The internet is a valuable tool for house hunting, but some of the information it gives us can be confusing. If you’re planning to sell your house, you probably know that most property portals have an area where you can view house prices in your area. This allows you to see exactly how much your neighbours bought their house for, and in what year. This can be a useful guide, helping you to know what to expect from your own valuation. But if an estate agent gives a significantly higher or lower valuation than the average for your street, you’d be right to wonder why. 

In this blog, we look at why your house might have a different value from others in the street.

1.     All houses change with time

Even if your house was built relatively recently, it will be different now from how it was when the developers first built it. You might have extended it or added security features. You might have added environmentally friendly features, like solar panels or a charging point for an electric car. 

Alternatively, you might not have been able to afford repairs to your property, or rented it to people who didn’t treat it with respect. Older properties do require upkeep, while new build can “settle” revealing cracks which aren’t dangerous but do need to be painted over. 

Houses with different histories will command different prices, even if they looked the same when they were first built. 

2.     A different type of property

If your street is made up of different types of property, the average price will not necessarily reflect the home you’re planning to sell. You might be selling a flat, but if the other properties are family houses, the price difference will be significant. Some streets are made up of different types of development; for example, you might live in an Edwardian terraced house in the same street as a unique, architect-designed property. 

When you check house prices for your street or postcode, it’s important to check what type of property was being sold. Numbers 1 and 3 might be next door, but if one is a flat and the other a house, or they were built a hundred years apart, they will have different valuations. 

3.     Changes to the area

We all know the importance of location when it comes to selling a property. But while properties continue to stand, the area around them can change. For example, the building (or closing) of a school can affect the desirability of an area; likewise the building of a new transport link can bring with it both improved connectivity and higher noise levels. 

The changes your local area goes through can affect house prices, so if you’re using your street’s average house price as a guide, it’s important to check the dates. Maybe others houses were given a different valuation from yours, but that might have been before, say, a new road affected property prices. 

Get an accurate valuation when you’re selling your Guildford property

An accurate valuation is very important when you’re hoping to sell your property. Over- or under-valuing property can lead to it not selling within your expected time frame. Fortunately, the Cobbles team have local knowledge and bags of experience, so they can value your property so it appeals to the right buyer. That valuation might be different from your neighbours’, but that’s because not all houses on the same street have the same value. Keep this in mind and your house sale will run smoothly. 

Cobbles are here to help you sell your home – give us a call today on 01483 457 000 to book your valuation.