Estate agent
Usually the closest to the open-market price, over the longest time.
How much is my house worth?
The best evidence of what a house is worth is what similar homes nearby have sold for. Start with the sold prices, then weigh any valuation against them.
On this page
- Sold prices near you
- Checking the value
- Three kinds of house valuation
- Online house valuations
- Bringing an old price up to date
- A free house valuation from an agent
- A paid property valuation
- How to get a house valuation
- A valuation without selling
- How long it takes and what it costs
- Getting the house ready
- The buyer's mortgage valuation
- Bank valuation and market value
- If the valuation comes in low
- Valuing a house for probate
- Scotland
The short answer
No website can answer "how much is my house worth today?" exactly. The closest evidence is what similar homes near you actually sold for, which HM Land Registry records for every standard sale in England and Wales.2 Search sold prices for your postcode, then treat any valuation, online or from an agent, as an opinion to check against those sales.
Sold prices near you
Enter a postcode in England or Wales to see what homes nearby sold for, from HM Land Registry's records.1 Your postcode goes to Land Registry and to postcodes.io, the lookup that finds the postcodes around it, and nowhere else.
Show:
| Sold | Address | Type | Price |
|---|
- These are past sale prices. Size, condition, and when each sale happened all change what a home sells for.
- Only standard sales are shown: a single home sold for its full value. Land Registry records repossessions, sales to companies and some buy-to-let purchases separately, and they are left out here.2
- A sale usually reaches the records two weeks to two months after completion, so the latest two months are incomplete.2
- Where a type has fewer than five sales, the prices are listed rather than turned into a range.
Thinking of selling? Answer three questions to find the route that fits you.
Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Postcode lookup by postcodes.io, using Ordnance Survey and Office for National Statistics data.3
The House Desk's sold prices search reads HM Land Registry's price paid records live1 and finds the postcodes around yours with postcodes.io.3 It needs no signing up and no email address.
How do you check the value of your property?
Check it against the sold prices for homes of your type nearby, so a terraced house against terraced houses and a flat against flats. The middle half of the sales is a fairer guide than the highest or lowest, which can be one unusual home. Then look at the dates. A sale from three years ago happened in a different market from today's, and the official UK House Price Index shows how prices in each area have moved since.5 Our tracker sets out house prices by region each month. Prices also move a little with the time of year, and the month houses sell for the least shows by how much.
The records do not say how big a home is, what condition it was in or whether it had been extended, so two houses on one street can sell for very different prices. The newest sales are also missing for a while, because a sale usually reaches the records two weeks to two months after completion.2
Three kinds of house valuation
A house valuation can mean three things. An online valuation is a computer estimate. An estate agent's valuation is an opinion of the price to market at, usually at no charge. Only a paid property valuation from a surveyor is a formal figure, used for lending, legal and tax purposes. Which one gives the right answer to "what's my house worth?" depends on who is asking and why.
When the buyer's lender values your home under the agreed figure, hold off replying until you have recent sold prices for homes like it in front of you. A different lender brings a different valuer, so ask whether your buyer will try one before anyone raises the idea of a lower price.
Haroon Ali Author, The House Desk. Over 11 years in property and renovation Online house valuations
Every online house valuation comes from a model that works from past sales and property records. It cannot see inside your home, so it is a starting point rather than an answer. It can also sit a long way from the price sellers actually ask, and on TwentyCi's figures for the second quarter of 2026 that gap roughly doubled in a year.4
The big property websites both publish these estimates, and neither Zoopla's nor Rightmove's can be more accurate than the sales records behind it. Rightmove gives an instant online figure built from recent sales and local trends, and passes your details to local agents only if you choose them.10 Zoopla's estimate draws on HM Land Registry sales and its own listings, and Zoopla says its algorithm cannot allow for a home's condition or recent improvements.13 Rightmove adds that estimates tend to be more reliable for homes typical of their area.11 An extended house, or one needing a new roof, is where a model has least to go on. Where the two portals disagree, the sold prices for your street settle it better than either estimate.
Bringing an old price up to date
Knowing what you paid, even in 1991, gives a second rough check on what the home might fetch now. Nationwide's house price calculator takes a past price or valuation and its date, and moves it forward in line with the building society's regional index.14
How far back each price index goes
- 1952 Nationwide’s index begins15 Built only from the building society’s own mortgage lending on owner-occupied homes.
- 1968 The derived series starts16 HM Land Registry extends the official index back this far with a derived series.
