What you need to know about online valuations.

To help figure out house prices, many buyers turn to online property valuations. While they can provide a convenient guide, it pays to keep the following in mind:

• A person hasn’t visited the property.

  Computer software can analyse a wealth of property data, but remember that no human has physically inspected the property.

• Computers can't value the intangibles.

  Some homes you can just fall in love with - without being able to pinpoint why. Add in access, sun aspect, view, neighbourhood, school zones, charm and overall ‘feel’ – and you have a bunch of factors that an algorithm can’t measure.

• No two houses are identical.

  Comparing apartments or townhouses within the same ‘block’ can be easy to value. But it gets more difficult to determine price if your suburb has lots of standalone properties, of varying age, that have had renovations over the years.

• The market moves quickly.

  Online property valuations are based off settled sales that happened months ago. To keep your finger on the pulse, go to property auctions when you can, or touch base with local agents who have completed recent sales in your suburb.

• Properties are worth different amounts to different people.

  Are you going to live in the home? Are you an investor? Do you have family living close by? Is it in a sought-after school zone? North side of the street or south? These are a factors that can influence one buyer to pay a lot more than another.