# How to value a property: a guide to estimating its value

> Methods and factors for estimating a home's market value, from location to energy rating.

Source: https://immobilscan.it/en/guides/how-to-value-property · By the ImmobilScan editorial team · Published June 2, 2026, updated October 25, 2026

## In short

Valuing a property means estimating the most likely price at which it would sell today, under normal conditions, between independent parties. For a home, start with the commercial area and a value per square meter derived by comparing similar properties, using the Revenue Agency's OMI values as an official reference. Then adjust for floor, condition, energy rating and exposure. An honest automatic estimate gives a range, for example €201,000–€210,000. A mortgage, inheritance division or court requires an appraisal by a qualified professional.

## What does valuing a property mean?

Valuing a property means estimating its market value: the most likely price at which it could sell under normal market conditions, within a reasonable time and between independent parties. It is not an exact number but an estimate with a margin of uncertainty.

That is why a sound automatic valuation always gives a confidence interval and an indication of reliability, rather than a single value presented as certain. An appraisal by a professional instead arrives at a single value, justified step by step.

The formal definition comes from the International Valuation Standards (IVS), reflected in EU Regulation 575/2013 on bank requirements and the ABI guidelines for valuing property securing loans. Market value is the estimated amount for which a property would sell on the valuation date between a willing seller and buyer after adequate marketing. Both parties must be informed, prudent and acting without compulsion. In practice: no rushed sales, no relatives, and no buyer so enamored that they will pay any price.

For mortgages, since 2025 banks have used the more prudent “property value” alongside market value, introduced by EU Regulation 2024/1623. The ABI guidelines are in their fifth edition, signed December 6, 2024, incorporating these rules.

## Main valuation methods

There are several approaches to valuation, often combined to make the result more reliable.

- Market approach: compares the property with sale prices or listings for similar properties in the same area.
- OMI values: not a separate method, but the official starting reference for comparison, with values per square meter published by the Revenue Agency by area and property type.
- Income approach: estimates value from rental income, useful for income-producing properties.
- Cost approach: land value plus reconstruction cost, reduced for age and obsolescence, used for special properties.

Valuation standards recognize three approaches: market, income and cost. They are the same in the IVS, Tecnoborsa's Codice delle valutazioni immobiliari, UNI 11612:2015 on estimating market value and the ABI guidelines.

For a home, market comparison is the main method and is applied in two ways. The simplified comparative method uses one parameter, price per square meter, multiplied by commercial area. The Market Comparison Approach (MCA) instead starts with actual sale prices and adjusts them for each difference from the property being valued: area, floor, condition and accessory spaces. This is the procedure referenced by the ABI guidelines for mortgage appraisals and requires actual prices taken from deeds.

In both cases, listings must be used carefully. They are asking prices, not sale prices, and in areas with few transactions comparables are scarce or distant. It helps to cross-check them against OMI, an official but slow reference updated every six months.

The income approach makes sense for a rented store or a property intended to generate income: net rent of €9,000 a year at an expected yield of 5% suggests a value around €180,000. The cost approach is used for industrial buildings, special properties or properties under construction, where comparables are lacking. Depreciation for age and obsolescence is deducted from reconstruction cost, then land value is added.

## Factors affecting value

A property's value depends on many variables beyond area alone. Overlooking some produces unrealistic estimates.

- Location and micro-area: values differ greatly between neighborhoods in the same city and even between adjacent streets.
- Commercial area and layout.
- Floor, elevator and exposure.
- Condition and need for renovation.
- Energy rating and systems.
- Accessory spaces (garage, cellar, terrace) and outlook.

Two factors are easily overlooked. The first is zoning and cadastral compliance. An enclosed veranda without authorization or a floor plan that does not match the property slows a sale and costs money to regularize or update the cadastral records. The second is context: services within walking distance, noise, parking and building quality. Two identical apartments in two buildings on the same block can have different values because of the condition of their common areas.

