Quick Q about house price vs surveyors valuation...

Mutton_Geoff

An honest Agent will give you the most accurate valuation as they have their fingers on the pulse more. Finding one may be more difficult.

I have marketed two properties in the last year in different parts of the country. In each case I invited five agents round for a good comparison and my experience of ten estate agents (with two appointed) does not match with your opinion that they give accurate valuations or have their "finger on the pulse".

icebergx

Mutton_Geoff wrote: »

I have marketed two properties in the last year in different parts of the country. In each case I invited five agents round for a good comparison and my experience of ten estate agents (with two appointed) does not match with your opinion that they give accurate valuations or have their "finger on the pulse".

They know what properties are selling for. The only reason they would over inflate their valuation is to use your own desire to get the highest price/greed against you. When/if they get offers at the current market value or below, they will try to convince you to accept them. I agree this is misleading and that's why I said 'honest agent'.

I know exactly what properties are selling for in my area as I have sold about 20 in the last 3 months. Right now, price is king and anyone not willing to to sell at mkt value or even slightly below mkt value will be in for a long, long wait.
You need to look at up to date 'sold prices' and hope everything goes through fine.

jamtart6

Mutton_Geoff wrote: »

An honest Agent.....

Err.. where can I find one of those please?! Don't get me started on that!

Thanks for the info folks. This original question was a hypothetical one, but I will be interested to see what our surveyor comes back with. I think the marketed value is more than realistic (read Bargain!)

Mutton_Geoff

They know what properties are selling for

So do I, albeit a little later due to the speed of Land Registry data.

The only reason they would over inflate their valuation is to use your own desire to get the highest price/greed against you.

So tell me why 4 out of 5 agents (a cross section of nationals to local independent) would tell me a place was worth £250k when it sold at £201k? I'm not greedy, I asked for a suitable marketing price to sell.

When/if they get offers at the current market value or below, they will try to convince you to accept them.

This is not my experience. I make my own decisions whether to accept offers. What is "current market value".

I agree this is misleading and that's why I said 'honest agent'.

So how do I find an "honest" agent? I don't believe they actually exist. It is one of the few business models to claim to represent the vendor when in fact they really only act for themselves.

I know exactly what properties are selling for in my area as I have sold about 20 in the last 3 months.

Really. 20 in 3 months. Can you prove that? I would be very interested in this.

Right now, price is king and anyone not willing to to sell at mkt value or even slightly below mkt value will be in for a long, long wait.

The house I'm currently selling is the cheapest in the road by 20% and fully decorated, floored, serviced, polished, double glazed etc. It's priced to sell but there are simply no buyers (East Midlands) at the moment. Houses in my road have had For Sale boards displayed for over a year. And you sold 20?

You need to look at up to date 'sold prices' and hope everything goes through fine.

If you've sold 20 places in 3 months, I think you must operate differently than looking up sold prices and "hoping everything goes through fine".

mumps

I think the picture must vary across the country. A colleague put his house up for sale last month, he had it valued but decided to try and sell it privately. He put a postcard up in a local shop and sold the house the following day for the full asking price. He has exchanged contracts and completes in a week or two. Only problem is he has nowhere to live.

icebergx

Mutton_Geoff wrote: »

So tell me why 4 out of 5 agents (a cross section of nationals to local independent) would tell me a place was worth £250k when it sold at £201k? I'm not greedy, I asked for a suitable marketing price to sell.

They're also competing for your business. They want the property 'on' with them and they want to sell it so that they can make the commission. The majority of agents still put normal properties on the market at way too much money. Repo prices are a better (if not foolproof) way of judging the current mkt value. Also, how long was it on the mkt before it sold? It may have achieved closser to £250k when you first had the property valued.

This is not my experience. I make my own decisions whether to accept offers. What is "current market value".

