What Does a Property Valuer Look At?

A property valuer looks at five things: the land, the buildings, the location, the legal and planning position, and recent sales of comparable properties. The inspection covers the first three. Much of the work happens afterwards, when the valuer checks the title and planning controls and compares your property, feature by feature, with what similar properties have sold for.

What does a valuer check at the inspection?

At the inspection, the valuer measures or checks the floor area, takes photos and notes the details in the table below. Your valuer will tell you how long they expect to need on site.

What does a valuer check after the inspection?

Back at the desk, the valuer confirms the legal and planning facts that a careful buyer would find out before paying:

• Title. The lot and plan, and anything registered on the title that limits its use, such as easements, covenants and other restrictions.
• Zoning and overlays. What can be built on and done with the land, and any heritage, flooding or bushfire controls. Each state and territory has its own planning system, and the valuer checks the planning scheme and planning records that apply where the property is.
• The Crown lease, in the ACT. Land in the ACT is generally held under a Crown lease, and the lease sets out what the land may be used for. The valuer reads it.
• Strata records. For an apartment or townhouse: the levies, the capital works or maintenance fund, any special levies, and known building defects or disputes.
• Leases. For tenanted property, the rent and the lease terms. For investment property they are central to the value.
• The market. How active it is, how long properties are taking to sell, and whether prices are rising, flat or falling at the valuation date.

How does a valuer use comparable sales?

Sales evidence is the heart of a residential valuation. The valuer looks for recent sales of similar properties nearby, checks that each was a genuine arm’s length sale, and often confirms the details with the selling agent: the condition, what was included and how it was sold. Each sale is then compared with your property and adjusted for the differences:

The valuer gives most weight to the sales that need the least adjustment and reasons to a single figure. Some also cross-check with the summation approach: the value of the land plus the added value of the buildings and other improvements. A good report shows the reasoning, so anyone reading it can follow how the value was reached.

What does a valuer not look at?

• Furniture and styling. Loose furniture and contents are not part of the property. Styling can help an agent sell, but the valuer looks past it.
• What you spent. Market value is not cost. A renovation adds whatever buyers would pay for it, which can be more or less than it cost you.
• Hidden defects. A valuer is not a building or pest inspector. They note visible condition but do not test the structure, wiring or plumbing, or check for pests, and the report states what it assumes.
• Approvals. A valuer does not certify that building work was approved. If something looks unapproved, they may note it and say how it was treated in the valuation.
• Boundaries and contamination. These need a surveyor or an environmental consultant.
• What you hope it is worth. You can point the valuer to sales you know of, and they will consider them, but the opinion has to be their own.

Does cleaning or styling the house change the valuation?

Not by itself. A tidy, well-kept home shows its condition clearly, and that helps the valuer see it as it is. But the valuer is assessing the property, not its presentation. It matters more that every room, the garage and any outbuildings can be accessed, and that the valuer knows about improvements they cannot see, such as new wiring, plumbing or a replaced roof.

What does a valuer look at for an apartment or townhouse?

The same things, plus the building and the scheme: the age and quality of the building, the position of the unit within it (floor level, outlook, light and noise), parking and storage, the size of any balcony or courtyard, and the strata or owners corporation records. Two identical floor plans in the same building can be worth different amounts because of the floor they are on and the view they have.

What does a valuer look at without an inspection?

A desktop assessment relies on records instead of a visit: sales evidence, title and planning information, plans, past listing photos, and photos or details you provide. Because nobody inspects the property it is indicative only, so check with your accountant, auditor or lawyer whether it is enough for your purpose. We tell you if an inspection is needed instead.

A retrospective valuation relies on records for how the property was on the past date: old listings, plans, building approvals, rates notices and your account of what has changed since. Whether the valuer also inspects the property as it is today depends on the purpose, and we confirm that before you commit.

What does a valuer look at for commercial property?

For commercial property the leases matter as much as the building: who the tenant is, the rent compared with market rent, the term left on the lease, who pays the outgoings and any incentives given. How commercial property is valued explains the methods, and our commercial valuation page lists the documents to have ready.

How can you prepare for the valuer’s visit?

• Arrange access to every part of the property, including garages, sheds and any locked rooms.
• If the property is rented, give the tenant proper notice. In New South Wales and Victoria a landlord must give at least 7 days’ notice of entry for a valuation.
• List the improvements and when they were done, with any council approvals or certificates.
• Have plans, a recent rates notice and, for strata property, recent levy notices and owners corporation records ready.
• Mention anything the valuer cannot see, such as a new roof, rewiring or a known defect.
• If you know of recent sales you think are relevant, pass them on so the valuer can test them against the other evidence.

When you are ready, request a valuation. An inspected residential valuation is $339 incl. GST, and a desktop assessment is from $159. Prestige, rural and commercial property is quoted on scope. We confirm the valuer’s name, the fee and the timing in writing before anything is booked or charged.