Property valuation in Australia: appraisal vs valuation vs online estimate (2026)
Ask what a property is worth in Australia and you get three different numbers. A real estate agent’s appraisal is free and tells you what a buyer would probably pay now. A valuation is a paid report from a licensed valuer, the only one of the three that a lender, a court or the tax office will accept, and it typically costs $300 to $600 (Aussie, 31 January 2025; ANZ, read 30 September 2026). An online estimate is a model’s figure from recorded sales, and every bank that publishes one says on the page that it is not a valuation.
This page sets the three side by side, gives the sourced cost of a valuation and the moments a lender insists on one, and shows what homes like yours sell for in your suburb from the published median, before an agent puts a figure on yours.
- Every figure carries its source and date
- The suburb range comes from the state sales feeds, never a model of your home
- The appraisal is free, from one vetted local agent, with no commitment to list
Instant range from published sales medians
What homes like yours sell for
Pick your suburb and we show the published median for houses or units there, with its source and period, and a range either side of it. It is the suburb’s figure, not a valuation of your home.
Side by side
The three numbers and why they differ
The word “valuation” gets used for all three, which is where most of the confusion starts. They are made by different people, for different readers, from different evidence, and each is right for its own job.
| Aspect | Agent appraisal | Licensed valuation | Online estimate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who produces it | A licensed real estate agent who sells in your suburb | A qualified, licensed valuer (Aussie, January 2025) | An automated valuation model run by a data company such as Cotality or PropTrack, or a portal |
| What it costs | Free | $300 to $600 (Aussie, January 2025; ANZ) | Free, usually behind a login |
| What it is for | Deciding whether and when to sell, and at what price | Home loans, refinancing and equity release, family law settlements, deceased estates and disputes (Aussie) | A first look before you talk to anyone |
| How it is made | An inspection plus recent comparable sales | An inspection, inside or from the street, plus sales evidence, written to a professional standard | Statistics over recorded sales and property attributes; nobody inspects the home |
| Legal standing | None: "cannot be used for your home loan application" (ANZ) | Accepted by lenders and courts | None: "not a valuation" (CommBank, ANZ) |
| Where it tends to sit | The market-facing figure, usually given as a range | Conservative, because it protects the lender | Wide, and different sites disagree |
The gap between the three is built in. The appraisal looks forward to a campaign that has not happened yet, so a good agent prices to the market and a poor one prices to win your listing. The valuation looks back to what the property would fetch if the lender had to sell it, so it is conservative on purpose; NAB’s own guide says the market value “is just a guide of what your property may be worth”. The online estimate has never been inside the house, so it fills every gap with the average for the street.
As an illustration, a home might appraise at $880,000, value at $820,000 for the bank and show $910,000 on a portal, and none of those would be wrong. When you are selling, the appraisal is the figure that matters. When someone else needs to rely on the number, it is the valuation.
The paid one
What a formal valuation costs, and when a lender needs one
A valuation can only be carried out by a qualified valuer, and it typically costs between $300 and $600 depending on your location, the size of the property and other factors. That figure comes from Aussie’s guide of 31 January 2025 and is repeated in ANZ’s valuation guide as read on 30 September 2026. Because the price turns on the location and the size of the property, ask for a quote before you book.
You need one when someone other than you has to rely on the figure. Aussie lists the common cases: a property settlement, a home loan including a refinance or an equity loan, working out your equity, proving the value of a deceased estate, and resolving a dispute. A tax matter can call for one too, such as the market value of a home on the day it was first rented out, which sets the cost base for capital gains tax later; our guide to selling with tenants covers that rule.
A lender orders its own valuation when you buy, refinance or draw on the equity in your property (NAB, read 30 September 2026). You do not choose the valuer. The valuer may need to get inside or may value the property from the street and compare it with recent sales (NAB, Westpac). Whether you pay is the lender’s call: the cost varies, some lenders include it in the application fee and some cover it themselves (NAB and Westpac refinancing pages, read 30 September 2026). What you cannot do is hand the bank an agent’s appraisal instead; ANZ’s guide states that an appraisal has no legal standing and cannot be used for your home loan application.
One more figure is often mistaken for a valuation: the land value on a rates or land tax notice. In New South Wales the Valuer General issues it each year as at 1 July (the latest, published November 2025, is as at 1 July 2025), and the NSW Government’s page says it is the value of the land only and does not include the value of a home or other structures. It is a statutory figure for land tax and council rates, not what the property would sell for.
The instant one
How automated estimates work, and where they miss
The instant figures on the portals and the banks’ free property reports come from automated valuation models. A model takes every recorded sale it can see, the attributes on file for each property (bedrooms, land size, year built, last sale price) and the movement of the local market, and works out where a property with your attributes would sit. CommBank’s Property Insights draws on Cotality data and says its estimates “do not include property inspections” and may miss recent changes to the property. ANZ’s free Property Profile Report uses PropTrack price ranges and says a price range estimate “is an estimate only” and not a valuation (both read 30 September 2026).
They miss for four reasons, and the banks’ own disclaimers name most of them:
- The model has never been inside. A renovated kitchen, a poor floor plan, a district view and a main road are invisible to it, so it prices the average home on your street.
- Thin data breaks it. In a suburb with few recent sales, or for an unusual property, the model has little to compare against and the range widens.
- It lags. Sales take weeks to settle and be recorded, so in a fast market the estimate reads last quarter.
- Different models disagree. Each site runs its own model on its own data, so two estimates for the same address rarely match.
