How Much Is My House Worth? (Australia, 2026)

The three different numbers

When people ask "how much is my house worth?" they’re usually after one figure. In practice there are three, and they answer different questions.

1. The agent appraisal

A free estimate from a real estate agent of what your home would most likely sell for in the current market. It’s built from recent comparable sales in your suburb, adjusted for your home’s condition, position and features. This is the number that matters when you’re selling, because it’s the agent’s read on what a buyer will actually pay. It’s an estimate, not a promise, and it usually comes as a range rather than a single figure.

2. The bank valuation

A formal figure produced by or for a lender when you borrow against the property. Sometimes it’s a full inspection by a licensed valuer, sometimes it’s a desktop or kerbside assessment. Its job is to protect the bank if you default, so it’s deliberately conservative. A bank valuation typically lands below the agent appraisal, sometimes well below.

3. The online estimate

An automated number from a property portal or data site, generated by an automated valuation model (AVM) that crunches sales data and property attributes. It’s instant and free, and it’s the roughest of the three. On a standard home in a busy suburb it can be close. On anything out of the ordinary it can be a long way off.

Why the three disagree

The gap between the three numbers confuses a lot of sellers. It shouldn’t. Each is built for a different audience:

• The appraisal is optimistic by design,in the sense that it reflects what a motivated buyer might pay in a competitive campaign. A good agent prices to the market, but the appraisal is still a forward-looking estimate of a sale that hasn’t happened yet.
• The bank valuation is pessimistic by design.The lender assumes a forced or quick sale and wants a figure it could recover even in a soft market. That’s why it’s conservative, and why a valuation coming in under your contract price is a known headache for buyers arranging finance.
• The online estimate is statistical, not personal. The model has never been inside your home. It can’t see the renovated kitchen, the awkward floor plan, the district view or the main road at the front. It fills those gaps with averages.

So a home might appraise at $880,000, value at $820,000 for the bank, and show $910,000 on a portal. None of those is a lie. They’re three tools doing three different jobs.

What actually drives your number

Whichever method you use, the same handful of factors set the value. Worth knowing what’s on the list, and what isn’t.

What drives it:

• Recent comparable sales. The single biggest input. What did similar homes (same suburb, similar bedrooms, bathrooms, land size and condition) actually sell for in the last 90 days?
• Location. Suburb, street, proximity to schools, transport and shops, plus the small stuff: a quiet street versus a main road, a north-facing rear, a district outlook.
• Land size and the block. Frontage, usable land, slope, aspect, and whether the block has development or subdivision potential.
• Condition and presentation. A well-maintained, well-presented home commands more than a tired one of the same size, even before any styling for the campaign.
• The current market. Buyer demand, interest rates, how much comparable stock is listed right now, and where the local market sits in its cycle. The same house is worth more in a hot market than a soft one.

What doesn’t drive it:

• What you paid. Your purchase price is history. Buyers price off today’s market, not your 2018 contract.
• What you owe. Your mortgage balance is your business, not a buyer’s. It has no effect on value.
• What you need to walk away with. Understandable, but the market doesn’t care what your next purchase costs.
• What you spent on improvements. Money spent isn’t value added. Some upgrades return well, many return cents on the dollar.

Why free online estimates miss

Free online estimates are everywhere, and they’re genuinely useful as a starting point. The trouble starts when sellers treat the number as fact. Here’s why an automated estimate drifts:

• The model can’t see your home. A renovation, a poor layout, a premium view or a noisy road are invisible to an AVM. It works off recorded attributes, which are often out of date.
• Thin data breaks it. In suburbs with few recent sales, or for unusual properties (acreage, prestige homes, mixed-use, heavily renovated), the model has little to compare against and the confidence range blows out.
• It lags the market.Sales data takes weeks to settle and report. In a fast-moving market the estimate is reading last quarter’s prices, not this week’s.
• Different sites give different numbers. Each portal runs its own model on its own data, so two estimates for the same home can sit tens of thousands of dollars apart. That spread alone tells you not to bank on any single figure.

Use online estimates to get a feel for the rough range, then treat the appraisal from an agent who’s standing in your living room as the figure that counts.

How to get an accurate figure

If you want a number you can act on, here’s the method that works:

1. Start with an online estimate to anchor the rough range. Check two or three sites so you can see the spread rather than trusting one.
2. Pull your own comparable sales. Look up sold (not listed) prices in your suburb over the last 90 days for homes like yours: similar bedrooms, bathrooms, land size and condition. This is your reality check on every figure that follows.
3. Get two or three agent appraisals. Pick agents who genuinely sell your type of property in your suburb, not whoever letterboxes you most. Each appraisal is free.
4. Make each agent justify the number.Ask for the comparable sales behind their figure. A confident appraisal that can’t be backed with recent comparables is a warning sign.
5. Look for the cluster. When the appraisals land in a similar range and your comparables support it, that range is your honest value. When one agent quotes far higher than the rest with no evidence, treat it as a sales tactic, not a price.

If you need a figure for a loan, a refinance, a divorce settlement, a deceased estate or a tax matter, an agent appraisal won’t do. That calls for a formal valuation from a licensed valuer, which is a paid, independent report carrying legal weight.

What to do next

Knowing your number is the first step in any sale. Once you have a range you trust, here’s where to take it:

1. Book a free appraisal. An independent appraisal from a local agent gives you a market-facing figure and costs nothing. Start here.
2. Read the full selling process. Our how to sell a house guide covers every step from pricing through to settlement.
3. Work out what selling will cost you. Use the commission calculator to see what an agent costs on your likely sale price, by state.
4. Get the complete guide. The free selling guide pulls the whole process into one PDF, personalised to your suburb.