# estate agent valuations, peoples experiences



## goat (May 8, 2015)

So we've been talking about moving for a while, with that in mind we decided to get some estate agents around to value our flat and see what our budget would be for a next property. 

We've had two high street agents around and one from purple bricks to see how that compares with the obvious fee savings. The two high street agents were fairly similar with a valuation within 10-15K of each other. Purple bricks were significantly lower suggesting we would achieve a figure somewhere around £50K less than the other agents suggested. 

We told her what the other agents said and she thinks they are being unrealistic and just trying to tie us into 8 or 12 week sole selling contracts. 

In peoples experience as this will be the first time we have sold (we've owned the property for 14 years), how realistic are agents with valuations? I would have thought they know the market and its in their interest to get things sold fairly quickly but maybe I'm being naïve. We felt pretty good about the first two valuations as it looked like we might be able to get what we want and go mortgage free but this last valuation has confused us totally.


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## cossiecol (Jun 29, 2014)

Get a home report done, that will give you the estimated value.

or work out the average and go with the one closest to that.


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## DrEskimo (Jan 7, 2016)

Well my immediate thoughts are that estate agents would be more vested in getting a higher price as they will then get a bigger commission on the sale.

Similarly, if purple bricks are assessed more on the number of properties sold, rather than the amount, then they wont care if they undersell your house.

When I sold my flat couple of years ago we went with an estate agent with a low fee (0.75% IIRC). They put the price lower than we wanted to sell for, but I live in an area where the property tends to go for a good amount more than he asking price.

In the end we had two buyers enter into a bit of a bidding war and got more than we expected, so I was happy we decided to go with the estate agents as they likely created more 'buzz' than online only outfit might of done (I theorise...could be wrong!).

Not sure where you are, but down in the south east the market is a bit flat at the moment. A couple of years ago when we sold it was ridiculous, but it seems that a lot of uncertainty has calmed things done considerably.


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## goat (May 8, 2015)

Cheers folks. We're in East London, area has changed a lot with a good number of people moving to the area having been overpriced in nearby boroughs. We've tried looking at sold prices but there's not many in the immediate area of late. We think the middle valuation we had, seems realistic based on what other properties are being marketed for. We were surprised by the different information given. The high streets seemed confident that there were plenty of buyers and flats selling well. Purple bricks seemed to think that supply was outweighing demand and it was a buyers market.


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## Arvi (Apr 11, 2007)

High Street Corportates will give you higher valuations, sign you up to an agreement, and then a few weeks time tell you to drop the price if no interest, and then your stuck with them anyway - and potentially lost out on a few weeks worth of potential buyers.

The likes of Purple Bricks will want a quick sale, as there fees are lower.

Try a few recommended independent agents as well - you will get more of a personal touch depending on your agent who can be very helpful - corporate tend to do very little once a sale is agreed.

Also check Rightmoves sold prices to see what has sold recently in your area to give you a bit more information. Or this website if you know of an address that has sold :

http://landregistry.data.gov.uk/app/ppd


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## petemattw (Nov 3, 2008)

Regardless of which may or may not be accurate, consider your selling strategy. 

Whatever price you put it up for, you can only ever go down, not up! Likewise, if a buyer wants to negotiate down and you think that's reasonable then you can negotiate. 

If you go with significantly lower price and someone walks in pays the full price immediately you're going to be left thinking you under priced it and you've missed out. 

One to ponder me thinks!


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## DrEskimo (Jan 7, 2016)

petemattw said:


> Regardless of which may or may not be accurate, consider your selling strategy.
> 
> Whatever price you put it up for, you can only ever go down, not up! Likewise, if a buyer wants to negotiate down and you think that's reasonable then you can negotiate.
> 
> ...


Not necessarily, particularly in London.

As above, my flat went for a good deal over the asking price. Not uncommon to see houses marketed with 'Offers In Excess Of'.

But you are right on the strategy. Too low and you will get lower starting bids, too high and you won't get as many potential buyers in the door....


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## VIPER (May 30, 2007)

I've just sold with Purple Bricks, although eventually I had to come down a little from their original valuation to secure the sale. 

Before them I had 3 valuations from what we'd call 'high street / traditional' agents, one being quite a bit higher than the other two. Maybe stupidly I went with the one which had valued the highest (mainly because it's also what I genuinely believed the property was worth at the time), but after seeing out a fixed 20 week term with not a single viewing I binned them off and went with Purple Bricks at a figure which was pretty much the same as 2 of those 3 original 'high street' agents. 

