What is my home worth: how a valuation is built
It is the first question anyone considering a sale asks. We show how a figure is built that stands up before a buyer, a bank and a surveyor.
Start from prices paid, not prices asked
A price published on a portal is a price sought, not a market figure. There is usually a difference between it and the amount written into the deed, and in an area with few transactions that difference can be wide. A valuation starts from completed sales of comparable properties in the same area.
It is also why direct knowledge of the area is needed. An estimate built on floor area and postcode alone does not capture the kind of communal heating, exposure to noise at particular hours, or how often property in a given street comes to market.
Floor area: commercial and net
These are two different measures. The net area is the walkable floor area. The commercial area adds to it the walls and a share of the appurtenances — balconies, terraces, cellar, garage — at customary percentages. The price per square metre of comparables usually refers to the commercial area.
Comparing a net area against a price per square metre based on the commercial area produces a distorted result: before any comparison, establish which of the two is being used.
What bears on the price
Floor and lift. Aspect and hours of sun, which weigh more in a narrow valley than elsewhere. State of repair and the year of the last works. Energy rating and type of system. Appurtenances: in Bolzano a parking space carries weight of its own. Noise, view, outlook. Service charges and works approved.
To these is added the legal picture: the residents' restriction, third-party rights entered in section C, building discrepancies to regularise. They come to light during a negotiation in any case, and it is better to establish them first.
The asking price and the first weeks
Attention is highest in the first two or three weeks after publication, when the property is seen by people who have been searching for months. If the price is out of line, that phase passes without result, and what remains afterwards are less qualified enquiries. Every later reduction signals that something is not convincing.
This is not an argument for a quick sale at a low price: a price set against comparables holds up in negotiation because it can be documented.
In short
- Comparables: prices paid, not prices asked
- Establish which area the comparison uses: commercial or net
- Adjustments for floor, aspect, condition, energy rating, appurtenances
- Read section C before fixing the price
- The first weeks are when attention is highest
Frequently asked questions
How reliable is an estimate from a portal?
It gives an order of magnitude where the market is broad and uniform. In the province of Bolzano transactions per area are often few, differences between one side of a municipality and the other are marked, and the residents' restriction is not among the data processed. It is a starting point, not a price.
Is an agency valuation binding?
No. With us it is free and without obligation: it creates no mandate, does not commit you to sell, and remains available to the owner even if the sale is dropped. It is there so a decision can be taken with the figures in view.
Is it worth refurbishing before selling?
Rarely in full, more often in part. The works that pay for themselves are those that remove a doubt: a discrepancy regularised, a system brought up to standard, work that changes the energy rating. Cosmetic work rarely pays, because buyers tend to choose the finishes themselves.
Official sources
Note
This guide is general information written by an estate agency. It does not replace advice from a notary, an accountant or the surveyor handling the property. The rules cited are those in force at the date of publication.
Read next
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The residents' restriction: what it means for a seller
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Seven things that matter when selling a property
This page brings together seven things that, in practice, bear on how long a sale takes and what it realises. None of them is decisive on its own: their weight has to be judged case by case.
Would you like to know what your property is worth?
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