Loan Tip: An Example of How Lender Valuations can Vary

Valuations of property will vary from valuer to valuer as it is a subjective estimate of the property’s worth. Some valuers might do more research or might compare it to different comparable sales and arrive at different results. One strategy is to consider getting a few valuations done and use the one that gets the best results. It is not usually possible to order more than one valuation with one lender so we often try 2 or 3 lenders – sometimes they actually use the same valuer and sometimes the same person goes out twice – and sometimes that person might even give 2 different valuations figures.

Here is a real life example:


We just conducted 3 different valuations for a client property located in Sydney wanting to refinance.

Lender A’s valuation came in a $1,275,000

Lender B’s valuation came in at $1,305,000

Lender C’s valuation came in at $1,500,000

Between the highest and lowest that is a difference of $225,000. That is a 15% variance in values.

Client’s estimate was $1,300,000

This allowed the client to borrow more money to be used as the deposit for the next property, which in turn might allow for savings by eliminating the need for LMI.