If you're looking to sell your home, one of the first things to do is find out how much it could sell for. You might not know where to start, so we asked property expert and director at HouseBuyFast, Jonathan Rolande, for his guide on how to value your house.
Ask estate agents
The most accurate way to get the value is to ask a few local estate agents to visit - they usually offer these appraisals for free. Not only will they have the knowledge of local property prices but they also have data not available to the public from websites like Rightmove.
These portals have agent-only areas where they can see now-unlisted property (for example, sold or withdrawn property and invisible to public users), data such as sales dates and achieved price, and features such as floorplans. So other than their knowledge and access to applicants, agents do have an advantage when it comes to valuing. They can also judge activity virtually day by day and can predict changes in the market that could influence the price for better or worse.
Use online tools
There are also lots of great ways to arrive at a value yourself too. Zoopla has a valuation tool to enter location, condition, size and much more to provide a figure as close as possible to the value of your home. You can also check sold price data on the Land Registry website – comparing your home to others sold nearby can be accurate as it is sold prices (rather than asking prices) you'd see and these can vary. Just remember to allow some leeway for increases and decreases in the local market.
Act like a buyer yourself: enter your town, property type and rough price into a property search portal and look for comparable homes. When you find the first one you prefer, that’s the upper limit on price for your own home! Finally, you can call a quick sale firm and get a free offer from them – it will likely be about 10% to 15% below market value so remember to add that on.
If you're thinking about selling your home, then take a look at our guide to adding value to your property and everything you need to know about mortgages.