How to check a property's value in Australia: 6 free ways

1. Check the online estimates

Search the address on realestate.com.au and Domain. Both show a free estimated value on the property's profile page, usually as a range, and often with a confidence rating. Look at both, and pay attention to how wide the range is: a tight range with high confidence is more useful than a wide one.

These estimates come from computer models, so they are a starting point rather than an answer. Our guide on whether online estimates are accurate explains what they can and cannot see, and property value estimates compared explains why the sites disagree.

2. Study recent comparable sales

This is the most reliable method, because it is how buyers, agents and valuers all think. On the property portals, filter the sold listings to your suburb and the last six to twelve months, then narrow down to homes that closely resemble yours:

• Similar number of bedrooms and bathrooms
• Similar block size and slope
• Similar condition, whether original, tidy or renovated
• As close to your street as possible

Three to six good matches will tell you more than any single estimate. Then adjust: if a sold home had an extra bathroom or a better outlook, your home should sit a little under it, and the other way around.

3. Look up your land value (and know what it isn't)

In NSW, the Valuer General publishes a land value for every property each year, and it also appears on your council rates notice. It is free and official, but it covers the land only and is set for rates and land tax. It is useful for comparing land between blocks, not for estimating what your home would sell for. We explain the difference in appraisal vs valuation in NSW.

4. Read the suburb data carefully

Portal suburb profiles show the median price, how long homes are taking to sell and how many are for sale. This tells you about the market's mood, which is useful. But a median is simply the middle sale of the period. It includes the best and worst homes in the suburb, so it says little about your particular house.

5. Ask for a free agent appraisal

A local agent sees inside homes like yours every week and knows what recent buyers paid, and why. Ask for an appraisal, and ask to see the comparable sales behind the figure. In NSW, once you engage an agent to sell, their estimated selling price must be written into the agency agreement with reasonable grounds for it, so a good agent should be comfortable showing their working.

It is fine to get more than one opinion. If one figure sits well above the others, ask what evidence supports it.

6. Get a free report with local advice

Not sure which kind of report you need? See the 4 types of free property report in NSW.

A free report pulls the comparable sales and price range together for you, and a local expert can then explain what would move your price up or down. It is the fastest way to combine methods two, four and five without doing the legwork yourself.

Putting it together

No single source is perfect, so line them up:

1. Build your range from comparable sales.
2. Check that the online estimates fall roughly inside it.
3. Use the suburb data to judge whether the market is warming or cooling.
4. Test it all against a local opinion.

When the numbers agree, you can trust the range. When they don't, the comparable sales usually win. For the factors that decide where in the range your home lands, read how much your house is worth in the Blue Mountains.