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When it comes to selling up, it’s totally natural to want the best possible valuation for your property. There is a lot you can do to potentially boost your home’s value to potential buyers. From doing small DIY jobs to more major projects, there are countless methods that experts recommend to homeowners looking for a good valuation price. Whether or not these methods are guaranteed to be effective in raising the value of your property is another question.
As selling without an estate agent becomes increasingly popular among buyers looking to minimise the cost of selling, more and more of us are looking at how to value our own homes without seeking the help of experts. While it might be tricky to work out a reasonable valuation price without consulting a specialist, it is certainly possible.
If you are looking to discuss the valuation and possible sale of your home, contact LDN Properties, who have enabled hundreds of home-owners throughout the UK to achieve a dependable, low-hassle sale with no fees.
In this article, we will look at how you can value your own home to make a quick and cost-efficient sale in seven easy steps.
The seven steps to follow when valuing your home
Do thorough research to find out local property prices – This is the most important tip and a great starting point for coming up with a realistic valuation. While you are bound to want the best possible price for your property, having a look at what similarly sized properties in your area have sold for will keep your expectations realistic. To do this you can use sites such as Zoopla or Land Registry data. It’s probably more helpful to seek out prices for properties that have sold within the last year and that are the same type of property as your own (e.g. detached, mid-terrace, semi-detached).
Boost your knowledge of the local property market – Another key tip is to develop an in-depth knowledge of the property market in your area. Perhaps you own a flat in a thriving city where there is not enough housing stock or own a house in an area which has recently been voted one of the UK’s best commuter towns. On the other side of the coin, perhaps the local property market in your area is somewhat sluggish, meaning that properties are typically sold for less than their valuation price. The state of the local property market can have a huge bearing on what you can expect, so make sure you are fully clued up.
Take into account housing market predictions – While none of us have a crystal ball, it is a good idea to bear in mind that housing market predictions may impact upon the value of your house. For example, if housing prices in your area are expected to rise sharply in the coming year, you will want to reflect this in the value you give your property. If you are looking for more information there are a number of websites online that will enable you to gain an overview of housing market predictions so that you can make an accurate judgment as to the value of your property.
Utilise existing tools for a generic valuation – If you have no idea where to start there are a huge number of websites online that will enable you to gain a generic valuation for your property. These figures are, by nature, rather broad-brush, but, nevertheless, are a good starting point for valuing your home. The sums quoted are typically influenced by factors such as recent sales in the local area and number of bedrooms, so if you have recently made large improvements, such as converting unused space into additional living area, you may seek a more comprehensive valuation.
Make use of house price calculators – If you want to know how much your home may have gone up in value since you purchased it, it’s a good idea to use online house price calculators to work this out. Online house price calculators will give you a rough guide as to how much your house price might have increased since it was bought by you so this can be very helpful in working out the current value of your property.
Consider external factors that will affect the price of your property – If you now have a rough idea about the value of your property in terms of bricks and mortar, you may also look at the local area. For example, perhaps your home is ideally located for access to the city centre or good schooling. Conversely, if there are negative factors that will detract from your home, such as a risk of flooding within the local area, you may wish to factor these in to gain a realistic valuation price.
Test the waters – Now you have a realistic valuation price you can list your property online and see how much interest you are getting. If you are getting lots of interest from potential buyers this can be a good sign that you have valued your property for a reasonable sum. However, it may also be a sign that the valuation price is too cheap and that you might consider raising the number. On the flip side, if you find that there is very little demand for your property even after the property has been listed for weeks, it might be time to reduce the asking price, so that potential buyers see that they could potentially grab your property for less than the asking price.
When it comes to selling property it’s vital that you take a realistic approach in order to give your property the best chance of a successful sale. There is nothing to be gained by giving your property an unrealistic valuation as this will only work against you when you find that you are not able to sell the property weeks, or perhaps even months, down the line. Keeping a cool head and making a sensible valuation based on thorough research is key to a successful sale.
Thank you for reading our handy guide to valuing your home in seven steps. We hope you have found this guide helpful.