- 1995 The official UK House Price Index begins for England and Wales16 Published by area and property type. It shows how prices move across an area and does not value single homes.
Both indices follow areas, not houses. Nationwide says its own calculator follows regions rather than towns and ignores fittings and decoration, so the result is a guide only.14 Check whatever figure it gives against our sold prices search for your street.
A free house valuation from an estate agent
Estate agents usually value a home at no charge. Their figure is an opinion of the asking price, given while the agent asks for your business. Rightmove's guide says the agent looks at the location, size and condition, any extensions, and fittings such as flooring, double glazing and insulation. The agent also weighs recent local sold prices and how the local market is behaving.12 Invite more than one agent, and ask each which recent sales support their figure. A figure well above the sold prices near you needs a reason, because a home listed too high can sit unsold. Why that happens is covered in why a house is not selling.
A paid property valuation
For a paid property valuation you instruct a qualified valuer, such as a RICS registered valuer, who writes it for a specific purpose, such as lending, a divorce, probate or a dispute. You pay for it whether or not you sell, and it is independent of any agent's wish to win your instruction.
A RICS registered valuer works to the Red Book, the institution's published rules for how valuations are done. A residential valuation is a short visit plus desk research, and it reports market value: the price a willing buyer and a willing seller would agree.21 Selling a shared ownership home, or repaying a Help to Buy equity loan, needs one. Unlike a building survey, it looks only at defects that affect the value.21
Which valuation answers which question
Online or agent valuation Paid property valuation
What it is Online or agent valuation: An estimate or an opinion of the asking price Paid property valuation: A formal valuation written for one purpose
Cost to you Online or agent valuation: Usually nothing Paid property valuation: A fee, whether or not you sell
Use it for Online or agent valuation: Deciding where to start marketing Paid property valuation: Lending, legal, tax and probate purposes
Check it against Online or agent valuation: Sold prices near you Paid property valuation: Sold prices near you
Selling for cash quickly usually means accepting less than the open-market price. The Office of Fair Trading found sellers who completed a quick sale typically gave up 10 to 25 per cent of market value.6 Knowing your local sold prices is the best defence against an offer further below them than you realise. Our guide to house-buying companies covers those offers.
How do I get a valuation on my house?
For a current online figure, enter your address in a portal's estimate tool and the number appears on screen. To book a house valuation from an estate agent, contact local branches directly, or send a valuation request through a portal, which goes to the agents you pick. Rightmove also runs an online agent valuation. You send details and recent photos, and an agent replies with a virtual estimate the next working day. Rightmove calls an agent's visit the more accurate option, because the agent sees the condition and features for themselves.10
Which valuation to arrange
- Curiosity, with no plan to sell The kind to get: An online estimate or the sold prices search, neither of which asks for any commitment. A valuation without selling
- Setting an asking price The kind to get: Visits from more than one estate agent, each asked which sales support their figure. A valuation from an estate agent
- Divorce, probate, a dispute, or selling a shared ownership home The kind to get: A paid valuation from a RICS registered valuer, written for that purpose.21 A paid property valuation
As for how many valuations to get, HomeOwners Alliance suggests at least three agents.17 Weigh their figures as set out under a valuation from an estate agent.
A paid valuer can be found through RICS, which runs a Find a Surveyor directory of registered firms.21 Say what the valuation is for when you ask for a quote, because the purpose decides what the report has to cover.
Getting a house valuation without selling
Nobody has to be selling to find out what a home is worth. Online estimates and our sold prices search ask for no commitment at all. Many agents value online or in person with no obligation to instruct them.11 Each visit is also a pitch for the sale, so you should say at the start if you are only curious. Where someone else will rely on the figure, for a divorce, probate or a shared ownership sale, a paid valuation is the usual route.18
How long does a house valuation take, and what does it cost?
Most house valuations take from a few minutes to a couple of working days. An estate agent's valuation is usually free of charge, while surveyor and mortgage valuations may carry fees.12 For a paid valuation by a RICS surveyor, the fee varies with location, size and property type.18
| Kind | How long | Cost to the seller |
|---|---|---|
| Online estimate | On screen straight away, no visit10 | No charge |
| Online agent valuation | Reply the next working day10 | No charge |
| Estate agent visit | Visit of 15 to 45 minutes.12 The figure comes within hours or a couple of days17 | Usually nothing |
| Paid RICS valuation | Inspection up to 2 hours, report in 1 to 2 working days | About £250 to £400, HomeOwners Alliance figure18 |
| Buyer's mortgage valuation | About 15 to 30 minutes if the valuer visits19 | Nothing. The buyer may pay the lender's fee |
The paid valuation figures come from a page that earns from referring readers to a surveyor. Ask for the fee in writing before booking.
