Aspects that influence property valuation

What is your home actually worth? When an appraiser values a property, they weigh up a set of well-defined factors: location, plot size, finishing quality, layout, ownership situation, outbuildings, maintenance condition, and living area. Below we explain each one and how it influences the appraised value.

Location of the Property

Location often has the biggest influence on a property's value. A house in the centre of Amsterdam will be valued very differently from a similar house in The Hague or Groningen. To arrive at a value, an appraiser looks at as many comparable homes as possible close to the property being appraised, so they'll never compare a house in Amsterdam with one in Groningen.

Total plot area

An appraiser will get the size of the plot from the land registry (in Dutch: Kadaster). Usually, a property consists of 1 plot, but that does not have to be the case. It is also possible that one or more extra plots belong to the house that was bought later. The larger the total plot with a house, the more value it has. With flats, a plot does not apply. Only the size of the garden if there is one (e.g. in the case of ground-floor flats).

Quality of the finishing level

The finishing level is a very important factor. The appraiser looks at how high-quality, modern, and tastefully finished a property is. A kitchen from a top brand and good materials add more value than a budget kitchen, both because they last longer and because they look more attractive to buyers.

Efficient layout

The layout matters just as much as the floor area. A beautiful 110 m² house with four bedrooms loses appeal if the layout is cramped, for example two bedrooms too small to fit a wardrobe, or an upstairs where you have to walk through the toilet to reach the other bedrooms. Awkward layouts put off buyers and weigh on the appraised value.

Ownership situation

It matters whether the home stands on land you own outright (full ownership) or on a ground lease (erfpacht), and what the ground-lease conditions and costs are. Ground rent is usually paid periodically and can rise over time, sometimes substantially. Compared with an identical property in full ownership, a home with an ongoing ground lease is generally worth less because of those running costs.

Outbuildings

Think of outbuildings as garages, sheds, garden sheds, storerooms, etc. If you have 2 more of these similar properties and 1 of those houses has a big garage and the other has nothing, the property with the garage will of course have a higher property value. This is due to the house's surface and additional function.

The current state of the house

Maintenance is a very important component in determining value. When recording the property, the appraiser has to state the condition of each building component. Each part is given a status:

• G = Good
• R = Reasonable
• M = Mediocre
• S = Bad
• NV = Further investigation
• NW = Unacceptable

If an appraiser values a building component (e.g. gutters, painting, roof, walls), they will also include an estimation of the costs of the defects or maintenance. They include an estimation of the repair cost for that component in the report.

Energy label and sustainability

The energy label and the home's overall sustainability increasingly affect value. A well-insulated home with a strong energy label (A or higher) is cheaper to run and more attractive to buyers, while a poorly insulated home with a low label can weigh on the value because of the cost of improvements. Build year, insulation, and installed measures such as solar panels all feed into this.

The living area of the house

And of course there's the living area. In most cases this is the single most important factor in the appraised value: the larger the living area, the higher the value.

Related articles

• What is a valuation report in the Netherlands?
• What does a property valuation cost?
• What is the meaning of an appraiser in the Netherlands?
• What is a technical inspection? — a closer look at the building's condition before you buy