What a Valuer Looks At for a CGT Valuation

A property valuer looks at five things: the land, the buildings, the location, the legal and planning position, and recent sales of comparable properties. For capital gains tax there is a twist. The value is at a set date, often in the past, so everything is judged as it was on that date, not as it is today.

What does a valuer check about the property?

On an Inspected CGT Valuation, the valuer sees these at the property. On a Desktop CGT Valuation, they come from records instead: sales evidence, title and planning information, plans, past listing photos, and photos or details you provide. Desktop or inspected helps you choose.

How does a valuer deal with a past date?

The method is the same as for a current valuation. What changes is the evidence.

• The property as it was. The land, the dwelling, its size, layout and condition on the date. Changes made since, such as an extension, a new kitchen or a subdivision, are taken out of the picture.
• Sales from around the date. The valuer looks for comparable properties that sold before and around the valuation date, paying attention to when each price was agreed.
• No hindsight. The ATO’s guide says the prudence of the buyer and seller is judged by the state of the market at the valuation date, not with the benefit of hindsight. A later rezoning or price boom that nobody could have known about on the date is left out.

An inspection today cannot show the property as it was years ago, so records do much of the work either way: see records to keep and retrospective valuations.

What legal and planning facts does a valuer check?

The valuer confirms the legal and planning facts a careful buyer would have found out before paying:

• Title. The lot and plan, and anything registered on the title that limits its use, such as easements and covenants.
• Zoning and overlays. What can be built on and done with the land, and any heritage, flooding or bushfire controls, under the planning system where the property is.
• The Crown lease, in the ACT. Land in the ACT is generally held under a Crown lease, which sets out what the land may be used for.
• Strata records. For an apartment or townhouse: the levies, the capital works or maintenance fund, any special levies, and known building defects or disputes.
• Leases. For tenanted property, the rent and the lease terms.
• The market. How active it was, how long properties were taking to sell, and whether prices were rising, flat or falling at the valuation date.

How does a valuer use comparable sales?

Sales evidence is the heart of a residential valuation. The valuer looks for sales of similar properties nearby, checks that each was a genuine arm’s length sale, and compares each one with your property, adjusting for the differences:

The valuer gives most weight to the sales that need the least adjustment and reasons to a single figure. The ATO recommends a second method where possible, and some valuers cross-check with the summation approach: the value of the land plus the added value of the buildings and other improvements. A good report shows the reasoning, so your accountant can follow how the value was reached.

What does a valuer not look at?

• Furniture and styling. Loose furniture and contents are not part of the property.
• What you spent. Market value is not cost. A renovation adds whatever buyers would pay for it, which can be more or less than it cost you.
• Special value. Anything one particular buyer, such as a next-door neighbour, would pay above the market is not part of market value.
• Hidden defects. A valuer is not a building or pest inspector. They note visible condition but do not test the structure, wiring or plumbing, and the report states what it assumes.
• What you hope it is worth. You can point the valuer to sales you know of, and they will consider them, but the opinion has to be their own.

What does a CGT valuation report show?

The ATO’s page on market valuation of assets lists what it expects a valuation report to show at a minimum: the purpose, the scope, details of the property, the valuation date, whether it is retrospective, any inspection date, records explaining the basis of the value, and the value. Its guide asks for more where the case needs it.

Our reports set out the market value at your date, the comparable sales it rests on, and the method and assumptions in plain words. Each is reviewed and signed by a property valuer and sent as a PDF by email, ready for your accountant. Market value vs sale price explains what market value means, and how property is valued for CGT sets out the method step by step.

How can you help the valuer?

• Tell us the date your accountant gives you and the reason.
• List the improvements and when they were done, with any approvals, both before and after the date.
• Send plans, a rates notice and, for strata property, levy notices and owners corporation records.
• Mention anything the valuer cannot see, such as a new roof, rewiring or a known defect.
• For an inspection, arrange access to every part of the property. If it is rented, the tenant must get proper notice: in New South Wales and Victoria, at least 7 days for a valuation.
• If you know of sales you think are relevant, pass them on so the valuer can test them against the other evidence.

Request a valuation when you are ready. A Desktop CGT Valuation is $149 and an Inspected CGT Valuation is $495, both incl. GST: see pricing. We confirm the valuer, fee and timing in writing before anything is booked or charged.

For the situations behind each date, see home becomes a rental, inherited property and 30 June 2027. The glossary explains terms such as comparable sales, and our questions page has short answers.