Does the house need to be tidy for a valuation?
Both Rightmove and HomeOwners Alliance advise cleaning and tidying before an agent visits, and HomeOwners Alliance includes the outside of the house.1217 Other house valuation tips from the same guides are practical. Have the paperwork ready for any extension, new windows or other work,12 and ask before the agent leaves how long their figure will take to arrive.17
What is a mortgage valuation?
When your buyer applies for a mortgage, their lender arranges its own valuation of your home. It is done for the lender's benefit, to check the home is worth what is being lent against it.19
The buyer's mortgage valuation
- Who pays
- The buyer may pay the lender’s fee. The seller pays nothing19
- What the valuer weighs
- Defects that affect value, such as structural movement or damp, and recent comparable sales nearby19
- How it is done
- A visit of about 15 to 30 minutes, or a desktop valuation from data, or a drive-by look at the outside19
- What follows
- If it raises no issues, the buyer’s mortgage offer usually within about a week, though it varies19
Bank valuation vs market value
A bank valuation and market value can differ because they answer different questions. A RICS valuer's market value is the price a willing buyer and a willing seller would agree,21 while the lender's valuer is checking whether the home is enough security for a loan.19 The price you agreed came out of marketing and negotiation, so the figures do not have to match.
If the mortgage valuation comes in low
A down valuation is a lender's figure below the price you agreed. The lender may then lend less, or at a worse rate, which leaves your buyer a gap to fill.19 What happens next is a negotiation. Zoopla's guide for sellers sets out the usual moves. The buyer can try another lender, since lenders use different valuers. Or you can accept a lower price, split the difference, fix a defect the valuer found or look for another buyer.20
Down valuation advice for sellers starts with the same evidence the valuer used. Recent sales of homes like yours are what any case for holding the agreed price rests on, so bring them to the conversation. If the buyer cannot close the gap and the sale collapses, the next steps are in when a sale falls through.
Valuing a house for probate
When someone has died, their home is valued as at the date of death, and that one figure then carries through two taxes.
Because both taxes lean on that figure, weigh a paid valuation against an agent's opinion. The steps for selling are in how to sell an inherited house, and the probate to sale planner works out the grant waits and tax deadlines from the date of death.
Scotland
HM Land Registry covers England and Wales only, so the sold prices tool has no Scottish sales. In Scotland a seller usually needs a Home Report, which includes a surveyor's valuation, before marketing the property.9
Once you have a figure in mind, see what you would keep after every cost with the cost of selling calculator, or plan the sale backwards from your moving date with the sale timeline planner.
Once you know the figure, choose how to sell
The price you can expect is one part of the decision. Each route trades it against time and certainty differently.
Not sure which fits? Answer three questions and we will suggest one.
Auction
The price is set by bidding on the day, and the buyer is bound when the hammer falls.
House-buying company
Fast and certain, at a price below market value.
Find the route that fits you
Three questions, about 30 seconds. Your answers stay in your browser.
Question 1 of 3
Your best fit
What you give up:
Why this route
Close second: Property auction.
Selling in Scotland works differently, with a Home Report and offers over a closing date. The guides note where Scottish rules differ.
Get help with your sale
Leave your details and tell us how you would like to sell.
While you wait, the guide covers what to check before you agree to anything.
Sources
(21)
Numbers in the text link to these. Each was read on the date shown. How we research
- Price Paid Data, linked data service and query endpoint
- About the Price Paid Data
- Postcodes.io: postcode and geolocation API for the UK
- TwentyCi Property and Homemover Report, Q2 2026
- UK House Price Index reports
- Quick House Sales, market study report (OFT1499)
- How to value an estate for Inheritance Tax and report its value
- HS282 Death, personal representatives and legatees (2025)
- Home Report
- Agent valuation: online and in-home valuation
- How much is your house worth?
- What happens at an in-person property valuation?
- How much is your home worth?
- House price index and house price calculator
- About our house price index
- UK House Price Index: search and download the data
- Estate agent valuations explained
- Valuation survey
- Mortgage valuations explained
- What to do if a mortgage valuation is lower than the offer
- A guide to residential property valuations