If you’ve lived in your home for a while or increased the property value through home improvements, it’s useful to work out how much your home is worth in today’s market.
There are pretty much three ways of working out how much your home is worth: Researching the local market by scrolling through recent sold prices, using an online price calculator, or asking an estate agent to come out and value your property.
Looking at the local market
When you’re doing homework on property prices, make sure you’re focusing on prices in your area of London. Property values can vary considerably across the city and are often much higher than in other parts of the country.
Zoopla is one of the easiest ways to find out what house prices are doing in London – and you can even check during a lunch break or between TV ads. Another option is the Land Registry. This also allows you to search recent sold prices either by house number, street or district. The only downside to this is that the data lags behind real-time sales because the transactions have to be completed and processed.
Just remember to take any of these figures with a pinch of salt because there are so many factors that can add or subtract from the value of your property. Just a few of these are:
- Size, number of bedrooms, layout and condition.
- Outdoor space such as gardens and parking.
- Schools, infrastructure and transport.
- Distance to local amenities and green space.
- Colour of your wallpaper (only kidding, sort of).
So, even if you find a near-identical house that sold nearby, it doesn’t mean that your home carries the same price tag.
House price calculators
Price estimates and house price calculators are usually based on data from a bunch of sources and are useful for an indication. Consider whatever numbers come back as a loose estimate (much like you’re hearing it from a friend of a friend at a pub) rather than a solid figure.
At Keatons, we offer a free valuation to give property owners in London a ballpark figure based on reliable data and what we know about the area. We wouldn’t recommend using it to market your property, but it’s great if you need a rough price back within 24 hours and you don’t have time to pick up the phone.
Ask for an agent valuation
The best way to find out how much your home in London is worth? Request a valuation from a local estate agent. Whenever we’re invited over for a cup of tea and a guided tour, we’re able to fully inspect the property and point out anything that might add value.
We’ve been based in East London and surrounding areas for over 20 years and have sold thousands of properties in that time. We share this local knowledge and anything else we think is useful when we value your home.
The benefit of an agent valuation over an online calculator:
- There’s a good chance we’ve sold a property within walking distance of yours.
- We can share our recent experiences of house sales and how much they ended up selling for.
- We know about things in the area that haven’t happened yet but could impact the value of your home.
To find out exactly how much your home in London is worth right now, use this form on the Keatons website to request a home visit.
Final thoughts
We understand that there can be a big difference in valuations, even between estate agents. You don’t want to go too low, but you don’t want to go too high either. We sometimes see houses on the market for above their true market value. The risk is that the property then becomes overexposed to the market and vulnerable to low offers. On the other hand, properties in London can often sell for well above the asking price when handled by an experienced estate agent. We carefully consider our valuations and consistently achieve above-average results – and, most importantly, we’ll be there to offer advice when the offers start coming in. If you’re wondering how much your home is worth, please reach out to your nearest Keatons branch and book a valuation. There’s never any obligation and we’ll always give our honest opinion.
See our full list of property advice articles in our Knowledge Centre.
About Keatons
Keatons has been based in East London for over 20 years and has since expanded to the north and south of the city. We have an outstanding Trustpilot rating from customers and we are known for helping sellers and landlords achieve the best possible market price for their property. To find out more, visit our website.