I'm sure you do but they probably will try to convince you to take a "current mkt value" offer. Why wouldn't they? Do they think that they will achieve above current mkt value? If you won't accept a mkt value offer, ate Agent is wasting their time, money and resources in marketing your property. The branch I work in has walked away for properties if Vendors aren't going to be realistic about the price they want to achieve.
"Current mkt value" is the price that buyer are likely to pay for a particular property, right now. A good indicator is what similar properties in the same are have sold for in the last month.


So how do I find an "honest" agent? I don't believe they actually exist. It is one of the few business models to claim to represent the vendor when in fact they really only act for themselves.

Friends, family, recomendations? If you've got a good relationship with an agent that's the best indicator.
Agents haven't got the best reputation but vendors and buyers can be equally bad. 1 year as an Agent has given me an insight in to how messy the whole process is, and how inconsiderate people can be towards each other.

Really. 20 in 3 months. Can you prove that? I would be very interested in this.

PM me and I'll send you links to the properties I have sold. Like I said, price is king. People will still buy if the property is cheap enough.

The house I'm currently selling is the cheapest in the road by 20% and fully decorated, floored, serviced, polished, double glazed etc. It's priced to sell but there are simply no buyers (East Midlands) at the moment. Houses in my road have had For Sale boards displayed for over a year. And you sold 20?

I have no need to show off on some internet forum. I'm only illustrating the fact that price is of paramount importance. I'm sorry your property isn't selling but the price is probably still too high. Granted, London (where I work) will always have stronger demand. Ask yourself, if you reduced your your price by another 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, would you get more interest? If the answer is yes the price is too high for the few buyers that are out there. If not, maybe there really aren't any buyers where you are.

If you've sold 20 places in 3 months, I think you must operate differently than looking up sold prices and "hoping everything goes through fine".

I was talking about vendors to get help them get a better idea of current mkt value. Once a sale is agreed, any number of things can go wrong (as many treads on here will attest to)

At the end of the day, anybody who doesn't agree with me, believe me or find my advice useful, that's fine. I'm here to offer what value I can.

Mutton_Geoff

At the end of the day, anybody who doesn't agree with me, believe me or find my advice useful, that's fine. I'm here to offer what value I can.

I do, don't get me wrong, I am very impressed, didn't say I didn't believe you at all.

In the current market to sell 20 properties is outstanding for an agent (my agent is selling fewer than half that amount at the moment), for an individual it is exceptional (and worthy of the national press imho) so whether you operate as an agent or individual I wondered what were the secrets to your success in the current market?

Normally I would say it is price, but price alone is simply not bringing buyers through the door at the moment. All my viewings for what is essentially a first time buyers home, are from professionals or speculators. There are simply no first time buyers looking at the moment.

I, and I am sure many on this forum, would love to know the technique for selling 20 properties in the last three months, the worst three months in my 30 years experience of buying and selling property in the UK.

jamtart6

I am a FTB and we have been looking for the right property for months Hopefully finally found it, and the thing that sold it to us was value for money in the area etc. so price is probably key, as is having a decent deposit as lower rates on mortgages

icebergx

Mutton_Geoff wrote: »

In the current market to sell 20 properties is outstanding for an agent (my agent is selling fewer than half that amount at the moment), for an individual it is exceptional (and worthy of the national press imho)

LOL I'm not sure my ugly mug wouldn't look that great splashed across The Sun but thanks for you kind words.

I work for a company that operate from brances in East London and out into Essex.
I think London will always be a different market due to the mix of investors, strong rental market, people moving to the capital for work, etc. As a result, I think there'll always some demand.
In my area, there's a high demand for ex LA Maisonettes, Especially those near tube stations. To give you an idea of sold prices compared to a year ago, A 3 bed near my office would have sold for £270-£280k. I recently sold one for £225k and one slightly furthe away for £215k. A few months ago, a first time investor who treated an old couple like sh*t managed to buy one for £200k. He's getting about £1600p/m rent now.

I'm not an expert in sales, in fact I've only been in the industry for a year. The main thing we try to do is identify the most motivated buyers and sellers and try to match them up. Easier said then done but it still works.

If anyone needs info on any comparables, give me a shout. I have access to rightmove plus so can identify what types of properties are achieving what prices.