Not what a calculation model makes of it. Not what the neighbours got. Not what you hope. How value comes about, which factors really count and why the figure on your screen is rarely right.
The short answer. The value of your home is the amount a buyer will pay for it today. No more and no less. That amount is determined by recent sales of comparable homes in your neighbourhood, adjusted for the differences. Location weighs most heavily, then floor area, then state of repair. Everything after that is fine-tuning.
A free valuation by an estate agent who knows your neighbourhood comes closest to this. An online value check does not, and this page explains why.
Valuation is the subject that attracts the most nonsense. Not out of ill will, but because it pays commercially. A high figure wins an instruction. An honest figure starts a conversation. Guess which happens more often.
When we value a home, we never name a figure just to win the instruction. We aim for the highest achievable price, but we name the price that is actually achievable. That saves you a painful price reduction three months later.
There is no formula. There is a comparison. An estate agent valuing your home essentially does the same as a buyer: looks at what comparable homes in your area have sold for, and then adjusts for the differences.
Homes sold in the same neighbourhood, of the same type, roughly the same size, sold in the past six to twelve months. Ideally from the same street or the same construction phase. The closer, the more reliable.
Twenty square metres more is not twenty times the price per square metre. The first metres weigh more than the last. A fourth bedroom counts for more than ten extra metres of living room.
Kitchen, bathroom, insulation, roof, window frames. Not what it cost, but what a buyer is willing to pay extra for it. That is often half.
End-of-terrace or mid-terrace. On the through road or in a quiet courtyard. A south-facing or north-facing garden. Within the same neighbourhood, this can sometimes make a five per cent difference.
What a home sold for six months ago is not what it will sell for today. In a rising market you adjust upwards, and that is the part where most errors of judgement occur.
The honest answer is never a single number. It is a range, usually five to eight per cent wide. Anyone who gives you one exact figure is selling you a certainty that does not exist.
Two identical homes in Brandevoort, the same construction phase, ten houses apart. One sold for €30,000 more. The difference: one looked out over greenery, the other over the car park. No calculation model in the world can see that.
Value lies in the details you only see when you are standing there.
Three different things that are often confused. They cost different amounts, they differ in reliability and they serve different purposes.
| Online check | Valuation | Formal appraisal (taxatie) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Costs | Free | Free | €500 to €800 |
| Who | An algorithm | An estate agent | Certified appraiser |
| Visits the home | No | Yes | Yes |
| Reliability | Margin up to 20% | Margin 5 to 8% | Margin 3 to 5% |
| Valid for the bank | No | No | Yes |
| Valid in a divorce | No | Sometimes, by agreement | Yes |
| Valid for the tax authorities | No | No | Yes |
| What it is good for | Curiosity | Deciding whether to sell | Mortgage, divorce, inheritance |
The rule of thumb: if you want to know whether selling makes sense, a valuation is enough and free. If you need an official document for a bank, a notary or the tax authorities, it has to be a formal appraisal, and that costs money.
The online check sits somewhere in between and mainly serves the company offering it. More on that below.
The question comes up every spring, when the assessment lands on the doormat. Short answer: the WOZ value (the municipal property valuation) is not a market value and was never meant to be.
| WOZ value | Market value | |
|---|---|---|
| Valuation date | 1 January of the previous year | Today |
| Determined by | The municipality, using a model | Buyers, through bidding |
| Interior inspected | No | Yes |
| Goal | Levying tax | Selling |
| Takes into account | Floor area, year of construction, type, location | Everything, including condition and appeal |
In a rising market, the WOZ value lags behind by definition. The valuation date is a year and a half before the moment you read the assessment. With price rises of eight per cent a year, that quickly means a difference of ten to fifteen per cent, and that is before anyone has even looked at your kitchen.
Where it gets interesting: the WOZ value does count for inheritance tax. If you inherit a home, you can usually use the WOZ value for the calendar year of death or that of the year before. In a rising market, that choice can make a difference of thousands of euros. More on this under selling an inherited home.
