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Straight Answers · Refinancing
Can my broker get valuations from a few different banks so we can just pick the highest one?
Bayley Clarke · Mortgage broker on the road · Last checked 11 November 2026 · 3 min read
The short answer
Yes, absolutely. A property is worth what someone's willing to pay for it, but a valuation is also in the eyes of the person inspecting it. One valuer might put your place at $1m, another at $1.1m.
If you're refinancing, taking a guarantor off, pulling money out or buying another property, and the whole thing is relying on that valuation, then finding the highest result is in your best interest. Sifting through those valuation reports is part of the work I do.
The 60 second version, filmed from the driver's seat. The rest of this page is the detail underneath it.
Why valuations differ
Valuers aren't machines. They look at recent sales nearby, the condition of the home, the land, the improvements, and then they make a call. Two valuers can look at the same comparable sales and land in different places, and a $100k gap on a million-dollar home isn't unusual.
Valuations also come in different forms. Some are desktop reports done on a computer from sales data and records. Others are a valuer walking through the house. If you've done a lot of work on the home and the online reports don't reflect it, an in-person inspection can make a real difference.
How shopping valuations actually works
A valuation is ordered by a lender, for that lender. So when I check valuations across a few lenders, each result belongs to the lender that ordered it. Picking the highest one means going with that lender for the loan, rather than taking its number to a different bank.
That's why shopping valuations goes hand in hand with shopping everything else. The lender with the best valuation also has to have a rate, fees and policy that suit you. Most of the time it lines up. When it doesn't, we weigh up whether the extra value is worth more than the difference elsewhere, and it has to be the right call for you overall.
When it really matters
The valuation decides your loan to value ratio, the LVR, and that decides a lot. It can be the difference between paying lenders mortgage insurance or not, getting a guarantor released or not, how much equity you can access, and which rate tier you land in.
So if a deal is sitting right on a line, like just over 80%, a higher valuation from a different lender can change the whole outcome. That's when it's worth the effort of checking more than one.
The honest bit: you can't make the number up
Shopping around finds the best honest opinion of your property's value. It can't create value that isn't there. If every valuer comes in lower than you hoped, that's the market telling you something, and valuations can come in under what you expected.
What I can do is make sure we're not stuck with the first, lowest number when a better one is available.
Is your plan riding on a valuation?
A 30 minute call. We look at what you're trying to do, where the LVR lines sit, and whether checking a few lenders' valuations is worth it.
No cost to you. The bank pays me when a loan settles. · How I get paid
Next question
The bank valued it lower than what I paid. What happens?Banks lend on the lower of price or valuation, so a short valuation means a bigger deposit.
Related answers
The full guide: Refinancing with a broker The full guide: Bank valuations, explained Will the bank send a valuer to the place I'm buying, or just do an online report? How much of my equity can I actually use to fund the next property? Can I refinance if my value dropped or my LVR is over 80%? What's an LVR tier, and can I get revalued to drop into a lower one?Not your question? Book a call and ask it, or call 0437 189 939.