A market appraisal is a real estate agent’s evidence-based estimate of what your property should sell for today, while a valuation is a formal figure prepared by a licensed land valuer for a lender, a court or a tax authority. They answer different questions, they carry different legal weight, and in a Perth spring market they can land on genuinely different numbers.
Most owners asking “how much is my house worth” want the first one. This guide covers what each figure is, how a Perth agent builds an appraisal, when a valuation is required instead, why online estimates disagree with both, and what to have ready before anyone walks through your door.
What is the difference between a property appraisal and a valuation?
An appraisal estimates the likely selling price in current market conditions, and a valuation determines assessed value under a defined professional standard. The distinction matters because only one of them is something a bank or a court will accept.
| Market appraisal | Valuation | |
|---|---|---|
| Who prepares it | A licensed real estate agent or sales representative | A licensed land valuer |
| What it answers | What should this sell for now | What is this worth under a defined standard, at a defined date |
| Typical purpose | Deciding whether and how to sell, setting a price strategy | Lending, family law, deceased estates, land tax, rating, disputes |
| Usual cost | Generally provided without charge as part of a listing discussion | A professional fee, paid by whoever commissions it |
| Legal weight | An opinion of market price, not binding | A formal document the commissioning party can rely on |
| Evidence base | Comparable sales, current competing listings, buyer feedback | Comparable sales assessed against a prescribed methodology |
| How current | Reflects today’s market and moves with it | Fixed to a stated valuation date |
Land valuers in Western Australia are licensed and regulated, in the same framework that covers real estate agents and settlement agents. Consumer Protection WA is the body that issues licences and certificates of registration to real estate agents, settlement agents and land valuers, and you can confirm any of them on the public register before you engage them.
For rates and taxes, valuations are not commissioned at all. They are produced centrally. Landgate’s Valuer-General provides independent valuations for all properties in Western Australia, and those figures are what local governments and RevenueWA use. They are not an estimate of what your home would fetch on the open market this weekend, which is why owners are often surprised by them.
How much is my house worth in Perth right now?
Nobody can answer that from a postcode alone, but the current medians give you the range your property sits inside. REIWA publishes Perth metro medians weekly, drawn from Landgate settlement data.
| Perth metro median | Price | Median weekly rent |
|---|---|---|
| House | $960,000 | $750 |
| Unit | $690,000 | $700 |
| Land | $450,000 | not applicable |
Source: REIWA Perth market insights, last updated 22 September 2026, covering transactions for the 12 months to August 2026. REIWA revises these figures as more sales settle.
Two things about that table. It is a metro-wide median across every suburb from Two Rocks to Mandurah, so a riverside south property sits well away from it in one direction and an outer-corridor property in the other. And a median is a midpoint, not a guide to your street: the gap between the three-bedroom and four-bedroom house medians in the same dataset is roughly $170,000, and the gap between suburbs is wider still.
What matters more for an October seller is the supply picture behind the medians. The same REIWA snapshot for the week ending 20 September 2026 counted 7,755 properties listed for sale across Perth metro, against 2,929 in the same week a year earlier, while weekly sales ran at 634 compared with 862. More stock and fewer transactions means buyers have choice they have not had for three years. Pricing to the market matters more in that environment than it did in 2024.
How does an agent work out an appraisal price?
An agent builds an appraisal from settled comparable sales, adjusts for the differences between those properties and yours, then tests the result against what is currently competing for the same buyer. It is a triangulation, not a formula.
The work runs roughly in this order.
- Confirm what the property legally is. Title type, land area, zoning, easements and any strata arrangement. A survey-strata or green-title distinction can change the buyer pool entirely.
- Pull settled comparable sales. Settled sales of genuinely similar properties in the same catchment, not asking prices. Only settled figures reflect what a buyer actually paid.
- Adjust for the differences. Land size, orientation, build era and condition, renovation quality, parking, outdoor space, river or park aspect, school catchment and street traffic.
- Test against live competition. What else a buyer with your budget can inspect this weekend. With Perth listings at the level above, this step carries more weight than a year ago.
- Factor in method and timing. Whether the property suits a set price campaign, an offers-above approach or a deadline, and how long the campaign has to run.
- Give a range, with reasoning. A credible appraisal is a range with the evidence attached, not a single number presented without support.
If an appraisal arrives as one confident figure with no comparable sales behind it, ask for the evidence. Our guide to the questions to ask a real estate agent before selling covers what a properly supported answer looks like.
When do you need a sworn valuation instead of an appraisal?
You need a valuation whenever a third party has to rely on the figure. An agent’s appraisal is an opinion offered to help you make a decision. A valuation is a document someone else will act on.
