How much is your house worth? The quickest free answer is to take what you paid and bring it up to date with the official UK House Price Index for your area. Then check what similar homes nearby have actually sold for. For a figure you can rely on, ask a few estate agents, or pay a RICS surveyor.
Key points
- There are three main ways to get a figure: an index-based estimate, sold prices nearby, and a professional's view.
- An index-based estimate tells you how much your house has gone up in line with your area. It can't see changes to your own home.
- Sold prices show what buyers really paid. Asking prices don't.
- Our sold prices cover England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland publish their own figures.
- Selling and buying again costs money too, so plan for it early.
Three ways to find out what your house is worth
1. A house price index estimate
This is the fastest free option. Our What's it worth? tool asks what you paid, when you bought and your postcode. It then applies the change in the UK House Price Index for your local authority since that month. The UK House Price Index is published monthly by HM Land Registry.
Best for: a quick idea of how much your house has gone up, checking whether an agent's figure sounds sensible, or a rough number for remortgaging or planning a move.
2. Sold house prices near you
For England and Wales, our tool also shows what homes sold for in your postcode district in the last 12 months. It uses HM Land Registry Price Paid Data and splits sales by property type: detached, semi-detached, terraced and flats. You see the typical (median) price and the middle half of sales.
Best for: seeing what buyers actually paid for homes like yours, right now.
3. An estate agent or a surveyor
An estate agent's market appraisal is free. The agent visits, looks at your home and suggests an asking price. Ask two or three agents, because some may suggest a high price to win your business.
A RICS surveyor gives a formal figure after an inspection, for a fee. You can find one through the RICS directory. When you buy or remortgage, your lender will also send someone to check the home is worth what it is lending against. That lender's figure is for the lender's benefit, and it can come in lower than the agreed price.
Best for: when real money depends on the answer, such as selling, a divorce, probate or a dispute.
Every cost for your price and situation in the UK, including taxes for buyers from abroad.
How the house price index method works
The index tracks the average change in prices in an area over time. To bring your price up to date, you take what you paid and grow it by the same percentage the index has moved since you bought.
Worked example. Say you bought a house for £250,000 in 2018. Our tool looks up the index for your local authority in the month you bought, and the latest month available.
- If prices in your area rose 25% since then, your estimate is £250,000 × 1.25 = £312,500.
- If they rose 10%, it's £250,000 × 1.10 = £275,000.
- If they fell 5%, it's £250,000 × 0.95 = £237,500.
Two things to know. First, the latest index figures lag a little behind the market, and recent months can be revised as more sales are registered. Second, the index is an average for the whole area. It tells you how a typical home moved, not yours.
Why your home might be worth more or less
The estimate assumes your home has changed in the same way as an average home in your area. Real life is messier.
- Extensions and improvements. A loft conversion, extra bedroom or new kitchen can add value the index can't see.
- Condition. A home that needs a new roof, rewiring or damp work may sell for less than the estimate.
- Your street. Homes on a busy road, or on the best street in town, can sit well away from the area average.
- Energy rating. A better Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating may appeal to buyers and lenders, while a poor one may put some off.
- Leasehold years on flats. As a lease gets shorter, a flat can become harder to sell and harder to get a mortgage on. Check how many years are left on your lease.
- What you paid. If you got a bargain, or paid over the odds, the estimate carries that through.
How to read sold prices near you
Sold prices are real, but you need to read them with care.
- Median. This is the middle sale when all sales are lined up from cheapest to dearest. Half sold for less and half for more. It's less pulled about by one very cheap or very expensive sale than an average is.
- Middle half. This is the range from the lower quarter to the upper quarter of sales. Most ordinary homes of that type sold within it. If your home is bigger or in better shape than most, you may be near the top of the range.
- Small samples. If only a handful of homes of your type sold in your postcode district, the figures can jump around. Treat them as a rough guide and look at nearby districts too.
- Compare like with like. A two-bed terrace and a four-bed detached house in the same district are very different. Use the property type that matches yours.
- Timing. Sales take a while to be registered, so the most recent months may be missing.
Scotland and Northern Ireland
Our sold prices cover England and Wales only, because that's what HM Land Registry Price Paid Data includes. Our index-based estimate still works across the UK.
- Scotland: Registers of Scotland publishes monthly house price statistics, including median and mean sale prices.
- Northern Ireland: Land & Property Services publishes the Northern Ireland House Price Index each quarter.
What it costs to sell and buy your next home
Knowing what your house is worth is only half the picture. When you move, you will usually pay estate agent fees and legal fees on the sale, and then stamp duty, legal fees, searches and a survey on your next home. Removals add more.
Read our guide to the full cost of buying a house in the UK, then put your next price into our buying costs calculator.
Common mistakes
- Treating asking prices as sold prices. Asking prices are what sellers hope for. Homes often sell for less, sometimes more.
- Trusting one instant online estimate. Different websites use different methods and often disagree. Look at several, and check them against real sales.
- Counting every pound you spent on improvements. A £30,000 extension won't always add £30,000 to the price.
- Forgetting the lender's check. If a buyer's lender puts a lower figure on your home, the buyer may ask you to drop the price.
- Ignoring a short lease. If you own a leasehold flat, check the years left before you set your price.
Work out your own figures
Try our free What's it worth? tool for an up-to-date estimate and recent sold prices nearby. Then use our calculator to see what buying your next home will cost. Rules last checked 16 October 2026.