## How to calculate commercial area

Value per square meter is applied to commercial area, which is larger than usable floor area. Add the area of the main rooms, including walls, and a proportion of ancillary areas. A common reference is Annex C of D.P.R. 138/1998, the cadastral area criterion. The OMI database manual also refers to it:

| Area | Proportion counted |
|---|---|
| Main rooms and directly connected ancillary rooms (bathrooms, corridors, entrances) | 100% |
| Internal and external walls (up to 50 cm thick) | 100% |
| Walls shared with other units (up to 25 cm) | 50% |
| Balconies and terraces connected to the home | 30% up to 25 m², 10% above |
| Unconnected balconies and terraces | 15% up to 25 m², 5% above |
| Connected cellars and attics | 50% |
| Unconnected cellars and attics | 25% |
| Garden or exclusive open area | 10% up to the area of the main rooms, 2% above |

Balconies, cellars and open areas combined cannot exceed half the area of the main rooms. Rooms less than 1.50 m high do not count.

Many agents still use coefficients from the old UNI 10750 standard, withdrawn in 2011. Its replacement, UNI EN 15733, concerns requirements for real estate agency services. Whatever criterion you use, apply it consistently to the property and comparables. Garages and parking spaces are valued separately: OMI has a separate row for garages, with values in €/m².

For example: 82 m² of living space including walls, an 8 m² balcony and a 10 m² unconnected cellar. Commercial area = 82 + 8 × 0.30 + 10 × 0.25 = 82 + 2.4 + 2.5 = 86.9 m², rounded to 87.

## A step-by-step valuation example

An apartment with 87 m² of commercial area, on the second floor with an elevator, in good condition, energy rating E. Take Bari, zone C3 (semi-central area): in the second half of 2025 OMI values for standard homes in normal condition ranged from €2,050 to €2,700/m² (source: Agenzia delle Entrate – OMI). The listings and adjustments are illustrative.

1. **Position in the OMI range.** The property has no special defects or advantages: place it in the middle, at €2,375/m², or about €206,600.
2. **Market comparison.** Three similar listings in the same area ask an average of €2,650/m². These are asking prices. According to the Bank of Italy's housing market survey, in the second quarter of 2026 the average discount on the initial asking price was 7% (5% in the Northeast, 9% in the South and Islands). Bari is in the South: a 9% discount brings the listings to about €2,410/m², or €209,700.
3. **Adjustments.** Energy rating E and windows needing replacement: a small downward adjustment. The floor with elevator and exposure are average for the area: no adjustment.
4. **Result.** The two approaches give about €206,600 and €209,700. With the adjustment, a reasonable estimate is between €201,000 and €210,000, with a central value around €205,000.

This is a simplified comparative valuation. With distant or very different listings, you would give OMI more weight and widen the range. How to read and use the values is explained in [OMI property values](https://immobilscan.it/en/guides/omi-property-values-explained).

## The role of OMI values

OMI values from the Revenue Agency's Real Estate Market Observatory (Osservatorio del Mercato Immobiliare) provide minimum and maximum values per square meter for each homogeneous area and property type. They are a free, official starting point, but express a broad range that must be applied to the individual property.

The Agency itself warns that the values are broad indications and do not replace a professional's specific appraisal. They are published every six months (the latest published half-year is the first half of 2026). For each type they indicate the condition prevalent in the area: a recently renovated property falls toward the top, one needing renovation toward the bottom or even below it. The area to which values refer, gross or net, is specified for each row.

ImmobilScan's valuation starts with the area's OMI values and applies property-specific factors (condition, floor, energy rating and more). It then compares them with prices of similar local listings, adjusted downward because they are asking prices. Listings carry more weight when numerous and similar to the property, and less when few or different. The result is a value range with a reliability indicator. Valuation is available to account holders; the method is described in [methodology and data sources](https://immobilscan.it/en/methodology), and can be requested from [property valuation](https://immobilscan.it/en/property-valuation).

## Market value, cadastral value and asking price

Three different figures that are often confused:

- **Market value**: what the property would sell for today. This is what a valuation estimates.
- **Cadastral value**: a tax value, calculated by increasing the cadastral income by 5% and multiplying it by a coefficient depending on category (110 for a primary residence, 120 for other homes). It is used to calculate certain taxes and is generally much lower than market value.
- **Asking price**: the listing price. It includes room for negotiation and sometimes the seller's expectations.

