Property valuations are needed for a number of reasons. In most cases, properties are valued at the date the valuation is performed. This is commonly known as a valuation at the current market value. There are, however, a number of reasons that a property owner may need a valuation performed at a specific date in the past, for example, it could be as per probate requirements or for individual taxation purposes (such as for Capital Gains Tax (CGT) or for a Self Managed Superfund (SMSF)). We call these types of valuations retrospective valuations and can also be referred to as a back-dated valuation.
The method that is used to calculate the value of a property at a date in the past is very similar to that of valuing a property at its current market value, however in most cases access to the property is no longer available due to the property being sold or changed ownership between the valuation date and the date the report is prepared, therefore we rely on information on the subject property that we can find through our relied upon tools as well as any information the client has provided. In most cases, the client is able to provide an accurate description of the property and its condition which can be relied upon to compare to other local sales at the time. We use a number of different tools available to us to find comparative properties sold within close proximity to the subject property at the date that is requested. We also look for market data surrounding the years and months of the valuation date, looking for historic events that may have caused fluctuations in property prices and the overall market at the time. We use these multiple sources of information, along with other data important to valuing a property in order to accurately value the property at the date required.