One way to do this is to determine the market value of the property. A simple way to do this is to look at other comparable homes in the same neighborhood and see what prices they have been sold recently. The Internet or real estate agents are effective and efficient resources for this purpose, and will most likely come at no cost to you.

Another way to find the value of your property is to find its appraised value. To do this you need to pay for the help of a trained and licensed professional. They will take into account a variety of factors, including the home’s square footage, construction quality, floor plan, design, surrounding neighborhood, proximity to important services and locations, as well as the landscaping, among other factors. An appraiser will usually cost anywhere between $200 and $300.

An appraiser can also tell you the replacement value of the property. This is how much an appraiser estimates it will cost to build a similar house on an unoccupied lot. The appraiser will take the age of the home into account to make a better estimate with deterioration and depreciation in mind.

One important thing to note is that a home’s estimated value is not the same as its worth. A home’s estimated value is defined by one of the methods listed above, while its worth is eventually established by what potential buyers are willing to pay for it.

Nationwide predicts that house prices in Scotland and Northern Ireland are set to become increasingly dislocated from trends in England and Wales, as the countries have witnessed far faster house price growth over the year, increasing the need for larger mortgages.

House prices in Northern Ireland rose five times faster than the UK average for the past 12 months, while the last quarter saw house price inflation in Northern Ireland outpace the UK average ten fold. Scotland has also seen house price growth above the UK average.

The Northern Irish and Scottish housing markets are booming and, like their governments, have become increasingly devolved from the UK, concluded Fionnuala Earley, Nationwide’s group economist.

Meanwhile, within England, the south has resumed its position as the focus of house price growth.

House price inflation in the south of England has now outpaced the north for the third successive quarter. This follows an extended period when the south lagged behind as buyers appeared to reach the limits of affordability.

London is also once again the city with the fastest house price growth, with inflation dampening in northern cities. Nationwide reports that this is also having a knock-on effect on the areas surrounding the capital.

There is a clear pattern of acceleration in house price growth in the south in the regions closest to London, compared with last year. At the same time there is clear deceleration in all of the regions in the north, concluded Ms Earley.

According to Nationwide’s quarterly house price index, prices across the UK fell back sharply in the second quarter of the year from 2.2 per cent to 0.9 per cent. However, annual growth has remained stable.