Christian Eckmair

Co-founder, CheckValue · More than 20 years in real estate in Tenerife and Austria

Christian Eckmair

Co-founder, CheckValue · More than 20 years in real estate in Tenerife and Austria

Christian Eckmair is co-founder of CheckValue and of CBDNOL GmbH (Ansfelden, Austria). He has worked in real estate for more than 20 years in Tenerife and Austria – buying, renovating, letting and selling residential property – and writes about home values, buying checks and ownership records.

Articles by Christian Eckmair

A house with a blooming front garden in spring, the season when most US listings come to market

Selling

Best Time to Sell a House: Seasonality, Days on Market and Price Indices

Best time to sell a house: what seasonality data shows by month, how to read local days on market and supply, and what the FHFA index says about the cycle.

Christian Eckmair · 11 min read · September 27, 2026

Quiet residential street in the evening, the setting buyers have in mind when they check the crime rate by address

Buying checks

Crime Rate by Address: Where the Numbers Come From and How to Read Them

Crime rate by address: how FBI and local police statistics work, why 'by address' is an approximation, rates per 100,000 and what the numbers leave out.

Christian Eckmair · 12 min read · September 27, 2026

Single-family houses behind a concrete sound wall next to a multi-lane highway, the road noise that lowers property value

Buying checks

Does Road Noise Affect Property Value? Noise Maps, Energy and Location

Does road noise affect property value? Federal noise thresholds, the study evidence, a noise map by address, and how to price a busy street into an offer.

Christian Eckmair · 12 min read · September 27, 2026

Flooded residential street with houses standing in water, the scenario a flood zone by address check is meant to anticipate

Buying checks

Flood Zone by Address: FEMA Zones, Insurance Cost and Home Value Impact

Flood zone by address: check the FEMA map in 60 seconds, learn what zones AE, VE and X mean, when flood insurance is mandatory and what it does to value.

Christian Eckmair · 12 min read · September 27, 2026

Aerial view of a Los Angeles hillside neighborhood with data points overlaid, showing how an automated valuation model reads a housing market

Data & method

How Do Automated Valuation Models Work? Inside an AI Home Valuation

How do automated valuation models work? Inputs, comparables, adjustments, index roll-forward, consistency checks, the 2025 AVM rule and what no model sees.

Christian Eckmair · 12 min read · September 27, 2026

Living room of a single-family house prepared for rent, the kind of home a landlord prices with rental comps and a rent estimate

Rent & investment · Guide

How Much Can I Rent My House For? Rent Estimate Methods and Data Sources

How much can I rent my house for? Rental comps, rent-to-value ratios, estimators and official HUD Fair Market Rents data: three methods, one range.

Christian Eckmair · 12 min read · September 27, 2026

Detached single-family house with a front lawn in a US suburb, the typical subject of a home value estimate

Home value · Guide

How Much Is My House Worth? A Complete Guide to Home Value in 2026

How much is my house worth? How the number is built from comps and adjustments, how accurate online estimates are, and when you need an appraisal.

Christian Eckmair · 11 min read · September 27, 2026

Row of similar single-family houses on a US residential street, the kind of homes that serve as comparable sales

Home value

How to Find Comps for My House (and What My Neighbor's Home Sold For)

How to find comps for my house: where sold prices live (recorder, assessor, MLS), what makes a sale comparable, and how to adjust three comps into a value.

Christian Eckmair · 12 min read · September 27, 2026

County recorder's office with shelves of bound deed books, where property ownership records are kept as public record

Ownership records · Guide

How to Find Out Who Owns a Property by Address: County Records and Reports

How to find out who owns a property: free county assessor and recorder lookups step by step, state differences, what paid lookups add, and the FCRA limits.

Christian Eckmair · 12 min read · September 27, 2026

For sale sign with a price rider in the front yard of a suburban US house, the asking price a buyer has to test against comparable sales

Buying checks

How to Know If a House Is Overpriced: Five Checks and an Offer Formula

How to know if a house is overpriced: comps, price per sq ft vs the district, days on market, price cuts and sale-to-list ratio, then build the offer.

Christian Eckmair · 12 min read · September 27, 2026

For sale sign with a price rider in front of a suburban US house, the list price a seller has to choose

Selling

How to Price a House to Sell Without Leaving Money on the Table

How to price a house to sell: why the first two weeks decide, four strategies compared, the $299k vs $300k question and when to cut, anchored on value.

Christian Eckmair · 12 min read · September 27, 2026

Home value

Most Accurate Home Value Estimator? Zestimate, Redfin and AVMs Compared

Which is the most accurate home value estimator? Published error rates for Zestimate and Redfin, why estimates differ, and a 10-minute sanity check.

Christian Eckmair · 12 min read · September 27, 2026

Tape measure lying on a house floor plan, the living area that price per square foot is calculated on

Home value

Price per Square Foot Explained: How to Use It and When It Misleads

Price per square foot explained: the formula, what counts as living area (ANSI Z765), where the district average comes from, and when $/sq ft misleads.

Christian Eckmair · 12 min read · September 27, 2026

Packed moving boxes in the living room of a house whose owner must decide whether to sell it or rent it out

Rent & investment

Should I Sell My House or Rent It Out? A Decision Framework With Numbers

Should I sell my house or rent it out? Compare net proceeds with the landlord P&L, add the Section 121, depreciation and 1031 rules, run the break-even.

Christian Eckmair · 12 min read · September 27, 2026

Roofers replacing the shingles on a suburban house, one of the capital costs of owning a home that a reserve has to cover

Rent & investment

The Real Cost of Owning a Home: Taxes, Insurance, Maintenance and Reserves

The cost of owning a home beyond the mortgage: property tax by county, the insurance jump since 2018, maintenance reserves, HOA and energy, line by line.

Christian Eckmair · 11 min read · September 27, 2026

Home value

What Increases Home Value and What Lowers It: Features, Condition, Energy

What increases home value? Features with measurable premiums (garage, pool, solar, basement), renovation ROI data, and what quietly lowers the number.

Christian Eckmair · 12 min read · September 27, 2026

Couple standing in front of a suburban house they are considering buying, checking a listing on a phone before making an offer

Buying checks · Guide

What to Check Before Buying a House: The Pre-Offer Due-Diligence Checklist

What to check before buying a house in one hour: value and comps, flood zone, crime statistics, noise, running costs and the record, all before your offer.

Christian Eckmair · 12 min read · September 27, 2026