How Much Is My House Really Worth?

If you ask anyone what their house is worth, I’m going to level with you here, the vast majority of homeowners will actually overprice their property. It’s as simple as that. That’s why we have professionals to do it for us.

If you have not had your property valued for some time, however, it’s completely normal to sit back and wonder what the true value of your home really is. But how can we ever really know for sure?

It’s worth mentioning that some estate agents, not the good ones, will overprice your home when you enquire about their services to win your business. But this will do nobody any good. It’s more likely to lose you money on a sale in the long run.

Today, I am going to look at the question “how much is my property worth?” and whether we can ever really know the true value of our homes.

Should I know the value of my home?

First things first, I’m going to be looking at whether you really should know the value of your home:

• Yes, it’s always important to know where your home sits on the property market. There’s no disputing that.
• Did you know that having your home priced accurately in terms of the property market at current when selling, can be the difference between you selling your house quickly, for a good price, or selling your house slowly, and losing money? No one wants to lose money now, do they?
• Remember that buyers, particularly property buyers, are a funny breed. Nobody wants to be ripped off, and just about everybody wants to get a bargain. That’s why pricing your home just right is integral if you’re wanting a successful sale to go through.
• When a property is on the market for a long time, buyers begin to automatically assume there is something wrong with the property and will not be interested. Even if they do show some interest, it’s likely that they will try and negotiate with you to get your property for a cheaper price. Chances are by the time that your property has sat on the market for some time, particularly if your own purchase depends on this sale, you will be desperate to sell and will take a smaller offer on board. Great for the buyer, not so much for the seller.
• When it comes to selling remember that your property is only worth as much as the market suggests and what the buyers deem it to be. You’re only going to get what people are willing to pay for it, regardless of how much you love your home!
• Another reason why it’s so important to know the current value of your home is if you’re planning on having some work done to it in the form of either extending to renovating.
• Yes, having some work done to the home that you’ve wanted for some time feels great, and can improve the quality of life for many people. But how much is this going to impact the overall value of your home if you choose to sell it? You don’t want to be spending a load of money on something that may not even increase the value of your home if you’re planning on selling it soon.

So, is it important to know the value of your home?

Yes, yes, it is. Particularly if you are looking to change circumstances by either selling the property on and moving house or having your home extended or renovated.

It’s about time you found out.

Can I find out completely of my own accord?

As so many of us do, before having to go through the hassle of finding someone to value your home, you’ll want to know whether you can do it completely off your own back and DIY it. So, is this a possibility?

Read on to see what I think…

• There are tools available online for free such as our own online valuation tool which can be found on our website.  However even I am the first to admit that this is not always as accurate as we would like it to be.
• In the industry, we as professionals refer to these as AVM’s, also know as Automated Valuation Model.
• You don’t even need to speak to us to do this, and did I mention it’s also free.
• If you use one of these valuation tools you may find yourself being pleasantly surprised with a valuation that’s higher than you expected it to be. This however isn’t necessarily correct and in this scenario its not a good thing.
• These calculators will often give you a higher estimation than the true market value to encourage you to sign up and market your property on their websites. In my example above, I mentioned what can happen if you overprice your property and put it on the market anyway. You will lose money and waste your own time.
• Now, using these tools are fine and as an initial first step, but please do remember not to take everything they say as gospel.
• I would always recommend having a professional opinion from somebody like myself to give you a more accurate appraisal of your home.

So yes, the answer is you can go out and get a figure for free and off your own back, but I would recommend this as a first step in a bigger quest to find out the true value of your home. If you are going to sell then you should always have an industry professional such as myself, that you trust to value you home in the first place.

Will the value of my property change over time?

Are property values set in stone or are they likely to change as time goes on? This is another of the most frequent questions I am asked regarding property valuations.

• Yes, the property market is fluid so it’s certainly true that the value of your home can change for better and for worse over time.
• If you have owned your property for some time then it’s likely that by the time you come around to sell it, the value will have changed.
• Because of the fluidity of the market, the change of the value will depend entirely on the state of the marketplace at the given time. This can be good, as in it has increased in value or it can be bad, as in it has decreased in value.
• However, the good news for you is that it is possible to change the value of your property.
• Say for example your property is run down and needs renovating. Making those necessary home improvements could really increase the value of your home.
• Remember, buyers will only pay what they think a property is worth in relevance to the rest of the market.

If you want my advice, then I suggest that if you have owned your property for a long time then you can expect the value to have changed. For the better or for worse.

Last, of all but by no means, I feel it’s only fair to cover why you should have a professional like me to value your home with accuracy and with your best interests in mind.

• Remember, many other agents will overprice your property to win your business and get paid well for doing so. It’s that simple for them but it could be a disaster for you. I only actually get paid if and when I sell the house not when you instruct me.
• Some agents have much higher selling rates than others. I would like to think that the service I offer is fair and in line with the average fees charged across most agents. Do your own research to validate this.
• Read Reviews! Reputation precedes the best of us so make sure you check out our reviews to see what our clients say about us.

So, there we have it, some information on why it’s important to know the true value of your home prior to sale or change the circumstance and what can have an impact on this.

I hope it helps you if you are choosing to sell in the future.

Contact us today to find out more.

Jake Gready 
jake@nexabristol.com