Interested in buying or selling a property? An E-Valuer is the ideal starting point to get an instant estimate of what a house is worth. The report provides an indicative current market value for the selected property. Other useful information includes, the recent comparable sales used to calculate the estimated value, the property's rating valuation, sales history, floor area, and property age.
How is an E-Valuer calculated? An E-Valuer estimates the current market value of a property by identifying recent sales of other properties in the area that are considered “comparable”. Comparable sales are not just the most recent or nearest sales in the neighbourhood. To be considered comparable they must meet defined criteria including building age, proximity, value, etc. Each sale is weighted based on how similar it is to the target property and the weightings and sales prices of the most comparable sales are used to estimate the current market value. Up to 10 comparable sales are included in the calculation and provided as part of the E-Valuer report, with details including the sale date, sale price and current capital value. These comparable sales provide a good indication of what similar properties are selling for in the area.
How should I use E-Valuer? E-Valuer is designed to give you a cost effective instant estimate of a property's current market value. As E-Valuer is an instant automated product, it provides you with a very quick estimate of a property’s value, however, it will not always accurately identify a property’s actual market value. If the E-Valuer estimate differs significantly from what others are advising the property value to be, then you should seek to understand what they base the property’s value on. When you need further reassurance on a property's value you should get a Full Current Market Valuation.
How accurate is an E-Valuer? Each week we test E-Valuer against every sale that QV has received. The results show that at a national level E-Valuer consistently values properties within 10% of the actual selling price over 67% of the time, and within 20% of the selling price for over 90% of properties.
To help you understand the accuracy of your E-Valuer we provide a confidence level indicator. This indicator is based on a Forecast Standard Deviation (FSD) that is calculated for each estimate. The FSD is calculated based on analysis of the comparable sales used by E-Valuer for the target property to gauge how accurate the E-Valuer is likely to be. The FSD represents the probability that an E-Valuer will fall within 68% (one standard deviation) of the actual market price. The lower the FSD the closer the estimated value is likely to be to the actual sales price.
For example – if a property shows an FSD of 10%, this means there is a 68% probability that the actual market value will fall within ± 10% of E-Valuer’s estimated value.
To help you understand the FSD a visual confidence scale is provided. This allows you to quickly gain confidence in the estimated value for confidence levels medium to high. Lower confidence levels should be treated with caution as it indicates that E-Valuer has shown some variation for similar properties. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the estimated value is likely to be inaccurate, it more generally reflects the property has some uniqueness to the area therefore we recommend you investigate the comparable sales displayed more carefully.
While we try to ensure E-Valuer has a high level of accuracy, in some instances the market value and selling price can be outside the value range that the E-Valuer estimates. This can occur for a number of reasons including:
- Significant improvements may have been made to a property that are not yet reflected in the rating valuation (renovations that require a building consent will result in the rating valuation being reviewed and often changed, but the sale may occur prior to the review of the building consent). If you are looking to sell a property where renovation work has not yet been reflected in the Rating Value, we recommend that you get your Rating Value updated. QV offers a service for areas where we provide the Rating Values that will allow you to get an Urgent Council Rating Value Update
- A property having unique characteristics such as being on the waterfront or a heritage property. This will often result in their not being enough properties in the area that would be considered to be comparable. In this instance we recommend that you get a Full Current Market Valuation.
- The property is leasehold. For leasehold properties, the E-Valuer estimate is not based on the property being sold as leasehold. Both the E-Valuer estimate and the Rating Valuation are calculated on the basis that it is a freehold property. Where a property is identified as leasehold in the District Valuation Roll this will be displayed above the Estimated Value on the E-Valuer report. You can check whether a property is leasehold by purchasing a Certificate of title details report.
- High buyer demand or emotional appeal for a property pushing up the selling price.
If you would like greater reassurance regarding the value of a property we recommend that you get a Full Current Market Valuation.
Can I use an E-Valuer for lending purposes? If you need a valuation for lending purposes we recommend that you talk to your bank or mortgage provider about what they require. QV has a range of options that meet the lending criteria including our Full Current Market Valuation.
Interested in a more comprehensive report? If you are seeking further information about the property and the market trends in the area choose QV’s Essential property guide. This report includes an E-Valuer (where available), Sales history, Rating valuation, other Local sales in the area, Property trends graphed over the last 10 years, School zones and Neighbourhood profile. Where you need greater reassurance about a property's market value we recommend you get a Full Current Market Valuation.
Putting in an offer? Once you are ready to put in an offer on a property, we recommend that you make your offer conditional on a Full Current Market Valuation. This will give you the assurance that you are making the right decision. Our Valuers will undertake a full inspection of the property, assess related sales in the area and draw on their local knowledge, expertise and nationwide property database. Most banks or financiers also require a Full Current Market Valuation if you’re borrowing more than 80% of the property’s value. (This can vary depending upon the bank, the property and the circumstances).
Why is an E-Valuer not available on some properties? An E-Valuer is calculated based on comparable sales in the area. For a sale to be considered comparable the property must have similar characteristics within pre-defined criteria. There must be at least three comparable sales that fall within the criteria before a market estimate can be calculated and for an E-Valuer to be available. E-Valuers are only available for residential and lifestyle properties and are not calculated for rural, commercial or other property types. Where an E-Valuer is not available we recommend you get a Full Current Market Valuation.
View sample E-Valuer report
PRICE
Casual Users: $39.95 (incl. GST)
Subscribers: $27.95 (excl. GST)