A property with cadastral income of €800 has a cadastral value, for primary residence registration tax, of 800 × 1.05 × 110 = €92,400, even if its market value is €200,000.

## Valuing a property at auction

For an auction property, the market valuation is the same, but the question becomes how much you can bid. Deduct work, taxes, expenses payable by the winning bidder (aggiudicatario) and unpaid condominium fees (spese condominiali) from market value. Also consider that you buy without a warranty against defects, with strict deadlines and sometimes an occupied property. After several failed auctions the starting price (prezzo base) moves away from the value. The correct comparison is explained in [auction starting price and market value](https://immobilscan.it/en/guides/auction-base-price-vs-market-value), and the purchase steps in the [practical buying guide](https://immobilscan.it/en/guides/guide-buying-at-judicial-auction). Search active auctions free in [auction search](https://immobilscan.it/en/auction-search).

## Automatic valuation and appraisal: when they are needed

An automatic online valuation is fast, inexpensive and ideal for orientation: understanding an order of magnitude, comparing properties or assessing an asking price or auction starting price.

An appraisal by a qualified professional remains necessary when a reasoned and signed value is needed for use with third parties: for a mortgage application, inheritance division or dispute. For the inheritance tax return (dichiarazione di successione) on buildings, however, cadastral value is generally used. The two tools complement each other.

The difference is substantive too. The professional sees and measures the property, checks zoning and cadastral compliance and takes responsibility by signing; an automatic estimate works from the data you provide and area data. If you declare “good condition” for a house with electrical wiring from the 1970s, the estimate will be optimistic.

## Legal references and standards

- [D.P.R. March 23, 1998, no. 138, Annex C](https://www.normattiva.it/uri-res/N2Ls?urn:nir:presidente.repubblica:decreto:1998-03-23;138): cadastral area criteria.
- EU Regulation 575/2013 (art. 4, definition of market value) and EU Regulation 2024/1623 (property value for collateral).
- ABI guidelines for valuing property securing credit exposures, fifth edition (December 6, 2024).
- [UNI 11612:2015](https://store.uni.com/uni-11612-2015), estimation of property market value; [UNI 10750:2005](https://store.uni.com/uni-10750-2005), withdrawn January 20, 2011.
- Agenzia delle Entrate: [OMI property values](https://www.agenziaentrate.gov.it/portale/schede/fabbricatiterreni/omi/banche-dati/quotazioni-immobiliari) and [home purchase taxes](https://www.agenziaentrate.gov.it/portale/acquisto-di-una-casa-le-imposte) (cadastral value).
- Banca d'Italia, [Housing market survey, second quarter 2026](https://www.bancaditalia.it/pubblicazioni/sondaggio-abitazioni/2026-sondaggio-abitazioni/02/index.html).

## Frequently asked questions

### What is the most reliable way to value a home?

Combine OMI values with property-specific factors and comparisons with similar properties in the same area. A sound automatic estimate gives a value range, while an appraisal reaches a reasoned single value. The closer and more similar the comparables, the narrower the range.

### Does an online valuation replace an appraisal?

No. An automatic valuation is excellent for quick orientation, but legal or banking purposes require an appraisal signed by a qualified professional.

### Why can two valuations of the same property differ?

They use different data and assumptions about the area, condition and features, and different comparables. That is why a transparent method and a confidence interval matter.

### How is a home's value per square meter calculated?

Divide its estimated value by its commercial area, which includes walls and a share of balconies, terraces and cellars. To estimate a home, do the reverse: multiply commercial area by a value per square meter chosen within the local OMI range and compared with similar properties.

### Is cadastral value the same as market value?

No. Cadastral value is a tax value calculated from cadastral income using fixed coefficients and is used for certain taxes. It is generally much lower than market value and does not say what the property would sell for.

### How accurate is an automatic valuation?

It depends on the data: in an area with many sales and similar properties the range is narrow; in a small municipality or for an unusual property it is wider. If a valuation does not state a range or reliability level, the uncertainty still exists: you simply cannot see it.

Law verified on October 24, 2026.