How much is my house worth?

The same kind of valuation lenders use for a remortgage

Here is the useful part: when you remortgage, your lender often does not send anyone to your door. For lower-risk cases they run an automated valuation model (AVM) that estimates your home’s value from local sold-price data and how the market has moved, with no visit at all. That is exactly the approach this tool takes.

Two other terms you might hear are a desktop valuation (a surveyor assesses your home remotely from data and photos) and a drive-by valuation (a surveyor looks at the outside from the street). Both add a human eye; ours is the pure-data AVM version, free and instant, which is why we always call it a guide rather than a formal valuation.

So while it is a guide rather than a formal valuation, it is built on the same logic a lender is likely to use to work out your loan-to-value and which remortgage deals you qualify for. Your estimated value minus what you still owe is roughly the equity you hold. Knowing both before you apply puts you a step ahead.

A property value calculator, not a lead form

Whether you call it a house value calculator, a property value calculator or an online property valuation, it is the same job: working out what your home is worth from evidence rather than from an estate agent’s opinion. The difference here is what happens next — nothing. You get the figure and we do not ask who you are.

How we work it out

We keep it transparent, because most online estimates are a black box. Here is exactly what happens when you press the button:

• Your postcode tells us which local authority you are in (we look this up live, nothing is stored).
• We take what you paid and multiply it by how much your area’s average price has changed since, using the HM Land Registry House Price Index.
• That gives a fair, data-backed guide to today’s value, plus the gain since you bought and what it would cost to buy at today’s mortgage rates.

It is a guide, not a formal valuation. Your home’s condition, any improvements, and your exact street all move the number, which only a surveyor or a local agent can judge. For the full detail, see how we estimate home values.

Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right. Licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Covers England and Wales.

What moves your number away from the local average

An automated estimate starts from what homes near you have sold for and how the wider area has moved since. It cannot see your house. Five things routinely pull a real selling price above or below the figure this tool gives you, and it is worth knowing which way yours leans before you rely on it.

• Condition. A tired kitchen and bathroom are the two rooms buyers price hardest. A house needing both can sell well under the street average even when everything else is sound.
• Extensions and loft conversions. Extra floor area added since you bought is invisible to an index based on your purchase price. If you have added a bedroom, the estimate is likely to be low.
• The street, not the postcode. A local authority average covers thousands of homes. A quiet road and a main road in the same postcode can differ substantially.
• Energy efficiency. Running costs now feature in what buyers will pay, and a poor EPC rating is increasingly something they negotiate on.
• Lease length, if it is a flat. A short lease can reduce value sharply and affect whether a buyer can get a mortgage at all.

Asking prices are not sold prices

The figures you see on property portals are what sellers are hoping for. This tool uses what buyers actually paid, recorded at the Land Registry once a sale completes. In a slow market the gap between the two widens, which is why an estimate can look low next to the listings on your street and still be the more honest number.

It also means there is a lag. Land Registry data is published after completion, so it reflects deals agreed a couple of months earlier. In a fast-moving market, treat a recent estimate as slightly behind.

What to do with the figure

The number is most useful as an input to a decision rather than an answer in itself:

• Remortgaging. Your value minus your outstanding balance sets your loan-to-value, and lenders price in bands. Crossing a band boundary can move the rate you are offered, so it is worth knowing whether you are near one before you apply.
• Getting rid of the mortgage indemnity premium or a high-LTV deal. Owners who bought with a small deposit are sometimes past that threshold without realising, purely through price growth and capital repayment.
• Selling. Use it to sense-check agent valuations. Agents sometimes quote high to win the instruction, and a data-backed figure gives you something to test that against.
• Nothing at all. Perfectly reasonable. Checking once a year is plenty unless you are about to act.

When you need a real valuation instead

An automated estimate is not accepted where a figure has legal or tax consequences. You will need a qualified surveyor or a formal valuation for probate, divorce settlements, capital gains calculations, shared ownership staircasing, and most equity release applications. Lenders also insist on their own valuation for a purchase, and often for higher-risk remortgages, regardless of what any online tool says.

House value questions, answered

How much is my house worth?

The quickest free way to estimate what your house is worth is to take what you paid for it and adjust it by how much prices have moved in your area since. Our calculator does this for you using official HM Land Registry data, so you get a data-backed guide in seconds from just your postcode.

How can I value my house for free?

Enter your postcode, what you paid and roughly when. We look up your local authority, then uplift your purchase price by the average price change in your area from the HM Land Registry House Price Index. No estate agent, no sign-up and no email needed.

Is an online house value estimate accurate?

Treat any instant estimate, including ours and Zoopla's, as a guide rather than a formal valuation. Area averages cannot see your specific home, so its condition, improvements and exact street will move the real figure. For a precise value you need a RICS surveyor or a local estate agent.

What is my house worth now if prices have fallen?

The calculator reflects both rises and falls: if average prices in your area have dropped since you bought, your estimate will be lower than what you paid. It always uses the latest monthly Land Registry figure for your area.

Is this the same as a mortgage lender's valuation?

It works the same way. For many remortgages a lender does not send anyone round; they use an automated valuation model (AVM) that estimates your value from local sold-price data, exactly what this calculator does. A desktop or drive-by valuation goes a step further, with a surveyor assessing your home remotely or from the street. Their model or a physical survey can still differ from ours, but this gives you a strong sense of the figure they are likely to start from.

Can I use this to work out my remortgage or equity?

Yes, as a guide. Your estimated value minus your outstanding mortgage is roughly the equity you hold, and your loan compared to that value (your loan-to-value, or LTV) is what decides which remortgage rates you can access. A lower LTV usually unlocks better deals, so it is worth checking before you apply.

How accurate is an automated (AVM) valuation?

Automated valuations are good for a ballpark and are widely used by lenders for lower-risk remortgages. They are less reliable for unusual, heavily improved or recently-extended homes, where a lender falls back to a physical valuation. Treat ours as an informed starting point, not a guaranteed figure.

How can I value my house without giving my details to an estate agent?

Enter your postcode here and you get the figure straight away. There is no name, email or phone number to hand over, no account to create, and nothing is passed to an estate agent. Most instant valuation tools are lead generators for agents — the estimate is the bait and your contact details are the product. This one is not, so no one will ring you about selling.

Do I need to sign up or give an email address?

No. The estimate appears on screen with no sign-up at all. There is an optional email alert if you want to be told when your estimate moves, but it is entirely opt-in and you get the same figure whether you use it or not.

Do I need to know what I paid for the house?

No. If you leave it blank we estimate from real recorded sales in your postcode, each restated in today's money using your area's price index — which is broadly how a surveyor approaches a desktop valuation. Telling us what you paid is optional and only adds one thing: how much your home has gained since you bought it. That matters if you inherited the property, were gifted it, have owned it for decades, or are simply checking a house you do not own.

Is this a property value calculator or a house value calculator?

Both — they are two names for the same thing. Property value calculator, property valuation calculator, house price calculator and online house valuation all describe estimating a home's worth from data rather than a visit. This tool does that job, free, from a postcode.

Can I check the value of a house I don't own?

Yes. Because the estimate comes from sold prices in the postcode rather than your own purchase history, you can check any address — a house you are thinking of offering on, a neighbour's, or one you have inherited. Nothing is tied to you and nothing is stored.