A WOZ value that is too low is not always favourable. You pay less tax, but with an inheritance or when applying for a mortgage it works against you. So lodging an objection is not automatic; it is a trade-off.
Not everything carries the same weight. The order below is based on what we see reflected in the bids in practice, not on what it says in brochures.
| Factor | Weight | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| Location within the neighbourhood | Very high | Through road, courtyard, view, greenery. Cannot be changed, so decisive |
| Living area | Very high | Measured according to NEN2580. Unmeasured space does not count |
| Plot size | High | Especially for detached and semi-detached homes |
| Type of home | High | End-of-terrace versus mid-terrace: often five to ten per cent |
| State of repair | High | Visible overdue maintenance costs more than the repair |
| Year of construction | Moderate | Indirectly, through insulation and layout |
| Energy label | Moderate | The difference between A and G is real, between B and C barely noticeable |
| Kitchen | Moderate | An outdated kitchen costs you. A luxury kitchen rarely returns what it cost |
| Bathroom | Moderate | Same story. Dated detracts, luxury adds little |
| Garden orientation | Moderate | South or west counts, especially with small gardens |
| Solar panels | Low to medium | Usually recoups part of the investment, rarely all of it |
| Extension | Varies | Counts through floor area, provided it has a permit and is well built |
| Heat pump | Low | Buyers appreciate it, but rarely pay for it |
| Underfloor heating | Low | Pleasant, not a price driver |
| Your taste | Zero | Unusual colours or customisations are more likely to cost than to add value |
The common thread: what is tied to the location counts heavily and cannot be changed. What you put into it counts for less and can be changed. That is exactly the opposite of what most people assume when they start a renovation.
You enter your postcode and get a figure within ten seconds. That figure is based on public data: floor area, year of construction, type and recent sales in the area. What it does not include is everything that creates value.
That is not a small thing. That is half the story. That is why the margin on such an estimate goes up to twenty per cent. For a €400,000 home, that is eighty thousand euros of leeway, and then it is no longer an estimate but a guess with nice packaging.
So why do they exist? Because the figure is not the product. You are the product. You enter your details, you get a number, and within a day an estate agent calls. The check is a lead form with a figure attached.
We have a valuation tool ourselves too. The difference: with us, someone comes to look before any figure is given. The number is not the beginning and end of the contact; the conversation afterwards is what matters. And if that conversation ends in "wait a little longer", that is fine too.
Home equity (overwaarde) is the market value of your home minus your remaining mortgage debt. That is all it is. What confuses people is that the amount only exists once you sell or refinance.
| Worked example | Amount |
|---|---|
| Market value of the home | €425,000 |
| Remaining mortgage | €210,000 |
| Gross home equity | €215,000 |
| Less: selling costs (approx. 1.7%) | €7,200 |
| Less: any early repayment penalty | 0 to several thousand |
| Net home equity | approx. €207,800 |
Where it goes wrong: people calculate with the WOZ value instead of the market value, and forget the selling costs. The difference between what you think you have and what lands in your account can easily be ten thousand euros.
Important when moving up the ladder: you must put your home equity into your next home. If you do not, you lose mortgage interest relief on that portion. This is the additional borrowing rule (bijleenregeling), and it costs people a lot of money every year because they did not know about it.
In a divorce it works differently. Then it is not about what you receive but about what you share, and that depends on how you were married or living together. More on that shortly.
