How Much Is My House Worth?

Knowing the true value of your home can give you an edge when negotiating a price when selling your home. It can be confusing when two houses on the same street sell for completely different prices, and it may cause you to ask ‘how much is my house worth’?

In this article, we discuss house valuations in detail, explaining how to find out the value of your home, the factors that affect the value, and how to increase the value too.

How Much is My House Worth?

House prices fluctuate due to many factors in the overall economic climate, but it is important to check the value of your home at any given time due how often the figure can vary. Doing this often means that you’ll know the best time to sell your home.

As of August 2024, the average house price in the UK is £293,000 which has increased by around 2% or £5000 compared to the previous year. Many other factors can affect how much your house is worth, ranging from the area, the weather, local amenities, and even how much storage space you have!

Here are a few others that may impact the overall value of your home:

• Location
• Crime rates
• Flood risk and air pollution
• School catchment areas
• Transport links
• Local amenities
• If the house suffers from subsidence
• Size and layout of the house
• Storage space available
• Dampness, boiler maintenance and plumbing problems

Many researchers have found that crime rates in an area can affect property values by as much as 2%, and that’s particularly true in spaces where violent crimes have been prevalent. As crime rates go down in a certain area, prices for homes in that area tend to increase.

Air pollution and flood risks can also affect property values. Local air quality affects health more than ever today, particularly for those who suffer from allergies and asthma. The extent to which your property is a flood risk also affects home values. Flood maps help to show whether properties are at risk of flooding. If a flood has occurred within the last three years for a given property, it could affect the overall valuation.

Did you know that prices for homes near good schools are almost always higher? In fact, it can affect a sales price by nearly £20,000 – if the home you’re buying or selling is what is considering a ‘family home’ then this could be a huge benefit.

Shops, restaurants, and even nearby gyms are all becoming important ways to distinguish your property from others, so if you’re close to options like those that add convenience to everyday life, your property is likely to get a higher valuation.

If you have a larger garden or an extension, your home may be worth more than that of your neighbour in the same street. For example, end-terrace houses tend to be larger than mid-terraced houses due to increase external space. If you are comparing homes, you may want to look at their EPCs to get a good sense of how much those homes differ to yours. It seems that in present times ‘bigger is better is the slogan’ with more people than ever wanting larger homes. More storage space and options like a drive and a two-car garage can mean your home sells for more money as well.

How to check the value of your home

If you want an exact answer to “how much is my house worth in the UK”, then arranging for a physical valuation is the most accurate way to find out. This is going to provide you with the highest level of accuracy. It involves inviting a valuer, surveyor or agent to your home, who will look at the same factors potential buyers will, such as the topography, the location, the size of your home and the land it’s built on. A surveyor will come to your home and look at all the features involved. These professionals are highly qualified, informed on the current market and are able to provide a correct valuation that you can count on, whether you wish to sell or you’re just interested in the current price of your home.

You’ll want to choose someone to value your home who is regulated by RICS, the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors. Ask if it’s okay to talk through the valuation afterwards. You may have questions or concerns about why something was on the report the way it was. Keep in mind that the price of a valuation can vary, but in most cases, to get a top-level figure it should be free. It can cost up to £800 if you’re looking for detail and reports to follow so keep this in mind for your budget. If you wish to sell your house fast, Good Move can help with your valuations for free. With our speedy process, there are no hidden solicitor, valuation or estate agent fees either.

Are Free Online Valuation Tools Accurate?

Here are some common free valuation methods available for you to use and what to consider before using them:

1. Track house price trends by area:

The Land Registry collects data on sales and records near every residence in England in Wales. Its official House Price Index offers average house prices by country and region across a variety of property types. In most cases, this is the basis of many of the other tools you’ll find online, and even professional surveyors use it for simple reports. To use it, you just have to click to see sold house prices in your area. You can reach back to 1995 with this tool.

1. Consider the sale price

Nationwide’s House Price Index Calculator is useful to understand how much property prices have changed. It uses data from its index to look at how your home’s property value has changed over time, and the results from the online calculator also help you see what the house prices are currently in your area. While it doesn’t give you data on specific towns or cities, it does help you see the general trends in areas of the UK.

