Estate Agent Valuations

ManuelG

I'm in a murky world...

Have had five estate agents out to value my house this week. Four of them all ended up in a similar ballpark (around £225k). I thought this was too much for the house myself, but once I had four of them kind of agree, I was coming round to it.

The last one (and it would be the last one!) threw a curveball however, with a valuation £45k under that... along with warnings to not be tempted by agents overvaluing to get my business. I hear this warning loud and clear! But surely four of them wouldn't overvalue by *that* much? It's a big gap between them!

Am I overreading things into the valuations, and should I just go with whoever of the higher ones I preferred? I'm even wondering if the last has undervalued because they don't want my business! One of the others wanted to do offers over at a high price, and I'd be happier if they lowered the price by about £15k and still did offers over. Surely it would still end up right if I *am* being overly pessimistic on the price?!?

caprikid1

What do the comparable properties for sale and sold figures tell you ?.

Not being funny but £45K is massive on that value of property. Did he work for a house buying company previously ?

Most people get surprised by their property getting valued more as often there is so much lag in the figures getting reported.

RelievedSheff

Have a look at what comparable properties have sold for in the area and base your asking price on that.

Which of the agents sells the most of your style property in your area?

ManuelG

RelievedSheff said:

Have a look at what comparable properties have sold for in the area and base your asking price on that.

Which of the agents sells the most of your style property in your area?

Comparable is difficult for us all as, in the area, the third last comparable property to sell was, well... mine(!) eight years ago. There's nothing exciting about it, it's just a simple two up two down, but there aren't many where I live - we're the token two beds to justify the estate being built . You can spread out to surrounding areas for a comparison but mine is a desirable area, with a more worn house - it gives and takes. All the estate agents have acknowledged a certain amount of guesswork.

All bar one of the agents I invited for valuations are the ones that sell in the area (for clarity, that exception is not the one with the lowball valuation!).

eddddy

ManuelG said:

...but there aren't many where I live - we're the token two beds to justify the estate being built 

So yours is the only small house, perhaps on nice, prestigious estate?

So maybe the estate agents see the situation like this...

• Profile 1) If there's a buyer who really likes the estate and wants to live on it - but they can only afford 2 bedrooms - your house will be their only option. So they might be prepared to pay £225k

• Profile 2) But for buyers who want 2 bedrooms and are happy to live anywhere within, say, a 10 mile radius - they will be comparing your house to others in their search radius costing £180k

If that's the case, it depends whether you're lucky and a buyer fitting 'Profile 1' happens to be looking for a property when yours goes on the market.

diystarter7

Hi

When we have asked EA's out we seek three valuations
High, sensible, and low

Works for us

Its easier to get a vlaue if there are many houses on that, next raod, same sizes gardens, views etc but roads like where we love where we have quite a few types/desing of property its harder to value and often people will pay more than even the higher price if they really want to move there and a sale rarely comes up

Thanks

gwynlas

In order to pick one of the three you need to choose the one who you think will make most effort to sell your house. Many EAs write very basic adverts and take mediocre pictures. Others write adverts tailored to the individual house and advise on staging your house for sale. If your estate is particularly desirable they will emphasise this as well as other features. The one with the lowest valuation probably earms their money from volume of sales, good from their point of view but not necessarily yours

MikeJXE

ManuelG said:

I'm in a murky world...

Have had five estate agents out to value my house this week. Four of them all ended up in a similar ballpark (around £225k). I thought this was too much for the house myself, but once I had four of them kind of agree, I was coming round to it.

The last one (and it would be the last one!) threw a curveball however, with a valuation £45k under that... along with warnings to not be tempted by agents overvaluing to get my business. I hear this warning loud and clear! But surely four of them wouldn't overvalue by *that* much? It's a big gap between them!

Am I overreading things into the valuations, and should I just go with whoever of the higher ones I preferred? I'm even wondering if the last has undervalued because they don't want my business! One of the others wanted to do offers over at a high price, and I'd be happier if they lowered the price by about £15k and still did offers over. Surely it would still end up right if I *am* being overly pessimistic on the price?!?

I was in the building trade for many years plus I have moved 10 times, each time selling fairly quickly

Always had 3 or 4 agents to give me their thoughts

Being well experienced I went with my gut feeling which was mostly under but near EA estimates. 

Don't take the lowest or the highest follow your gut but also checkout the performance of the EA 

mi-key

If three of them are saying roughly the same price then that is most  likely what it is worth. If you list at that at least you have the option to reduce it if needed. Perhaps the agent who gave the low price has someone lined up who is desperately looking for a house like yours and wants a quick sale, or has a friend looking for one ( wouldn't be the first time this has happened ! )

lookstraightahead

In a village I used to live in years ago, one had a reputation of over valuing to win business, and would then bring the price down as time went by. The others used to moan but eventually started doing the same thing.

Remember for those requiring a mortgage, the lender is the valuer, not the estate agent. The EA has a different set of needs from you or the lender. So even if you did get a higher price, it will depend on a whole lot of other factors such as buyers position etc.

Personally with that info I would choose my favourite EA and decide yourself what you think you would like to market it at. Maybe somewhere in the middle? You don't have to choose their valuations, btw, you can choose your own.

user1977

ManuelG said:

RelievedSheff said:

Have a look at what comparable properties have sold for in the area and base your asking price on that.

Which of the agents sells the most of your style property in your area?

Comparable is difficult for us all as, in the area, the third last comparable property to sell was, well... mine(!) eight years ago. There's nothing exciting about it, it's just a simple two up two down, but there aren't many where I live - we're the token two beds to justify the estate being built . You can spread out to surrounding areas for a comparison but mine is a desirable area, with a more worn house - it gives and takes. All the estate agents have acknowledged a certain amount of guesswork.

But have any of the agents provided any sort of methodology behind their figures? You can use different types of properties as comparables, you just need to make allowance for different size/rooms etc (and add extra margin for error).