The key question for anyone considering doing a bit of work before selling. The figures below are guideline figures from practice in this region, not guarantees.
| Work | Costs | Increase in value | Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tidying and decluttering | €0 to €500 | Substantial | Very high |
| Neutral paintwork | €1,500 to €3,000 | More than the cost | High |
| Clearing overdue maintenance | Variable | More than the cost | High |
| Sprucing up the garden | €500 to €2,000 | Roughly the cost | Moderate |
| Insulation (cavity wall, floor) | €2,000 to €5,000 | Roughly the cost | Moderate |
| Solar panels | €5,000 to €9,000 | Roughly half | Low |
| New bathroom | €8,000 to €15,000 | Roughly half | Low |
| New kitchen | €10,000 to €25,000 | Roughly half | Low |
| Heat pump | €12,000 to €20,000 | Limited | Very low |
| Extension | €25,000 to €60,000 | Through floor area | Varies |
The conclusion is uncomfortable but consistent: the more expensive the work, the lower the return. A twenty thousand euro kitchen might get you ten thousand back, from a buyer who may not even like it. The same two thousand euros spent on paintwork and tidying almost always returns more than it costs.
The exception: visible overdue maintenance. It does not cost you the repair bill, it costs you the trust of every buyer who walks in. A roof that looks bad makes people doubt everything they cannot see.
Renovate for yourself, if you will be living there for years to come. Do not renovate to sell. Anyone who installs a kitchen to sell better pays for the kitchen, and the buyer gets it as a gift.
A valuation is free and does not commit you to anything. So there is rarely a reason to wait. There are, however, moments when it is particularly useful.
The most obvious reason. You want to know whether your plans are feasible before you set anything in motion.
Your home equity determines your budget for your next home. Without that figure, you do not know what you can look at.
The value is the starting point for the division. For the official settlement you usually need a formal appraisal, but a valuation gives you a sense of direction first.
The WOZ value applies for inheritance tax, but for your decision whether to sell or keep it, the market value is what counts.
A higher value means a lower risk category and therefore often a lower interest rate. This can sometimes save you hundreds of euros a year.
Before you put fifteen thousand euros into a kitchen: first have someone tell you what it is likely to add.
With us, nothing. A valuation is free and does not commit you to anything. A formal appraisal (taxatie), which you need for a mortgage or in a divorce, usually costs between €500 and €800.
The WOZ value (the municipal property valuation) is determined by the municipality using a calculation model, based on the reference date of 1 January of the previous year, without anyone having been inside. The market value is what a buyer pays today. In a rising market, the WOZ value is therefore consistently ten to fifteen per cent lower.
The margin can be as much as twenty per cent. Such a check only sees public data: floor area, year of construction, type and recent sales. It does not see your kitchen, your view, your maintenance or your location within the neighbourhood, and that is exactly where value comes from.
Market value minus remaining mortgage debt is your gross home equity. Deduct the selling costs from that, roughly 1.7%, plus any early repayment penalty. Calculate with the market value, not the WOZ value, otherwise you will end up tens of thousands of euros too high.
Rarely. Expect to get back roughly half of the investment. If you want to add value before selling, tidying, neutral paintwork and clearing visible overdue maintenance deliver considerably more per euro spent.
The difference between label A and label G is real. The difference between B and C is negligible. Investing to go from C to A usually yields less than it costs. Going from E to C is more often worthwhile.
Because a high figure wins instructions. That is not advice, it is sales. You only notice the difference after eight weeks without an offer, and by then it has become your problem. Always ask for the reference homes on which the figure is based.
There is no obligation. In a fast-moving market, a valuation is already out of date after two years. If you are considering a decision based on your home's value, an up-to-date figure is the starting point.
We would rather not win an instruction by naming too high a figure at your kitchen table. We tell you what is really going on, even when the answer is that you would be better off waiting a while.
After twenty years and hundreds of sales in Helmond, Eindhoven and the surrounding villages, we know the neighbourhoods, the types of homes and the buyers. Free of charge and without obligation.
Request a free valuation. We visit, look around and tell you what it is worth. Even if that means you would be better off waiting.
Your language. We speak English, German and French. Write to us in Polish by WhatsApp and we reply in Polish.
No surprises in the contract. The purchase agreement is in Dutch and comes with an English translation, so you understand every clause.
Selling from abroad. We guide the whole sale remotely and arrange the paperwork with the notary.
