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Do I pay for the bank valuation?
Bayley Clarke · Mortgage broker on the road · Last checked 3 September 2026 · 2 min read
The short answer
Typically, no. The banks pay for it because you're going to be a customer of theirs, so they wear the cost.
Some valuations you do pay for: very large properties, very rural, acreage, farm-style, where a valuer has to travel. And some banks pass the cost on as standard. In four years of running my business I haven't had a client pay for one.
The one minute version. The rest of this page is the detail underneath it.
Who pays, and when it changes
The banks pay for the valuation because you're about to become their customer, so they wear the cost. It's part of what they spend to win the loan, the same way they pay my commission instead of you paying a fee.
Some valuations you do need to pay for. That's more so your very large properties, very rural, acreage, farm-style. A valuer driving three hours to walk a 200 acre block is a different job from a desktop check on a suburban house, and the fee reflects it. And some banks simply pass the valuation cost on to you as a standard fee, which is one of the things I weigh up when comparing lenders.
Why free valuations are the useful part
In my experience, in the last four years of running my business, I have not had a client pay for a valuation. Which is great, because it means we can do them up front and know the exact figures before we look to apply for a home loan.
That's the real value. On a refinance, ordering valuations with two or three lenders before applying tells us which bank values your place highest, and that can be the difference between a loan under 80% with no LMI and one over it. On a purchase, an up-front valuation tells us whether the bank agrees with the price before you're locked in. The bank valuation versus agent appraisal page covers why the bank's number is the one that counts.
The honest bit: a valuation isn't an approval
A valuation tells us what the bank thinks the property is worth. It doesn't tell us whether the bank will lend you the money. Income, debts and the credit file still have to pass, and a strong valuation on a loan that doesn't service isn't worth much.
It's step one of the numbers, not the numbers.
Want to know what the bank thinks your place is worth?
A 30 minute call. I order up-front valuations with the lenders that fit your situation, at no cost to you, and we work from the real figure instead of a guess.
No cost to you. The bank pays me when a loan settles. ยท How I get paid
Next question
What does it actually cost me to sell a property?The valuation tells you what it's worth. This is what it costs to turn that into cash.
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