05/10/2011

Option 1: Pricefinder (www.pricefinder.com.au)

Pricefinder.com.au offers a ‘Free Suburb Flyover’, which allows you to plug in your suburb and property type to generate date. You can find out both the average and median property price in the suburb for the last 20 years, along with capital growth rates and evidence of the highest and lowest recorded sales. You can also click into the last 20 or so recent sales in the area, which is a valuable resource for buyers who are looking to compare listing prices with actual sold prices.

For a monthly fee, you can then obtain more specific property data, including individual property value estimates, street sales reports,  and individual property facts.

For our test suburb of Robina, in a standard home, we obtained the following data from the free report:

  • Average house price - $544,906
  • Median house price - $515,000
  • Lowest house price - $385,000
  • Highest house price - $1,000,000

Option 2: RP Data (myrp.com.au)

By typing in your suburb, RP Data provides a free suburb report that includes an area report, demographics and unit and house statistics. The capital growth statistics only cover the last five years, where Pricefinder’s report extends back 20 years, however RP Data’s report details the monthly median sale price for the suburb for the last twelve months.

For a fee, you can obtain an individual property report with key information on a selected property including owner's info in Queensland and NSW, capital growth rates and previous reported sales for the selected property and surrounding area.

For our test suburb of Robina, in a standard home, we obtained the following data from the free report:

  • Current median sale price - $640,000
  • Median sale price last month - $495,000

Option 3: Australian Property Monitors

Plug in your postcode on the front page of the site and you’ll generate the ‘How much is my house worth?’ feature on the Australian Property Monitors homepage.

This report is all about facts and figures. You won’t find any info on suburb demographics and housing income, but you will find data on recent sales and record sales in the suburb, along with long-term capital growth rates and auction clearance rates. For a fee, you can get a report detailing the last 24 months worth of sales, or a property report with a 12-month growth forecast.

For our test suburb of Robina, in a standard home, we obtained the following data from the free report:

  • Average house price - $544,906
  • Median house price - $505,000
  • Lowest price paid in last 12 months - $125,000
  • Highest price paid in last 12 months - $1,950,000

The verdict

Each website offers a different snapshot of advice, and because all of the reports tested were free, the only investment you’ll make is your time. While some of the results were conflicting – Pricefinder put Robina’s median price at $515,000, whereas RP Data logged it at $640,000 – it may be worthwhile visiting all four sites to gather as much data on your property as possible. You won’t be able to gain an exact valuation, but at a minimum, this provides you with a guideline to estimate your property’s worth in the current market.