When you get a home loan your bank or lender needs to conduct a valuation of the property you're buying. This is because the property is used to secure the loan.
A bank valuation is therefore a bit conservative. The bank is worried about forcing you to sell the property in the worst case scenario: you stop repaying the loan.
A market valuation is when a real estate agent or valuer estimates how much your property is worth in the current market. It's a best case scenario for the property's true value.
Bank valuations versus market valuations
Market valuations
Higher than a bank valuation. A market valuation assumes the seller wants the best price possible. A seller is motivated to try and get the best price on their home, even if it means waiting longer.
Takes the property market into account. A market valuation gauges the value of a property at a particular moment in time. In a hot or booming property market, a market valuation could be much higher than a bank valuation.
More useful to buyers and sellers. Unlike a bank valuation, a market valuation is designed to help you decide how much to buy or sell a property for by comparing it to other, similar property sales.
Bank valuations
Lower than market valuations. The bank is estimating the price it would get for the property if it were sold in the event the buyer can't make repayments. Unlike a private seller, the bank is motivated by the urgency of selling a property to recoup its losses.
Selling costs. The lender also has to factor in selling costs, such as real estate commission, advertising, legal fees and other expenses related to the sale of a property.
More useful to the bank. A bank valuation isn't as useful for a buyer and the lender may not even choose to share the valuation with you – it is completely at its discretion.
What is a bank valuation used for?
The bank valuation is, unsurprisingly, for the bank. Because the home you're buying will be security for the loan, the bank wants to make sure there isn't a gigantic gap between the property's value and the price you pay.
If you paid $1 million for a house worth a conservative $800,000, your loan-to-value ratio would be completely off and your bank would be taking a big risk lending you the money.
The bank does not always tell the borrower what the final valuation is. Bank valuations are done in order to work out the amount of money that you can responsibly pay back.
Must read: Desktop valuations
These days many lenders rely on a digital or desktop valuation, so they don't need to send out an actual valuer to look at your property.
Before you sell a property your real estate agent will inspect the whole property and give you an estimate of the selling price. This is the market valuation.
Market valuations are used for property listings and take into account the current property market. Real estate agents or professional valuers compare the property to other, similar properties in the area that have sold recently.
There's data involved, but it's more art than science.
You can get a market valuation any time you want
It's useful to know your home's market value, even if you're not planning on selling. Most real estate agents will give you one for free.
Going over budget
Even market valuations are only a guide to current property prices. 47% of Australian first home buyers say they paid more than the budgeted for when buying their home. This is up from 38% of buyers in 2022.
If the bank valuation comes in too low, you may have trouble borrowing the amount you've applied for. This can cause serious problems when purchasing a home. The lender might reject your application.
However, there are a few avenues of redress:
Dispute the original valuation. You can dispute the valuer's original findings by providing evidence of sales of similar homes in the area. A warning, however: many valuers are unlikely to change their original valuation.
Cover the shortfall from somewhere else. If a new valuation fails to resolve the problem, you might have to look elsewhere to secure funds to cover the shortfall, whether it's borrowing from a family member or securing a personal loan.
Apply for a new loan with a different lender. Every lender has slightly different lending standards and criteria. You might have more luck with a new lender.
Don heads to an auction and is the winning bidder for a 2-bedroom unit, with a bid of $750,000. He pays a 20% deposit of $150,000, along with stamp duty fees. He is pre-approved for finance at 80% LVR.
Before settlement, Don's bank sends a valuer to the home. The valuation comes back at $650,000, meaning the bank will only lend Don a maximum of $520,000, leaving Don $80,000 short.
Don requests a second valuation with similar results. He is now left to either borrow the $80,000 from his family or try to secure a personal loan.
* This is a fictional, but realistic, example.
Frequently Asked Questions
A bank valuation is calculated based on the property's location, size, age, condition and comparable sales data in the area. It is typically more conservative than a market valuation (which is how much the property would likely sell for), aiming to reduce the lender's risk.
To prepare your house for a bank valuation, ensure it is clean, tidy and well-maintained. Address any minor repairs, improve curb appeal and provide access to all areas of the property for the valuer.
If a bank valuation is less than the purchase offer, you may need to cover the shortfall with a larger deposit or renegotiate the purchase price. This can also affect the amount of the home loan you can secure.
A bank valuation usually takes anywhere from a few days to a week, depending on the lender and the complexity of the property being valued.
Richard Whitten is Finder’s Senior Money Editor, with over eight years of experience in home loans, property, credit cards and personal finance. His insights appear in top media outlets like Yahoo Finance, Money Magazine, and the Herald Sun, and he frequently offers expert commentary on television and radio, helping Australians navigate mortgages and property ownership. Richard started his career in education and textbook publishing in South Korea. He holds multiple industry certifications, including a Certificate IV in Mortgage Broking (RG 206) and Tier 1 and Tier 2 certifications (RG 146), as well as a Bachelor of Education from the University of Sydney and a Graduate Certificate in Communications from Deakin University.
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Marc Terrano is a lead publisher and growth marketer at Finder. He has previously worked at Finder as a publisher for frequent flyer points and home loans, and as a writer, podcast host and content marketer. Marc has a Bachelor of Communications (Journalism) from the University of Technology Sydney. He’s passionate about creating honest and simple reviews and comparisons to help everyone get value for money.
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We have just received our bank valuation back for our house and land package and it came back much lower than we had expected. We paid $411k (including upgrades) and thought it would come back around $420k (given rapid growth in the area and it is a new estate). There are house and land packages with the same specs being sold around the corner from us for $460k.
Should we appeal the bank valuation or arrange an independent valuation?
It is super stressful knowing that we now have to find another $15k to get the loan over the line. We don’t know where to begin.
Finder
ShirleyJuly 7, 2014Finder
Hi Keir,
Thanks for your question.
Generally a bank valuation is less than the market value as they’re different things. Banks use a bank valuation to work out how much they might receive if they sold the property, whereas the market value is usually how much you get if you sold the property yourself. If you have any questions or concerns, please discuss this with your lender.
Cheers,
Shirley
BernardFebruary 26, 2014
if the house or apartment renovated with new kitchen, Bathroom , toilet and install air-condition total cost $20,000. Can I add this value to the property.?
Finder
MarcFebruary 27, 2014Finder
Hi Bernard,
thanks for the question.
What a renovation costs might not necessarily equate to the same value. Some renovations might add less or more than their cost to the property’s value, so it’s always best to seek a professional valuation to see how much a renovation has effected the price of a property.
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We have just received our bank valuation back for our house and land package and it came back much lower than we had expected. We paid $411k (including upgrades) and thought it would come back around $420k (given rapid growth in the area and it is a new estate). There are house and land packages with the same specs being sold around the corner from us for $460k.
Should we appeal the bank valuation or arrange an independent valuation?
It is super stressful knowing that we now have to find another $15k to get the loan over the line. We don’t know where to begin.
Hi Keir,
Thanks for your question.
Generally a bank valuation is less than the market value as they’re different things. Banks use a bank valuation to work out how much they might receive if they sold the property, whereas the market value is usually how much you get if you sold the property yourself. If you have any questions or concerns, please discuss this with your lender.
Cheers,
Shirley
if the house or apartment renovated with new kitchen, Bathroom , toilet and install air-condition total cost $20,000. Can I add this value to the property.?
Hi Bernard,
thanks for the question.
What a renovation costs might not necessarily equate to the same value. Some renovations might add less or more than their cost to the property’s value, so it’s always best to seek a professional valuation to see how much a renovation has effected the price of a property.
Cheers,
Marc.