User:TomFringey87/House valuation

House valuation is the term given to the process of valuing a property, usually before it is placed on the market for a sale. An estate agent (for those living in the United Kingdom) or realtor (for United States of America citizens) is usually responsible for carrying out and providing the house valuation.

The house valuation usually takes about an hour, and the estate agent assesses all the individual aspects of the property - including size, type, age, unique features, interior and exterior appearance. The agent will also take into account the wider market conditions, such as comparable properties on the market and recently sold properties. This will give an idea into the demand for this type of housing, which in turn affects the achievable price.

In the UK in particular a house valuation is usually the first step towards a house sale. They can be arranged via the estate agents directly or by larger online property networks.

Alternatives to traditional house valuations
As with most industries the internet has had a great impact on the options available to home sellers looking for a house valuation. Several websites now offer online valuations or online house estimates. These take statistics from reputable house price indexes and governing bodies and use this information to generate automatic calculations of house valuations. Although these are instant, they lack the in-depth insight that a full house valuation from an estate agent provides.

House price trends
House valuations inevitably take into account the wider house price trends that are affecting the property market. These can be analysed on a national scale, or broken down into regional sections. There are several notable house price indexes which work off sold house prices or mortgage applications and provide monthly reports into their data. This sort of information contributes to the house valuation from the estate agent.