Situations that generally call for a valuation include:
- Lending. A bank will order its own valuation before it advances funds. You do not commission this one and you may not see it.
- Family law and separation. Splitting an asset requires a figure both parties and the court can work from.
- Deceased estates. Executors usually need a valuation at date of death for distribution and tax purposes.
- Land tax and rating. These use the Valuer-General’s figures rather than a market appraisal. Land tax in WA is assessed on the unimproved value of the land, which is the land only and excludes your house entirely.
- Disputes and formal records. Boundary, insurance or compensation matters, and anywhere an auditor or regulator needs an independent figure.
If you are selling in the ordinary way, you almost certainly do not need to pay for one. The appraisal sets your strategy, and the buyer’s lender will commission its own valuation when the time comes.
Why do online property estimates differ from an agent’s appraisal?
Automated estimates work from recorded sales data and property attributes, and they cannot see the things that move a Perth buyer most. They are a starting point, not a pricing decision.
An automated model does not know that your kitchen was replaced two years ago, that the neighbouring block has development approval, or that the comparable sale it leaned on was a deceased estate sold in poor condition. It also cannot read this weekend’s buyer feedback.
Use online estimates for what they are good at: a rough band, a sense of direction over time, and a sanity check on anything wildly out of line. Then confirm the number with someone who has stood in the property.
What should you have ready before an appraisal?
Have the title details, recent improvement records and outgoings ready, because an appraisal built on complete information is a far more useful number than one built on assumptions.
Worth assembling before the appointment:
- Certificate of title details, including lot and plan numbers and any strata plan. Landgate holds the titles and survey records.
- Records of works completed: approvals, receipts, warranties and trade contacts for anything structural, electrical or plumbing.
- Outgoings: council rates, water rates and, for an apartment, the strata levies and the current administrative and reserve fund position.
- Tenancy details if the property is let, including the lease end date and the current rent.
- Compliance items. Before a title transfers, WA requires residual current devices and compliant smoke alarms to be in place. Knowing where you stand early avoids a scramble at settlement.
None of this changes the market value. All of it changes how confidently the number can be set, and how smoothly the sale runs afterwards.
What happens if you price the home too high?
Overpricing costs time first and money second, and with this much competing stock it does both faster than it used to. The pattern is consistent. Enquiry is strongest in the first two to three weeks, when the property is new to every buyer watching that price band. A property priced above the evidence spends that window being used as the comparison that makes other listings look good. By the time the price comes back, the buyers who would have paid the most have bought something else, and the listing carries a visible history of reductions.
Pricing to the evidence does not mean pricing low. It means opening where the buyers actually are, so the competition happens between them rather than between your property and the one around the corner.
Frequently asked questions
Is a property appraisal free in Perth?
A market appraisal is generally provided without charge as part of a listing discussion, because it is how an agent demonstrates their read on your market. A valuation by a licensed land valuer is a paid professional service. Confirm what is being offered before the appointment so there is no confusion.
How accurate is an online property estimate?
An online estimate is a modelled band, not an assessment of your specific property. It cannot see condition, renovation quality, aspect, outlook or current buyer demand, so treat it as a rough starting range and confirm it with someone who has inspected the home.
Does a valuation from my bank tell me what my house will sell for?
Not reliably. A lender’s valuation is prepared for the lender’s risk purposes and is often conservative by design. It answers what the bank is comfortable lending against, not what a motivated buyer will pay in an open campaign.
What is the difference between unimproved value and market value?
Unimproved value is the value of the land alone, assessed annually by the Valuer-General at a date of valuation of 1 August in the previous year, and it is used for land tax and some rates. Market value includes the house and everything on the land, at today’s date. The two figures are not comparable.
Should I get more than one appraisal?
Getting two or three is sensible, provided you compare the evidence rather than the headline number. An agent who quotes the highest figure is not necessarily the agent who will achieve it, and buying a listing with an inflated appraisal is a well-known pattern in this industry.
Find out where your Perth property actually stands
If you are weighing up a spring campaign, the useful first step is a properly evidenced appraisal with the comparable sales attached, not a number over the phone. Brian McAllister has been selling across South Perth, Como, Applecross, Mount Pleasant, Manning, Salter Point, Kensington and Karawara, and works with sellers through the whole process from appraisal to settlement.
Request a confidential property appraisal, or see how a Perth sale campaign is run before you commit to anything.
Call 0418 896 354 or email brianmcallister@theagency.com.au. Seven days, by appointment.
This article is general information for Western Australia and is not legal, financial, taxation or valuation advice. Market figures are as at the dates stated and are revised over time. Obtain advice appropriate to your circumstances from your licensed valuer, settlement agent, accountant or lawyer before acting.