How much is my house worth?

Both perfectly fair and understandable questions, I might add…

And don’t worry – the good news is, we Estate Agents love to chat about property (obviously), and Question Number 1 will lead us into a really interesting conversation about the ups and downs and to’s and fro’s of the property market, inflation, interest rates, swap rates, what mortgages are doing (and what they will do, and of course the big one – whether property prices are going up or down…

Which is what often leads to that second question: “And, er, what do you think this place is worth?”

Like I mentioned – a fair and understandable question.

Nevertheless, one thing people don’t always quite appreciate is that we normally can’t just pluck a valuation out of the air like a magician pulling a card from behind your right ear.

That is especially the case if it is ‘away from home’. I might know for example that property prices in the UK have gone up by an average of 6.4% in the year to March 2025, because UK Government House Price data tells us so (see here). But that only tells me a national average, not a local average. And even so, it is only an average… any given property might fall above or below an average. And even then, if I don’t know what price that property was a year ago, how could I apply the metric?

Now, if this conversation were over the buffet cart at a christening party here in the borough – Richmond, Teddington, Twickenham, East Sheen, Ham… hey, probably even Surbiton or Wimbledon  – then sure, I’d have a pretty solid idea without it being too much trouble.

Somewhere elsewhere in London, perhaps around Surrey or Hampshire, I’m fairly sure I could hazard a relatively close guess.

But an instant ‘valuation’ somewhere outside of my patch… it really is a whole other thing.

Even here in Richmond, in fact, if you were to ask me to come and meet you to provide a valuation of your property, there’s a whole catalogue of preparatory work and research that will go into that exercise before even reaching your front door – and that’s despite living and breathing this local Richmond Borough property market every day, day in, day out.

And in fact, in our world, it’s not even called a ‘valuation’…

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‘Market Appraisals’ – not valuations

A valuation, strictly speaking, is something carried out by an RICS-qualified surveyor – someone who’s trained to provide official figures for mortgage lenders, tax assessments or legal disputes.

What Estate Agents like us provide are called Market Appraisals. To all intents and purposes, it will look and feel like a valuation (and truthfully, many would argue it is one), but what we’re really offering is an informed assessment of how your home compares and fares in today’s property marketplace.

We look at:

• What else is currently for sale nearby, and at what price
• What has gone under offer recently, and for how much (and how long did it take!)
• What has actually sold and completed, and what price has recorded on land registry
• What are average sold prices looking like and are properties reducing their asking prices in order to sell
• How far off original asking prices were final sale prices recorded

But that’s just for starters. All that gives us a flavour of the market. Once we have that groundwork prepared, we take a look at the property itself – and then we go deeper, with all that research in mind…

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The art of comparison

What a good Estate Agent doesn’t do is to simply count the number of bedrooms or to apply a metric to a property’s square footage (something that feels fairly commonplace as a methodology in other parts of the world).

Instead, we take a good look at the property not just in isolation, but also in comparison to others.

For example, let’s take layout: yes, so it’s a three bedroom detached house… but how is the space used? Does it suit modern lifestyles? Are there compromises that might put buyers off? Could adaptations be made to suit modern tastes if not, and if so at what cost compared to current and future value ranges?

And what about prior adaptations or additions? Let’s say a property has gained an extra downstairs room, but lost the garage in the process… is that value-adding? It might be a trade-up for some, but not for others.

For example, let’s take layout: yes, so it’s a three bedroom detached house… but how is the space used? Does it suit modern lifestyles? Are there compromises that might put buyers off? Could adaptations be made to suit modern tastes if not, and if so at what cost compared to current and future value ranges?

And what about prior adaptations or additions? Let’s say a property has gained an extra downstairs room, but lost the garage in the process… is that value-adding? It might be a trade-up for some, but not for others.

Our job is to weigh up what is valuable to buyers in our area, right now – because that of course is the other point to consider here; our assessment also reflects a moment in time. Next month, it might be all change.

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Does my property’s condition and presentation matter, or can buyers ‘see through it’?

The condition of a property and its presentation does come into play – although they are not one and the same thing.

How much work does a potential buyer need to do, and how much will they need to invest in doing so? Is it turn-key job, or will the buyer be budgeting tens of thousands more to get it looking the way they want? If they do, does the subsequent value of the property increase to reflect that? Does the future value increase by more than the spend?

If it is only a matter of personal taste, i.e. if it is a matter of presentation, not condition, should this affect a property’s valuation?

PS – the answer is possibly ‘yes’… if most buyers are likely to be put off by the way a property is currently presented or decorated and will consider it needs time and effort and, importantly, money invested to change it, then it probably means a knock on a property’s potential maximum price.

