The selling of property is always an emotive issue, especially if you are moving away from a home that has housed your families for years. Part of the selling process always has to include a valuation; this can be one of the hardest parts of selling a home, as what you think your house is worth rarely relates to what it is actually worth on the market. Whenever an agent makes a valuation of your property it is important to realise that ultimately they are making an estimate, there value is based upon the price of similar properties in the local area and it is in no way a guarantee of worth.

In the UK the property market is currently in a period of slowdown. In areas such as the Southeast and London this is not really the case but in other areas of the country it is almost certainly fact. Some experts are arguing that the property market is in a decline that has not been seen for almost thirty years. This however could be considered media hype, the sensationalist press we have today seem to love being harbingers of doom and professing the worst just to sell papers. Even so, a valuation in the current climate is difficult, prices are in flux so the process of valuing, that has always had an element of guesswork is now even more difficult.

While valuation maybe a vital process to selling property there is only one factor that defines what a house or flat is worth; this is what a buyer is willing to pay for it. This truism has always been evident in the property world; it is just at the moment, as the market shifts towards the buyer, that it has become increasingly relevant. The reason that buyers have so much power at the moment is due to the fact that there are more properties for sale than there are buyers, so those buying property have the option to determine the price.

The picture painted by the press however is somewhat radical; those selling property are not at a complete loss. Some experts have argued that as property prices are lowered, more first time buyers will be able to afford properties. Some have even taken this argument further drawing on past data where slumps like the present one have been overcome by an influx of first time buyers. Whether this argument holds water however is debatable, the mortgage industry has been heavily affected by the 'credit crunch' meaning that those trying to secure a mortgage are now having more trouble than in the past. The results of this though are hard to ascertain, a reduction in the number of properties up for sale may in fact result in a redressing of the buyer, seller balance.

All this means that estate agents are now having even more trouble in making a valuation. Valuing a property has always contained an element of art as well as science and currently this is truer than ever. If sellers are worried however modern self valuation websites can help to arrive at an accurate figure. By using an online resource full of sale prices, finding similar properties to make comparisons is made easier. As with most spheres the encroachment of the internet has made the business of valuing houses and flats at least a little easier.

While a valuation of a property is a vital part of the selling process by combining the efforts of online resources and estate agents it is possible to arrive at a figure that is both realistic and attractive to buyers.