My conclusion from this is that 3 of the 4 were all about correct in what I could achieve, and 1 was, as it transpired, way off. Doing it all again I'd place much more faith in the valuations that were all about the same and not be as naively optimistic to go with the highest. The consensus, then, is usually right.


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## RaceGlazer (Jan 10, 2007)

1. You will find it hard to increase price especially if you have an offer of full asking price in 2 days

2. Agents know the local demand - you state few sales of similar houses to yours to compare to, so maybe there is a shortage of your type of house ? Gives you the chance to try a higher price.

Ref: 2 (above) I had a price in mind for what my house was worth 2 years ago based on local sales but when the agent came round he knew there was nothing similar about so we premium priced it. Sold for that price in 2 days.


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## 0-MAT-0 (Jan 12, 2017)

Goat, all the best with the impending sale. 
I have a 2 bed apartment which went up for sale on Saturday. Fortunately one of my oldest friends has been an estate agen for over 20 years and has just set up his own estate agency in Sheffield. 
He gave me some sound advice, and a great deal. He gave me an indication of what he thinks it might be worth. I am in no rush to sell it, but I have punted it at the top end of what he thought it's worth. 
Like some have said, you can always lower it, but can't put it up. If it sells, it sells. But I am still a firm believer in it is worth what someone is willing to pay for it. 
48 hours on the market and have a few viewings booked for next weekend which is not bad.


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## VIPER (May 30, 2007)

Just to come back on a point made a couple of times about the flexibility on a price only ever being able to one way - down. I also thought this, too, but one property I actually viewed very early this year (not the one I ended up buying) changed agents and increased by £10k, so I guess some people do try it. Last time I looked, though, it was still for sale, so perhaps everyone else who was partially interested also remembered it at the previous agent's lower price.


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## goat (May 8, 2015)

Thanks for all the info, really appreciated. The two high street agents were small independents and both suggested marketing as offers over. Bricks were against this and prefer a traditional give a price and work down. 

There are similar flats elsewhere in the borough but not directly in our area so a little wary of making a direct comparison. Parts of the borough can command a ridiculous premium as they are marketed as the 'village' so like for like isn't always straight forward.

We've talked about it for a couple of years but I really want to make the move this year, we've completely outgrown the flat. We're not in a rush though and want to get the best out of the sale, like I say mortgage free on our next property would be the ideal, especially since my line of work isn't the best paying especially out of London. Hopefully some time this year I'll be able to a garage build thread. its either that or I'll still be carting buckets up and down stairs.


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## Radish293 (Mar 16, 2012)

We used PURPLE BRICKS I cannot praise them enough. Our expert had clearly done his homework and knew what he was doing. No hard sell on using them just presented the facts which spoke for themselves. Marketing it at a realistic price over the average for the street we got £10k more than we expected. Their costs were fantastic and saved a small fortune. 


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## robertdon777 (Nov 3, 2005)

Just get a proper valuation through a RICS certified agent, this will mean more than any Estate Agent etc.

Once valued by a RICS one they cannot argue with it.


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## Leooo (Apr 2, 2010)

Arvi said:


> High Street Corportates will give you higher valuations, sign you up to an agreement, and then a few weeks time tell you to drop the price if no interest, and then your stuck with them anyway - and potentially lost out on a few weeks worth of potential buyers.
> 
> The likes of Purple Bricks will want a quick sale, as there fees are lower.
> 
> ...


This guy knows his stuff. My wife works for an independent and I used to work there also. Do your home work on the internet as to what is for sale in the area and compare yours to theirs in terms of what your property has to offer compared to the prices they are up for, how long they've been on the market etc. All info is on Zoopla and rightmove. The agents, independent or corporate will do the same so you will quickly know if they are over valuing to win the instruction over their competitors.

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## tyreman (Jan 28, 2007)

As someone in the middle of a sale and my experiences lately i would go with an independent local estate agent,when our agent valued ours it was high,but the agent explained why and within two weeks we had an offer for the asking price,also you can build a rapport with them and there is no price to be put on peace of mind when dealing with house moves !.As a side note they're selling a service and you can work out a deal that suits both sides,like the usual percentage of sale price is the cost, ours is doing it for a fixed fee.


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## Arvi (Apr 11, 2007)

As an aside a lot of agents will try and palm you off to their preferred conveyancing firm to do the legal work (they get paid a lot for this) - stick with a local recommended solicitor who has your interests as a priority rather than the agents.


