How much is my house worth?

Finding the value of your home is the first step to getting a property marketed if you’re considering relocating or perhaps downsizing. 

Getting the price right is crucial if you want to sell your home quickly. But gone are the days when it was only an estate agent that homeowners could rely upon to gauge the correct asking price to suit the current market conditions. 

There are many ways you can find out for yourself what the right price is for your home that will result in a sale.

What is equity release?

Here’s how to get the numbers right:

Go online

The digital revolution has a firm grip on the housing market which is good news for doing your homework on what a property is worth – and you can do it from your armchair.

Start by looking online at what is currently for sale in your area. Search by postcode and look for properties as close to your own as possible, ideally on your street but one nearby will do.

Property website giants Zoopla and Rightmove feature hundreds of thousands properties each so you should be able to find something nearby – even if it is already under offer, the details will still be online. If you have spent considerable money improving your home, perhaps with extensions or significant modernisation, then factor that in too.

Look too for what your neighbours achieved for their properties recently by checking sold house prices on rightmove.co.uk/house-prices or zoopla.co.uk/house-prices.

Top tips for downsizing your home.

House price indices

Many institutions, including the Land Registry and large banks and building societies, publish monthly house price indexes detailing average house prices nationally and broken down into regions. But don’t take this as a guide to a price for your home. These numbers are just averages across a very broad spectrum.

Dealing with estate agents

Getting valuations done by local estate agents is the next step. The rule of thumb is to get three different agents to do a valuation.

You are under no obligation to sign a contract with an agent that has carried out a valuation for you.

In fact, more people are opting to sell their homes using online estate agents to cut costs.

Avoid the estate agents' sneaky tricks.

For more tips and useful information, browse our money articles.