pre-determined amounts for improvements/deficiencys on the property being appraised. They know roughly what an additional bedroom or bathroom costs. They take into account finish levels in a property, location, views, accessibility, amenities, size of the home and lot, price trend analysis, etc., etc. They are not just looking at price per square foot or comparing dissimilar properties. If they are, they are adjusting accordingly to help determine value on the subject property. While your real estate broker may not get this in-depth in their analysis, are they giving you information that they have systematically worked through to help you with your price question or are they just pulling it out of thin air?