4. Free online valuations

There are plenty of free online valuations. They are often considered questionable, as many only ask for your postcode and the number of bedrooms in your home. More cynical property experts have found that free online valuations usually overestimate the value of a property, so if you do use one, be sure to take the results with a pinch of salt. Here are a few you may want to consider:

• RightMove and Zoopla: A simple search on either of these websites could tell you how much your house is worth. Both will help you see properties for sale in your area, and also have a “How Much is My Home Worth” tool that will help you determine a rough value for your own house.
• Net House Prices: This website is a good way to help you do a bit of research as you try to find an answer to the “How much is my house worth in the UK” question. You simply look for their SOLD prices page, and then you enter the postcode of the area in which you’re searching for recent homes sold. The returns on your info will likely just be the address of the property that was sold, the type of property it was, whether it was a new build, its overall selling price, and the date it sold.
• MousePrice: You’ll have to enter the postcode, as you do with many other tools, and once you do, you’ll see all of the standard information – property address, property type, the amount it sold for, and more. You can click on ‘Expand Price History’ beside those listings and see all of that property’s previous selling prices so you can get a good sense of how the property’s value has changed over time. It also has some unique graph functions that show home sale values in an area over the previous six-year period.
• Our Property: You’ll need to register if you want to use it, but this website does have a unique feature that really sets it apart – the survey feature. You’ll enter the postcode to get the data you might find on any other site, but then you can select ‘Survey’ to get a closer look at key characteristics. That data could include the number of bedrooms, bathrooms, and more.
• The Move Market: Once you’ve entered the postcode you want information from, you’ll get the total number of sales over the last 10 years in that area, the most recent sale, and the property types that tend to sell well in that area. You can even check housing prices in neighbouring areas along with that data or just the numbers on your street specifically. It also lists historic home sales and even a full sale history of a given property. If you select ‘Refine Valuation’ and see how much more a certain property is estimated to go for if you replaced certain features like the kitchen, flooring, windows, and doors and the ‘Major Renovations’ tab that helps you understand what additional value might be added to a home by doing bigger projects like bedroom extensions or outbuilding additions.

As you look at these online valuations, you’ll want to keep a few things in mind.

Start by keeping track of how each property compares to the rest of the market right now. Think about how the general condition compares, not just how many bedrooms it has or how big the living room is. Newer properties or those that have been renovated more recently tend to be of a higher value compared to those that need some work.

You may not know this, but the longer a property is listed, the lower the asking price can get as buyers will make the assumption that sellers are just ready to sell!

How Do I Increase The Value of My House?

You may have already had a home valuation, or you might want to increase the value of your house ahead of time. Either way, there are several methods of increasing the value of your property which will mean that your house will be worth even more!

Quick fixes and longer projects include:

• Check Mechanics: Hire an electrician and a plumber and get them to check over your property as loose wiring, faulty plugs and water leaks can all devalue your home. If there are any electrical problems, water leaks, roof issues, or pest infestations, you’ll want to have those addressed immediately.
• Treat Any Damp: Moisture problems can also devalue your home. They can be tough to treat, but it is possible. Damp is frustrating as it can be difficult to permanently eradicate.
• Clean Your Carpets: You don’t need to replace your entire carpet. Hire a professional carpet cleaner or, if it’s beyond saving, cover it with strategic rugs. Potential home buyers are willing to pay up to 54% more for beautiful, clean flooring, so treat yours well. If you do need a replacement, though, choosing to invest wisely here could certainly be worth it and increase the overall value of your home.
• Consider the Garden: A freshly mown lawn and a nice driveway are fairly easy to implement, and they add to the overall appearance of your property. Both the front and back gardens improve the overall appeal of your space, and it won’t take much to convince buyers when our home looks great. Be sure the lawn stays mowed and add some perennial plants that are easy to care for too.
• Update your Kitchen and Bathrooms: Don’t let cracks and chips devalue your bathroom; update your suite with clean, modern fittings and be sure to replace dingy tiles and discoloured flooring. The same applies to your kitchen; update your appliances and white goods and ensure the colour choices are cohesive. You don’t want your bathroom or kitchen to look unattractive if you plan to put your home on the market soon. Replace countertops, consider repainting vanities and cabinets, and keep your appliances in good, working order to make spaces as attractive as possible.

Why you need to know ‘how much is my house worth’?

Knowing the overall worth of your home matters as you work to sell your home. It’s best to keep up with the value of your home every few years so you get a sense of how your investment is growing and changing.

Whether you need a cash injection or are relocating to your dream home if you’re looking to sell your property fast and are wondering how long a house sale takes, speak to Good Move. We use RICS-certified chartered surveyors to gain a unique insight into the sector and will provide you with an accurate estimation of how much your house is worth. Contact our team today for a free cash offer.

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