How much is my house worth – what are the best methods to determine this?

How much is my house worth is a question Vendor Marketing gets asked frequently. There’s no definitive answer to this apart from coming up with the most accurate price range however there are various methods & options that can be used to help you determine this.

Firstly, when a home owner contemplates the question or to think how much is my house is worth usually stems from the thought of placing their home on the market or up for sale. However for a typical homeowner with the view of becoming a home seller what are the options out there at their disposal?

Some home sellers arrive at the thought of paying for an independent valuation on their home. Personally I’ve always been a little sceptical around the end price valuation. Generally speaking and in my opinion valuers tend to arrive at the more conservative end on price – similar to a Bank valuation. This is fine if you’re prepared to pay for the privilege and wish to work from your worst case scenario price point. The other option is to pay for a sworn valuation which is more extensive and will prove to provide you a more realistic price.

However most home sellers will initially tend to do their own DIY research with all the tools ready at their disposal i.e. what’s available on the internet these days. Two internet portals which will provide a price guide or range (and I use this term price loosely) and are free to access is Onthehouse.com.au & Home Price Guide (Domain.com.au). It’s worth doing the exercise by going to both of these portals and comparing one with the other.

Although in my opinion the best way to get the most accurate price when asking yourself the question: How much is my house worth? Is via your local real estate agents. Pick the best three real estate agents in your local area and get them to provide their Worst Case, Realistic & Best Case Price points – backed up by recent comparable data.

Most real estate agents can access CoreLogic’s RP Data which is a subscription based service and whose sale figures are provided by Victoria’s Valuer-General. Therefore with a push of a button they can download all of the most recent comparable surrounding property sales in your local area whilst also including other relevant search criteria such as: Property type, number of bedrooms, bathrooms, parking spaces etc.

Furthermore I’ve heard on many occasions and for a second opinion, valuers will ring the local real estate agents to reconfirm what they believe a house is worth. The benefit of also getting three different real estate agent’s opinions is to see who may be trying to “buy” the listing. That is, which agent is arriving at a higher price point(s) compared to the other two.

When Vendor Marketing runs its qualified tender process its very rare one of the short-listed agents is that much higher on its estimated value than the other two. If one is far less I’d most likely go with the law of averages and base my price points around the two valuations that are equal or similar.

When asking how much is my house worth it’s important to be confident of the valuations presented because ultimately this is one of the first areas where home sellers come undone. If there’s a mismatch between the vendor and their respective real estate agent’s price expectations most of the time there will never be a successful outcome.

Finding out how much your home is worth & then devising a pricing strategy is just one of the four steps on achieving a successful outcome when selling a property. The other three equally important steps include 1. Making the most out of your Presentation 2. Selecting the Best Real Estate Agent & 3. Effective Property Marketing.

Vendor Marketing – Melbourne’s most qualified vendor advocates, specialises in both property marketing and agent selection for property sellers within Melbourne, therefore we are highly qualified to find out how much your house is worth and then more importantly tailor strategies around maximising your sale price!