How to Check the Value Of Your House [3 strategies]

Do your research using these three strategies, on how to find out what a house is worth in the market right now. As Queensland mortgage brokers, we help clients go into negotiations prepared and confident. See our full guide on how to make an offer on a house once you know your numbers.

What makes it a little tricky, is that there is no hard and fast way to check the value of a house.

When it comes to understanding what the house is worth, it is important to know that the advertised price is NOT the final sale price.

The price is what the market is willing to pay, so there is no set price.

In Brisbane at the moment, we are starting to see vendors taking less money than the advertised price.

This is called vendor discounting –  it is the discount between the originally advertised price and the final sale price.

As a mortgage broker in Brisbane, at the moment, we are seeing clients paying between 5% to 15% less than the advertised price. This is directly relevant when making an offer below asking price, where knowing vendor discounting data gives you a strong starting point.

So if the asking price is $1,000,000, then actual sale price after negotiation is between $950,000 and $850,000.

Now that you can see that it is possible to get a lower price than the asking price, there are three strategies you can use to check the value of your house. Before you get to offer stage, it's also worth understanding the clauses in a house contract so you know what conditions to include.

For the full step by step process, see our guide on how to buy a house in Brisbane.

Start by going to https://www.realestate.com.au/sold/ and navigate to the ‘sold’ tab. Enter in the suburb and house details similar to the home you are considering to get a list of what has sold in the area.

I recommend you drive by 10 to 20 of the ‘sold’ properties, over the last 6 months, that are comparable on some level to the property you are looking to purchase.

RP Date produce property reports which show what price the property been sold for over the years.

What is most helpful is the list of a number of comparable properties in the area that have sold. This is a much faster way of getting a short list of properties to drive past than using the ‘sold’ feature on https://www.realestate.com.au/sold/.  You also get a demographic summary of the area and a list of local schools.

I can give you property reports like the example one below, if you email me with the address’ of up to three homes you are considering. I’ll send you back the reports usually within  48 hours (it is free, by the way).

Review an example report here.

There really is no better way to understand the area you are looking to buy in, than going to open homes and seeing what homes are selling for. If you have looked at 20 plus properties in the area, then often you will have a better idea of what the home is worth than the real estate agent, or even the vendor. The vendor is unlikely to have seen as many houses as you so trust yourself.

If you are looking to buy a 3 bedroom Queenslander and a similar one just sold down the street, then this is your best comparison point. Once you've settled on a property, don't skip the building and pest inspection before finalising your offer.

Email us for further help on how to check a house's value and get expert advice from our professional team of mortgage and refinance brokers in Brisbane, the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast.

If you're a first home buyer working through this process for the first time, our first home buyer loans page covers everything from deposit to settlement.