Is it worth giving a go at a price, however, just to see? That’s a different question – but it is an ‘appraisal’ question, not a ‘valuation’ question, and so it is a conversation we should explore further – and I will come to that later in this article.

For now, however, coming back to the question of ‘condition’, let’s also think about the question of ‘potential’. Can it be extended, improved, reimagined?

Even if a buyer has no intention of doing anything like this, there is a question to be asked about whether the potential alone adds value.

If two near-identical homes are on the market, but one has the potential for a loft conversion and the other doesnt, let’s say because the height of the roof ridges on the north side of the street is lower han the south side, despite both sides being bay- windowed 1930’s semis… do both houses carry the same value, if they are currently both in the same decorative order? It’s a legitimate consideration.

The same goes for garden aspect – I have known buyers who would not even entertain viewing a property with a north-facing garden; I have known others who actively avoid sunny gardens because they burn at 13 degrees...

And that’s the point. ‘Value’ is also subjective – and that is why it is important to consider who is looking, what they are looking for, and what their budgets are…

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Knowing the right buyer is half the job on a property appraisal

The real skill that a great estate agent can bring to the mix when offering an appraisal – which essentially is a discussion of what your property might be able to sell for in a given market – is not just their understanding of the market… it is their understanding of the people in the market, both sellers and buyers.

A great agent knows which buyers are looking for a shady garden, or which buyers are desperate for a garage even if they’ll possibly never even park in it. They know which buyers will push their budget to secure the property with the bay window and wood burning stove in the front room that they really desire.

This is why it is so important to know your ideal buyers, as an agent – because, for the homeowners who are looking to sell their property, it can add thousands to the appraisal price.

Even so, it is also knowing how to take the property to market in the way that will flush out the ideal buyer, by knowing the ‘type’ even if not knowing the ‘specific’ buyer – and knowing what the limit is that a price should be conceivably pushed up to, to attract such a buyer.

As you can see, there is a lot more that goes into an appraisal than might meet the eye, and a lot more to balance when offering a seller the advice they need. That is how we create value in what we do – by not only having the experience and knowledge to get the price right, but having the means and methodology to flush out the very best buyer for any given property when it comes to marketing.

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Market Appraisal + Marketing = Momentum

Once we’ve nailed the appraisal, the next step is to showcase the property to the world in order to realise the best possible price the market will offer.

For my part, I personally place a huge emphasis on the presentation of our property marketing. Our professional photos and video tours? They don’t just look pretty – they truly get results – do by all means take a look at some examples here, to see what I mean. We actually launch our homes on our social media channels first, generating viewings and offers before the advert on Rightmove even goes live – and that is largely down to the way we present the property in marketing.

But even so, we’ve got to be realistic. And when I say ‘we’, this is where I’m asking for your help – because I don’t just mean ourselves, but also the homeowner.

Let’s take an example where I come armed with all the research in the world that suggests we should be listing at £1.2m, plus evidence that I have several buyers that I’m working with who I feel confident I can bring round at that level. And the homeowner agrees.

Then the next agent through the door says £1.5m.

Look, I get it.

It sounds so tempting.

But I would urge any homeowner to also do their own research; check Rightmove, Zoopla, OnTheMarket and other sites. Look at what is really selling, what is hanging around, and how do these properties compare. Does that figure really make sense? Because if buyers don’t come through the door, what is the benefit?

I’m happy to give a property a push at an optimistic price within reason – test the market, see who pops their head up; our job is to get the seller a price they are really happy with after all.

But there have to be limits. My reputation and the reputation of Bartlett and Partners is on the line too. I don’t throw properties online to rack up listings. If I list it, my intention is to sell it – and that is why, if I don’t agree with a price, I will certainly say so… and no hard feelings!

But get it right – price smart, market it beautifully, and work those buyers we are engaged with – that is when the viewings fly in. We’ll often have two or three buyers competing, and it is all too common to see offers at the asking price, or even going above.

All this is why, over a buffet spread at Aunt Lucy and Uncle Joe’s silver wedding, I might not be able to accurately value a house in Nuneaton; and it is why, when I am asked to tell you what your house is worth in Richmond upon Thames, there is more that goes into it than plugging the square footage into a calculator. Because the appraisals we do provide are about telling you not just what we think the price is, but who we think the buyer is likely to be and explaining what we will do to get there. No fantasy figures plucked from the sky, but considered, informed and strategic assessments.

So, if you would like to know what your home in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames could sell for, please just give me a shout – no buffet quiches required.

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Darren Bartlett