How to get a house valuation

There are three ways to get a house valuation in England and Wales: ask estate agents for a free market appraisal, pay a qualified valuer (such as a RICS member) for a formal valuation, or research sold prices yourself using HM Land Registry data and online estimates. For most sellers, the most reliable approach is to start with sold prices, then get two or three agent valuations and compare their evidence. You only need a paid, formal valuation for things like probate, divorce, tax or a dispute.

The main types of house valuation

Type	Cost	Who does it	Best used for
Your own research	Free	You, using sold prices	A starting point, and checking what agents tell you
Online estimate	Free	An automated tool	A rough range only
Estate agent valuation (market appraisal)	Usually free	A local estate agent	Setting an asking price when you sell
Formal valuation	A fee	A qualified valuer, often a chartered surveyor	Probate, Inheritance Tax, divorce, tax and disputes
Mortgage valuation	Not paid by you	A valuer working for the buyer's lender	Checking the home is enough security for the loan

GOV.UK's guide to selling explains that agent valuations are informal, not formal valuations by a qualified valuer or surveyor, who will charge a fee. That doesn't make them worthless, but it explains why they can vary so much.

Step 1: check sold prices yourself

Start with what homes near you have actually sold for, not what they're advertised at.

• HM Land Registry's sold price search shows what homes in England and Wales sold for. Its price paid data covers residential sales registered since January 1995 and is free to use.
• It runs a little behind the market. HM Land Registry says the gap between a sale and its registration is typically two weeks to two months, so the latest couple of months are incomplete.
• The UK House Price Index, published monthly by HM Land Registry, shows how average prices in your area have moved, which helps you adjust older sales to today.

To compare fairly:

1. Find three to six sales of similar homes: the same type, a similar size, on your street or nearby, ideally within the last year.
2. Check their sizes. The energy certificate register lets you look up each home's EPC, which normally shows its total floor area.
3. Adjust for differences: condition, extensions, parking, garden, and how prices have moved since each sale.

This gives you a realistic range before any agent walks through the door.

Step 2: get two or three estate agent valuations

GOV.UK suggests getting three separate agent valuations and asking each agent for evidence, such as similar homes they've recently sold. An agent will visit, look at the condition and layout, and suggest an asking price.

Agents who belong to The Property Ombudsman must give any recommended asking price or likely selling price in good faith. It must reflect current market conditions and be supported by comparable evidence, and they must never deliberately misrepresent a home's value.

To get the most from agent valuations:

• Ask for the evidence. Which sales are they comparing your home with, and why?
• Ask two questions: "What would you market it at?" and "What do you expect it to sell for?" The answers are often different.
• Be wary of the highest figure. An agent may suggest a high price to win your business. A home priced too high can sit unsold and end up selling for less.
• Ask how long similar homes took to sell, and how many are on the market near you now.

Step 3: decide whether you need a formal valuation

A formal valuation is a written report from a qualified valuer, often a chartered surveyor. RICS members who carry out valuations must follow its mandatory standards, known as the Red Book (RICS Valuation: Global Standards).

You're more likely to need one when:

• someone has died and you need the home's value at the date of death for the estate and any Inheritance Tax (see selling an inherited house)
• you're dividing property in a divorce or between co-owners
• you need a figure for tax, such as Capital Gains Tax on a second home
• there's a dispute about what the home is worth

Valuers set their own fees, so ask for a quote and what the report will include before you instruct one.

Surveys and mortgage valuations

A mortgage valuation is carried out for the buyer's lender to check the home is worth the loan. RICS points out that it's for the lender's benefit, not the buyer's or the owner's. If the lender's valuer puts a lower figure on your home than the agreed price (a "down valuation"), your buyer may ask to renegotiate.

Some RICS Home Surveys include a valuation. A Level 2 survey can be ordered with a market valuation, while a Level 1 survey doesn't include one.

Step 4: treat online estimates as a rough guide

Free online valuation tools use sold prices and basic property details to produce an instant figure. They're a useful sense check, but they can't see inside your home. They don't know about your new kitchen, the damp in the back bedroom or the busy road outside. Use them as a range, never as your asking price.

How to read a valuation

"Valuation" can mean several different numbers, so be clear which one you've been given:

Figure	What it means
Asking price	The price you advertise at, often set a little above what you'd accept
Likely selling price	What a buyer is expected to pay on the open market, given a normal amount of time
Market value	A valuer's formal opinion of what the home would sell for between a willing buyer and a willing seller, after proper marketing
Quick-sale or cash offer	What a buyer offers for speed and certainty, usually below market value

Valuations are opinions. Two good professionals can be thousands of pounds apart, especially for unusual homes or homes that need work.

What affects what your home is worth?

• Location and local demand, including schools, transport and the street itself
• Size and layout: floor area, bedrooms, bathrooms and parking
• Condition: a home that needs work is worth less, and may be hard to mortgage
• Tenure: for leasehold flats, a short lease can reduce the value a lot (see selling a flat with a short lease)
• Energy rating, shown on the EPC that buyers can see
• Problems such as damp, subsidence, Japanese knotweed or cladding
• The market at the time, and how many similar homes are for sale nearby

Common valuation mistakes

• Comparing with asking prices instead of sold prices
• Using old sales without allowing for how prices have moved since
• Comparing with homes that aren't really similar, such as a detached house when yours is a semi
• Assuming improvements add what they cost. Buyers don't always value a new kitchen or conservatory the way you do.
• Choosing the agent with the highest figure rather than the best evidence
• Forgetting the costs of selling. The price isn't what you take home once agent fees, legal fees and any mortgage are paid. Our house sale proceeds calculator works that out.

Valuations and quick-sale offers

If you're weighing up an estate agent sale against a quick sale, get an agent valuation first so you know the open-market price. Cash buyers, including us, usually offer below market value in return for speed and certainty. When we make an offer, we explain how we worked it out from recent sales nearby, so you can check it against your own research and decide whether the trade-off is worth it. Our guide to below market value explains how to judge an offer.

A quick checklist before you set a price

• Look up recent sold prices for similar homes nearby
• Check floor areas on the EPC register
• Get two or three agent valuations, with the evidence behind them
• Ask each agent for an asking price and a likely selling price
• Be wary of any figure far above the rest
• Get a formal valuation if it's for probate, divorce, tax or a dispute
• Decide how quickly you need to sell, as that affects the price you can expect