Valuing your home: Every factor we consider to get you the highest possible price

There are dozens of details that go into valuing your home for sale, and our job is to be as ambitious as we can to get you the highest possible price.

Part of that comes from soaking up the atmosphere and identifying all the areas of value, and part involves learning about your favourite corners and memories to create a compelling story that sells.

However, when we find you a buyer, they’ll send round a surveyor to confirm they're not paying over the odds and risking too much, which means we’ll need to justify our valuation later on.

So, to set your price at the top of the tree while being sure we can get your sale over the finish line, we consider factors like:

• Location and local amenities
• Size and layout
• Features and style
• Current condition and future potential
• Recent nearby sales

Now that you know the pieces of the puzzle, let’s see how they all fit together to get you the best possible price, so you can make the move you want to make.

LOCATION & LOCAL AMENITIES

The phrase “location, location, location” appears in countless property shows, but you might not realise just how much we consider before suggesting an asking price. As a baseline, we look at:

• Property values can differ significantly from one street to the next, from leafiness and tranquillity to the mix of surrounding homes and buildings and how well they’re maintained.
• Traffic noise, flight paths, flood plains, and noisy construction work can all affect price, although infrastructure upgrades can add value before they’re complete as buyers look to get in early.
• Proximity to transport, road connections, shops, good schools, places to eat and drink, parkland and nature can all be used to draw a picture of your perfect buyer and target them effectively.

Not only do we take all this into account to advise you on price, but much of it needs to appear in your advert when your home hits the market under these new Trading Standards guidelines.

SIZE AND LAYOUT

Just because two homes are the same size, doesn’t mean they share the same value. And while the overall floor area obviously matters, the selling price can be heavily influenced by factors like:

• The number and size of bedrooms, bathrooms and living rooms, along with the usability of individual spaces, including their shape, practicality and flexibility.
• Gardens, balconies and terraces. They all add extra value, generally calculated between 20-50% of the interior price per square foot, dependent on size, design, view, and the direction faced.
• As well as the dimensions and number of rooms, we look at ceiling heights and how well the accommodation flows as part of our thought process.

Ultimately, the more your home meets the size and lifestyle requirements of your primary target audience, the higher the price you’ll be able to achieve.

FEATURES AND STYLE

Beyond its physical size and location, every home has a particular character, from the way it looks to the way it feels, and among the many factors that can increase your sale price are:

• Interesting architectural details from whatever period your home was built, to unique selling points like beautiful views, redesigned spaces, and exceptional natural light.
• Luxury touches like designer kitchens and bathrooms and premium floor coverings, or nuts and bolts stuff like energy efficiency and the age of the heating system and wiring.
• Parking provision, from a garage, driveway or dedicated space for however many vehicles, to the ease of street parking whether outside or nearby.

Showcasing your home's standout qualities is all part of our strategy to elevate its appeal and presence in the marketplace to help you capture the imagination – and offer! – of your ideal buyer.

RECENT NEARBY SALES

Whether your buyer is getting a mortgage or paying entirely in cash, they'll send a surveyor to value your property using cold hard data, rather than the rosy enthusiasm of estate agents.

The main factors they consider are:

• Homes like yours of a comparable style, size, and condition in your neighbourhood that are under offer or recently sold for an accurate snapshot of achieved prices.
• A gauge of local values per square foot when there’s a lack of similar recent sales, then comparing your home’s location and qualities against the average.
• Homes that are stuck on the market and failing to sell, which can show when a price ceiling has been reached and where no buyers can be found.

As a rule of thumb, surveyors tend to accept new price levels being achieved when the market is busy and homes are selling fast, but take a more cautious approach when times are slower.

CURRENT CONDITION AND FUTURE POTENTIAL

Although a lovingly maintained and stylishly modernised home will sell for the top price, some buyers will look beyond the current state of repair if they see a chance to create their dream place to live.

The type of buyer we target depends on the work required and potential cost, and here's some general guidance:

• Improvements like installing a new kitchen or bathroom, replacing floor coverings, and updating the decor are often seen by buyers as an opportunity to implement their personal taste.
• More structural jobs like repairing brickwork, roofs and rainwater goods, or dealing with damp or dry rot are generally suited to cash buyers or those with previous renovating experience.
• Gaining planning permission to extend your home can help you attract more affluent buyers without you having to do any work, and letting them unlock the extra potential.

To see if your home could have valuable future potential, read more about how you can use planning permission to add extra value in our previous blog.

Would you like to know your home’s value?

Call us on 01722 580059 or message us at info@piccoloproperty.co.uk to chat with our team and arrange a convenient time to meet - we’d love to show you how we get the best price for homes in the Wilton & Salisbury area.

And if you're wondering what to expect from our visit, take a look at our blog on getting your home valued to find out what you can look forward to.