What Is My House Worth? How Estimates Actually Work

Quick answer

A house is worth what a buyer will pay and a seller will accept. Every "valuation" is an estimate of that point — including asking prices, estate-agent appraisals and automated online estimates. Understanding which kind of number you're looking at is half the battle.

Three different numbers

Only the sold price is a fact. Asking prices can sit above or below what a home eventually sells for — see how much below asking price buyers typically offer.

How estimates are produced

Most automated estimates, including the Offer Smart valuation, draw on the same building blocks:

1. Comparable sold prices — recent sales of similar homes nearby, weighted for recency and similarity.
2. Size — recorded floor area from the EPC register, converted to a price per square foot.
3. Property type and style — a terraced house, a semi and a flat on the same street do not share a value.
4. Market trend — the UK House Price Index shows whether local values are rising or flat.

The output is a range, not a point. Two well-built models can disagree by several percent, and a valuation that lands within 5–10% of the eventual sale price is doing its job.

What an estimate cannot see

• Condition and presentation. A refurbished home and a tired one with identical floor areas are not worth the same.
• Extensions and layout changes not yet reflected in records.
• Plot, parking, garden orientation and outlook.
• The seller's motivation — a quick sale may clear below the evidence.

This is why estimates sit alongside, not instead of, a survey and a lender's valuation.

If you're buying, not selling

The question that matters is not "what is it worth?" but "what should I offer for this home, today, given the asking price and the evidence?". Our guide to using local property data to decide an offer price covers exactly that.

Get the evidence in one place

An Offer Smart report brings the comparable sales, £/sq ft evidence, listing history and a suggested offer range together for the specific property you're considering — in minutes rather than an afternoon of spreadsheets.