The internet offers tools for just about everything that can be done digitally, and this includes a number of tools for estimating the value of your property. But these tools are far from identical. Whether subtly or profoundly, they all use different data and different methods to reach their estimate. This naturally raises a question; which are the best tools, likely to give the most accurate indication of a property’s true value?
About Online Property Valuation
Online tools will value your property by drawing on data from several sources. Depending on the tool you choose, this might include land registry data, and information from surveyors and mortgage firms. This will allow them to analyse property price trends in your area, potentially with reference to its last sale price. Many will also ask you to provide some information, such as the condition of the property. Even the most comprehensive of tools are not likely to be 100% accurate, and to get a reliable valuation you will still need a surveyor to visit the property in person, but they can give you a useful indication.
Rightmove
Rightmove is probably already a familiar name to most people. It is one of the biggest UK house-buying and -selling portals on the internet, and it is also offers one of the more popular tools for estimating property values. It uses sales price data, overall property market movements, and information from the Land Registry to reach its estimate.
Zoopla
Like Rightmove, Zoopla is a big, well-known name when it comes to property buying and selling, and is also the home of one of the most popular valuation tools. It uses data stretching back as far as 1995, longer than most alternatives, though in spite of this it has still sometimes been criticised for inaccuracy. It also offers useful tools such as local price maps.
Mouseprice
Mouseprice is an easy-to-use property value estimator, requiring you only to enter an address or postcode. In spite of this simplicity, it offers more of a bespoke estimate than many of the other tools that can be found online. It focuses very closely on the property’s location when looking at trends, while many other tools generalise across a wider region. It uses a quite comprehensive collection of data on sales and prices to reach its estimate.
Property Buying Company Estimators
In one sense, these represent a whole different category of tools for estimating a property’s value, but they are worthy of discussion. These are valuation tools attached to the websites of companies that specialise in buying properties, for example Property Cash Buyers – the same kind of business model that might be more familiar from companies buying cars or electronic gadgets. These companies offer a quick, easy sale without the need to go through estate agents, viewings and so on. In return for this convenience, they will generally offer less than market value, although it should be noted that this can be offset by a lack of estate agent and legal fees so this does not necessarily mean an unattractive deal. If you are thinking of going this route for speed and convenience, then these are the tools to use. However, they are unlikely to accurately assess the real market value of your property as they are designed to estimate the offer the company will actually make.
