Just about a year ago many homeowners in the UK knew just what the value of their homes was, having tracked soaring home prices that had been rocketing for the past decade. However, over the past year there has been a turnaround in the housing markets, with house prices plummeting month on month according to reports, and this has left many homeowner unsure as to what their property is now worth.

There are many reasons for the falling prices of houses for homeowners, mainly being the current credit crunch, which will new house buyers off the market as there are no cheap mortgages available anymore.

There are a number of reasons why you may be looking to get your home valued. You may be thinking about putting your house on the market and moving on, in which case you clearly need an idea of what you will get for it. You may be thinking about borrowing against the equity in your home, and will need to provide the lender with details on the price of the property. You may simply be curious to find out what your house is not worth of nearly a year of month on month home price falls.

Whatever your reason for wanting to find out the price of your home you need to ensure that you get as accurate a valuation as possible, and this often takes more than just calling out a surveyor from the local estate agents. If you have just one surveyor come out to value your property you may find that the house gets undervalued in order to get a quick sale in what has become a turbulent housing market, or that is get overvalued in order to make the estate agent more money in commission.

One way around this is to get valuations from around three surveyors from different local estate agents. You should ensure that you do not mention that you have already had a valuation so that the surveyors cannot base their valuation on one that you have already received. Each estate agent can then advise what they think the home is worth, and if they all come out with the same sort of figure you will know that the valuation is pretty accurate.

It is important that you also put a little work into getting an accurate valuation on your property, and one way that you can do this is by checking out the price of properties for sale that are similar to yours in the same sort of area. You can do this easily and quickly online or simply by checking the local papers that advertise properties for sale. You can then see of the sale price is along the same lines as the valuations that you have received.

Homeowners should be prepared for disappointment when getting a valuation, as the chances are that you home is worth a lot less than it was this time last year. However, try to avoid inflating the asking price if you are putting the property up for sale as otherwise you could find that your house is simply overpriced and will not sell.

If your property does not sell at your desired price and you still have equity in your home, then home-owner loans could help to improve your current home removing the need to move. For more information on property prices and finding out your properties worth read the articles on finding a mortgage from an independent financial advisor

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Source: real estate

The slump that the housing market has seen in the past several months has created a lot of confusion concerning whether the current real estate environment presents a great opportunity to purchase homes or is better left alone until it picks up economic momentum. Expert investors are very contested on the issue, with groups forming sides that correspond to both sides of the question, “Is now the right time to buy?”

The issue revolves around the recent mortgage crisis that has caused a surge of foreclosures which have managed to flood the market with new homes. With a swelling number of homes available for sale, property values have dropped significantly and continue to do so while more people struggle with meeting their mortgage payments. Despite the negative elements and provided you have access to various mortgages, this situation is like a cloud with silver lining; the dropping prices of homes means that, for a lot of people — especially those new to the real estate scene or young couples looking to possess their first home — buying a home now is cheaper than it has been in years.

However, with the loan businesses wary during these troubling times, securing a loan to afford a home now can be a very tricky or outright difficult effort, especially if you don’t have the greatest credit. So, with these conflicting aspects of the real estate landscape, when would be a good time to finally go out and buy that new home?

The optimistic experts believe that the current circumstances present a great opportunity to find outstanding property at rock-bottom prices. If you possess good credit and you plan to stay in a home for a few years, then purchasing a home now is a wonderful way to take advantage of the low costs of ownership while maintaining a solid investment that will pay off for years to come. Although the prices may drop lower in the future, they believe that, over time, the differences in price won’t make much of a difference when you consider just how much you are saving already. Furthermore, if you can manage to find and establish a low interest rate right now, then you’ll be able to save a considerable amount of money when house values climb again.

The more skeptical experts don’t agree with that assessment, however. Many of them believe that the current circumstances are only the beginning of the slump that has defined real estate for 2008, and that these financially downtrodden times will only continue to lower the value of homes, a possibility that will make buying a home in the future a remarkably better deal.

In fact, they believe that home prices are still relatively high. The housing boom of the past several years has contributed to doubling or even tripling the value of homes, creating an environment of extremely expensive, valuable properties that can stand to lose plenty of value before becoming a truly good deal.

Prices are also still adjusted to what people expect their homes to sell for based on the values given a couple of years ago. As these people realize that their homes aren’t  going to sell for their initial estimates, they’ll be more willing to drop the prices even further and present an even remarkable opportunity to find a home at a fantastic deal.

Whatever the differences may be between the experts, one thing they all agree on is that while homes are cheaper than they’ve been in years, loans are harder to obtain and there are stricter requirement for getting a mortgage. Buying a home now may be cheap, but it may not be easy.

Source: Housing Market