The selling of property usually causes high levels of emotion and for many can be extremely stressful. This is especially true for those who have lived in a property for a number of years and have made it into a family home. When undergoing the valuation process it is often the case that these emotions can boil over, understandably being told that a property is worth far less than the expected price is devastating to many homeowners. Unfortunately the value of a property rarely relates to how much the property initially cost or how much money has been invested in the property; fundamentally the valuation figure is dependent upon the market and demand for such properties. For those who wish to gain a ballpark figure for their property free from bias or sales technique the use of online valuation services can be extremely rewarding.
The use of online property sites to value property is in fact relatively simple; in many cases these sites are free of charge meaning that the homeowner can use many to research appropriate figures for their property. Typically the user must enter their details into the online system and the details of their property. This can take anything from five minutes to an hour but should be completed carefully in order to receive the most accurate valuation figure. As a result of entering this information the online tool will give the user a value of their property that falls into line with current market conditions.
These free online valuation services however are not perfect, due to the fact that they use market data that is usually a couple of months old, if major shifts in market conditions occur, the valuations they produce will be somewhat inaccurate. This is why the figures produced by these online models should ideally be used as general figures, for an all encompassing valuation it is always advisable to use as many sources as possible, this means incorporating online models, figures produced by estate agents and qualified surveyors.
The way in which these free online valuing services function relies upon a cross referencing system utilising the information submitted and the details of properties contained in a database. The information typically pertains to features of the property such as the size of the plot, the number of bedrooms and whether it is detached or terraced. It is only then by comparing these details to the sale prices of similar properties in the area that a figure will be reached. While this is a logical process to follow, it does have some very serious limitations that do not take into account the emotion involved in buying and selling property. For instance a property may have unique features that are not accounted for by the comparative process, subsequently the valuation, while free from emotion, will grossly underestimate the human element in the attractiveness of the property.
Fundamentally this shows that there are downsides to this form of online valuing tool but as a service that gives property sellers a general idea of the value of their home it is extremely useful. It can be used to devise a decent asking price free from the marketing spiel of estate agents and while its accuracy may be questionable, it is an unbiased and independent method for homeowners to assess the work of estate agents and find a competitive asking price.
Real estate specialist Thomas Pretty looks at how the use of free online property valuation tools can be extremely beneficial to home-owners when finding the value of their house or flat.
