If you don’t know how to determine the value of your home, you’re certainly not alone.

In fact, a vast majority of property sellers don’t really know the true value of their home. This is why “what is my home worth?” is THE question for many sellers who are about to put their property on the market. After all, who wants to sell below value or miss out on a great offer?

Luckily for you, there are a few ways to get a good feel for the likely value of your home at any point in time.

Do a bit of homework.

1. Research Your Area

Stop by a few open homes around your neighbourhood to see what other properties in your suburb are like and how your place stacks up against them. As a bonus, this will also give you an opportunity to see local agents in action and, perhaps, help make your final agent choice.

2. Free Property Reports

Jump on REA, Domain, Property Value or onthehouse.com.au. These websites allow you to check recent sales in your neighbourhood so you can see what homes like yours are being sold for.

Many banks now offer free property reports and apps as well. You can also access a free property report for your suburb on Openagent.com.au. These reports can give you a good insight into your local market and how desirable your home may be. But be cautious here as accuracy of these reports is often debatable.

So, don’t draw too many conclusions at this stage. There are a lot of factors that affect sale prices, including land size, aspect, views, accommodation, features, proximity to amenities, property age, building design, market trends and so on.

Talk to industry professionals.

The main reason for doing your homework is so you have some background before you talk with local real estate agents or maybe a property valuer.

1.Real Estate Agents

Most property sellers will approach local real estate agents to get an appraisal of the value of their home. After all, agents are active in their local area and should be able to provide useful information about the likely value of your home.

Be careful not to be enticed by an agent claiming they’ll get you a much higher sale price than their competitors. Remember, that agents are salespeople who want your business. They are marketing themselves to you, and their appraisal of your home is part of their sales process. Very few agents have formal property valuation qualifications and so they can’t give you a formal “valuation” of your property. By getting appraisals from a few different agents you are more likely to get a better feel for a range of possible prices.

2.Property Valuers

Valuers are formally qualified to assess property values and usually specialise in a particular market area. Most of their work is done for banks and other mortgage lenders to check that the property is suitable security for the housing loan. Also, for reasons such as mortgage refinancing, valuers are regularly valuing properties which are not for sale. This means they are seeing a broader range of properties, not just those being sold, and have a lot of market knowledge.

A valuer will give you a detailed report on your property that compares it with other local properties and will provide a valuation range for your property. They will also take into account market conditions and other factors that can enhance or detract from property values. Real estate agents will look at many of these factors too, but their process is more informal.

Most property vendors don’t engage a valuer to help them understand the value of their property due to the cost (typically a few hundred dollars or more), but it might be a very worthwhile investment, particularly if your property is not typical of most properties in your area. A valuation report will also give you valuable information that can benefit you when you start talking to real estate agents.

It is important to get a few different views of the value of your property.

By doing a bit of research and getting a valuer to give you their assessment, you will be well-prepared when your local agents come to pitch their services to you.

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Best Regards,
The EYEON Property Inspections Team

At EYEON Property Inspections, we help you buy and sell with more confidence.