Who's right estate agents or internet price guides?

murphydog999

Two houses I like the look of, one is on at £516K - valued on Zoopla (yes I know....pinch of salt!) @ £384 and findaproperty @ £388.

The other is on at £535 and the 2 sites quote £334 and £460!

What do you do with that sort of info then? Obviously the EA is taking the **** but they must be using some rule of thumb? They are both individual country-type houses, so no real precedence to go by either!

Itismehonest

That's the problem.

The online sites work by postcode but, in many areas, the postcode covers a wide & diverse area. So, while a few more expensive properties will slightly raise the average, the far greater number of cheaper properties lower the average as far as the larger places are concerned.
How do you average out flats & 2 up 2 downs with 5+bed detached country properties with acres of land?

So, the EA's who should be valuing by comparison to property prices in the immediate area will usually be closer than any online site. That's not to say that they don't also overprice, though.

Burridge60

As a mortgage advisor I have access to price change guides the most well known of which are Halifax and Nationwide.

Have a chat with someone who has access to them and the sold prices on the larger property display sites and see what the area change might have done to the prices previously paid.

If the property is very unique then it will be difficult to price any way and invitations to treat at a "toppy" price might still get interest as you are clearly interested but not at the price!

firsttimetom

The problem a lot of EA's have at the moment is that there are few properties coming onto the market so they tend to have to overvalue the properties to get them on their books.

Additionally many sellers have put holidays, new cars and lavish lifestyles onto the mortgage so 'need' to achieve a certain figure to pay off their debts (i.e. they want you to fund it), and due to it being a buyers market will over price it anyway, as they expect to be beaten down.

Of course, Internet estimations are exactly that, and I find them to really vary. If I were you I would look at what the house sold for previously and more recent sales on the street, and try and gauge an estimation. House prices haven't really changed in the last 6 years or so, so don't offer any more than a neighbour may have paid in that timeframe (assuming the houses are roughly equal.

murphydog999

Burridge60 wrote: »

Have a chat with someone who has access to them and the sold prices on the larger property display sites and see what the area change might have done to the prices previously paid.

Problem is most of what I'm looking at hasn't been sold in the last 10 years.

Itismehonest

murphydog999 wrote: »

Problem is most of what I'm looking at hasn't been sold in the last 10 years.

Exactly. The same applies where I live. If I put my postcode in I get one sale in 1998 ...... & that wasn't for my place.
The online sites are neither use nor ornament if you are dealing with this sort of area.

murphydog999

Itismehonest wrote: »

Exactly. The same applies where I live. If I put my postcode in I get one sale in 1998 ...... & that wasn't for my place.
The online sites are neither use nor ornament if you are dealing with this sort of area.

The one that is £516K was last sold in 2000 for £190K. There is no mention of the house being extended, and (in my opinion) it needs an update. It's on a big plot with a great garden, onto open countryside, but a £300K increase???

Itismehonest

murphydog999 wrote: »

The one that is £516K was last sold in 2000 for £190K. There is no mention of the house being extended, and (in my opinion) it needs an update. It's on a big plot with a great garden, onto open countryside, but a £300K increase???

That does seem steep but they may have bought a wreck & done it up.
It also depends on the area. Some areas have always been pricey, others have become more desirable so prices have increased because of this.
When you are talking about areas where no 2 houses are alike, it really is down to local knowledge.
An earlier poster (Burridge60) had a suggestion which would be worth pursuing.

EchoLocation

firsttimetom wrote: »

The problem a lot of EA's have at the moment is that there are few properties coming onto the market so they tend to have to overvalue the properties to get them on their books.

Yep, I have had more than one EA basically agree with this when I've put it to them.

firsttimetom wrote: »

Of course, Internet estimations are exactly that, and I find them to really vary. If I were you I would look at what the house sold for previously and more recent sales on the street, and try and gauge an estimation. House prices haven't really changed in the last 6 years or so, so don't offer any more than a neighbour may have paid in that timeframe (assuming the houses are roughly equal.

This is the best advice really. Look at sold prices in the area and judge any offer you make by that and how the local market is moving.

terrierlady

another slight snag is a property which sold say 3 years ago when it required complete renovation is now priced at what ? the internet sites dont know what extent or work involved so who is right ?

sirmosh

EA is usually to high Zoopla is usually completely unrelated. At the end of the day it depends entirely on how much interest the property gets, what similar properties in the same area are selling for and a bit of luck too. If someone with money to burn comes along and loves the house it might go for more than a lot of people will pay but if everyone who is interested puts in low offers it may bring the vendor down.