The range on this page is different in kind, and it is worth being clear about how. It is not a model of your property. It is the suburb’s published median for houses or units, taken from the state sales feed with its source and period printed beside it, and a band of 15% either side. An ABS figure covers the statistical area that carries the suburb’s name and is labelled that way. Where a feed publishes no median for a suburb, or the median rests on fewer than five recorded sales, the block says so and shows nothing. The methodology page lists the feeds.
In order
How to check what your property is worth
- Pick your suburb and dwelling type in the range block above for the published median and its band. That is the suburb, not your home; it anchors everything that follows.
- Look up sold prices, not asking prices, for homes like yours from the last 90 days: similar bedrooms, land and condition. Our sold listings and the suburb pages are a start.
- Get two or three free appraisals from agents who actually sell in your suburb, and ask each for the comparable sales behind the figure. When they cluster, that is your range; when one sits far above the rest, treat it as a pitch.
- If a lender, a court or the tax office needs the number, book a licensed valuer. Expect $300 to $600 (Aussie, January 2025) and a written report you can hand over.
- Before you list, run the figure through the selling costs calculator so you know what you keep, then read how to choose a selling agent.
The free one
Get a free appraisal from a local agent
An appraisal is the number that matters when you are deciding whether to sell, because it comes from someone who watches buyers in your street every week and can show you the sales behind it. Tell us where the property is and we match you with one vetted agent who sells there. They contact you within one business day, inspect, and give you a figure or a range in writing. There is no commitment to list, with them or with anyone.
Not ready for an agent yet? Read how much is my house worth for what drives the number, or the appraisal page for what to have ready.
Tell us about the property
Two minutes, then we take it from there.
Property valuation questions
- Can I get a free CoreLogic property value report?
- Yes, through a bank rather than from CoreLogic itself. CoreLogic now trades as Cotality, and CommBank's Property Insights tool uses Cotality data to give customers who log in to NetBank a property estimate; CommBank's page states that the estimate is not a valuation. ANZ's free Property Profile Report uses PropTrack price ranges instead and says the same. Both are automated estimates built from recorded sales, not an inspection of your home (pages read 30 September 2026).
- What is the most accurate website for property value?
- No website gives you a valuation, and the banks that publish estimates say so on the page: CommBank calls its Cotality-powered figure "not a valuation" and ANZ says its PropTrack range is "NOT a valuation" (read 30 September 2026). The estimates are built from recorded sales and property attributes, so they are closest on a standard home in a suburb with many sales and widest on anything unusual, and each site runs its own model, so two sites can give different figures for the same address. For a figure you can act on, get two or three agent appraisals; for a figure a lender or a court will accept, pay for a valuation.
- How much do property valuations charge?
- A valuation by a licensed valuer typically costs $300 to $600, depending on your location, the size of the property and other factors (Aussie, 31 January 2025; ANZ, read 30 September 2026). When a lender orders the valuation for a home loan or a refinance the cost varies: some lenders include it in the application fee and some cover it themselves (NAB and Westpac refinancing pages, read 30 September 2026). An agent's appraisal is free.
- How do I check what my property is worth?
- Start with the published median for your suburb and dwelling type: the range tool on this page shows it with its source and period wherever a state sales feed publishes one, with 15% either side as a band. Then look up sold prices, not asking prices, for homes like yours from the last 90 days, and ask two or three agents who sell in your suburb for a free appraisal backed by those comparable sales. If a lender, a court or the tax office needs the figure, order a valuation from a licensed valuer, which costs $300 to $600 (Aussie, January 2025).
- Will a lender accept an agent's appraisal instead of a valuation?
- No. ANZ's guide puts it plainly: an appraisal has no legal standing and cannot be used for your home loan application (read 30 September 2026). When you buy, refinance or draw on equity, the lender arranges its own valuation, and the valuer may need to inspect inside or may value the property from the street (NAB, read 30 September 2026). The lender's figure exists to protect the lender, so it usually sits below an agent's appraisal.
- Is the land value on my rates notice a valuation of my property?
- No. In New South Wales the Valuer General issues a land value each year as at 1 July; the latest, published in November 2025, is as at 1 July 2025. The NSW Government's page states that land value is the value of the land only and does not include the value of a home or other structures. It is used for land tax and council rates. A market valuation of the property includes the house, so the two figures are not comparable, and the same distinction applies to the statutory values the other states issue.
Sources
- Aussie (Lendi Group): Property appraisals vs valuations, what's the difference? 31 January 2025. Valuation cost $300 to $600; who can provide each; when a valuation is needed.
- ANZ: Getting a property valuation, what it is and when you might need one Read 30 September 2026. $300 to $600; an appraisal cannot be used for a home loan application.
- NAB: Understanding bank valuations on your property Read 30 September 2026. When a lender orders a valuation; inside or from the street.
- NAB: The costs of refinancing your home loan Read 30 September 2026. Some lenders include the valuation in the application fee or cover it.
- Westpac: What's the cost of refinancing your home loan? Read 30 September 2026. A new lender may need a valuation; the cost varies.
- CommBank: Property Insights Read 30 September 2026. Estimate from Cotality data; "the estimate is not a valuation".
- ANZ: Property Profile Reports Read 30 September 2026. Free report; PropTrack price range estimate; "NOT a valuation".
- NSW Government: Land values in NSW Land values published November 2025, as at 1 July 2025. Land value is the value of the land only.
- Your Property Guide: methodology and data sources The state sales feeds behind every suburb median on this site, and the rule that withholds one.
Published 30 September 2026. Fees and lender policies are the sources’ figures on the dates given; check the current page before you rely on one. Nothing here is financial advice.