The first quarter of the year is usually a great time to give some thought to your property needs and potentially make the move you've been thinking about for a while. A little research can serve you well here, and you shouldn't take any action until you know how much your property is worth in the current market.

WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A VALUATION AND A MARKET APPRAISAL?

A lot of home sellers get confused between market appraisals and valuations and that's understandable. They are both ways of determining what your property may be worth. But there some important differences you should be aware of before before choosing which option suits your situation. Let's start with a market appraisal.

A market appraisal is when a real estate agent visits your property and evaluates it based on their experience of the local market. The agent will give you an opinion of what they think they can sell your property for in the current market based on the following indicators:

• Trends in the local market over the last 3-6 months
• Local demand ( average days on market and auction clearance rates)
• Sold prices or nearby comparable properties over the last 3-6 months
• The size of the property, it's main features and location

The advantage of market appraisals is that they are free, so a lot of home sellers get appraisals from multiple agents. These figures can be quite similar or they can vary by a large amount and it's really important that you don't get influenced by the highest appraisal figure alone. It's important to consider all of the figures carefully, but proceed with an agent that you feel is telling it to you straight. An overpriced property can languish on the market for years and leave possible buyers wondering what's wrong with it.

Fortunately today the world of real estate has evolved and technology makes it easier than ever before to get your own informed opinion of value before even meeting with an estate agent. Sellers and buyers are more educated to price today than at any point in history.

A sworn valuation is different in that it is a legally binding report that costs money. It's a formal report written by independent valuers who has been professionally trained. They differ from market appraisals which look at how a property might sell in the future, valuations look back on past sales only to determine a figure. For this reason they are often more conservative which is a much safer option for the banks and lenders that use them.

WHY IT MAKES SENSE TO GET A FREE MARKET APPRAISAL

It's a free, non-committal way to find out where you stand when thinking of selling your home. There's no pressure to go though with the sale, but it can give you a very clear indication of where your property sits in the local market in terms of value. So it's worth doing if you are entertaining the idea of selling up. You can also take the opportunity to tap into your agent's technology expertise and find out how they can harness data to work out how they would take your home to market.

WHAT DOES THE INVERLOCH MARKET LOOK LIKE RIGHT NOW?

While an appraisal will give you a good idea of the market value of your home, it can also help you understand trends and stats that are shaping the market you will be selling in.

So what's happening right now in Inverloch? Along with the rest of Australia 2019 has seen the market cool a little, Inverloch is still experiencing entry and mid level stock shortages which seem to be holding prices firm. The slowing market does present a good opportunity for those seeking to upsize and looking for a 2019 move. The gap between your current home and new home could be smaller than before, so it's easier to make the leap.

The median price in Inverloch is sitting at $595,000 currently, which is a 37.5% increase from three years ago, with the largest volume of sales taking place in the $600,000 - $700,000 sector. If you bought your home or holiday home in Inverloch in the last 10 years, now is the time to get an appraisal to see how much you could sell for in 2019.