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## goat (May 8, 2015)

tyreman said:


> As someone in the middle of a sale and my experiences lately i would go with an independent local estate agent,when our agent valued ours it was high,but the agent explained why and within two weeks we had an offer for the asking price,also you can build a rapport with them and there is no price to be put on peace of mind when dealing with house moves !.As a side note they're selling a service and you can work out a deal that suits both sides,like the usual percentage of sale price is the cost, ours is doing it for a fixed fee.


the second agent we saw was an independent. Nice guy, showed similar properties they had recently sold and the price they achieved so gave a good basis for his valuation. We weren't that keen on the purple bricks agent (she came across as a bit harsh) and I think you're right that having a good rapport is really important in this type of transaction. I want to feel like I can have a frank discussion with them and having a building I can go to to have this discussion makes me feel a bit more comfortable than them just being at the end of a phone.


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## goat (May 8, 2015)

Arvi said:


> As an aside a lot of agents will try and palm you off to their preferred conveyancing firm to do the legal work (they get paid a lot for this) - stick with a local recommended solicitor who has your interests as a priority rather than the agents.


Thanks for the advice Arvi. We extended the lease on the flat last year and went through a company who supplied a surveyor and solicitor at extremely competitive prices (much cheaper than the high street solicitors) and we were very happy with the service so will most likely be using them again.


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## K777mk2 (Jun 30, 2016)

Arvi said:


> High Street Corportates will give you higher valuations, sign you up to an agreement, and then a few weeks time tell you to drop the price if no interest, and then your stuck with them anyway - and potentially lost out on a few weeks worth of potential buyers.
> 
> The likes of Purple Bricks will want a quick sale, as there fees are lower.
> 
> ...


I agree, and would add that the high street agent knows their valuation is a little high, they go a little higher because your likely to pick them - human nature.

Then they know in a couple of weeks it will be dropped to the realistic price and people start to be interested. The agent knows that this is the realistic price that their income will be from - not the inflated price they gave to secure your interest.

Classic bait and switch.

Then, the agent, opposite to what you expect, seemingly start acting for the potential buyer, persuading you to bend to their will and demands, because its this point they can see themselves getting their payment.

Source : experience (every time), and also my Bro in law who was one.


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## ollienoclue (Jan 30, 2017)

We recently sold our property are in the market for a new un whilst we rent a new build 4 bed (the smallest 4 bed house you have ever seen).

I have had experience with our local purple bricks agent.

I would not pay them any of my money I'm afraid. We sold our property with a local estate agent, after having had a few of them around for an initial valuation and meet and greet. None of them gave an over-inflated price in my opinion, and based their figures on similar properties in the locality. Their fees were pretty much identical, we tried the first, and their advert for the property was lame to be pretty fair, after a few months we switched and the second company did a lot better job, more professional photos and the like etc. That got the interest.

Sort your own solicitor, one you trust or get a recommendation from someone who has used them before.

I would not deal with a high street corporate estate agent personally. Stick with local companies who know the area or at least specialist in your kind of property.


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## 0-MAT-0 (Jan 12, 2017)

Goat

I posted on page one and thought I would give you an update in how I got on. 
My friend who set his own estate agents in Sheffield after working for over 20 years for a larger one in Sheffield. It went on the market for the what I would consider 'top end' price, and my friend agreed I was being a bit cheeky. Well it went on 3 weeks ago and I did get interest and quite a few viewings. 
Last Thursday I got a low offer. His team over the next 48 hours did some very good negotiations on my behalf, and on Saturday a sale was agreed with a cash buyer. This allowed me to secure a new build which I had had been looking at for a while in Stockport. 
I know he was a friend, but all I can say is the the personal service that they provided was second to none. 
As per my closing comment, a property is only worth what someone is willing to pay. I was over the moon with the price and it enabled me to get a slightly bigger property than I had initially planned. 
Hope your sale goes as well as mine.


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## goat (May 8, 2015)

0-MAT-0 said:


> Goat
> 
> I posted on page one and thought I would give you an update in how I got on.
> My friend who set his own estate agents in Sheffield after working for over 20 years for a larger one in Sheffield. It went on the market for the what I would consider 'top end' price, and my friend agreed I was being a bit cheeky. Well it went on 3 weeks ago and I did get interest and quite a few viewings.
> ...


Well done on your sale, sounds like it went well. The negotiations part is interesting, had overlooked that a little, probably one of those most important parts of the process as well. Pretty sure a local independent is the way we will go. We're not a big rush with it so hopefully can hold out for a good price. I'm in full DIY mode at the moment to tart up a few bits in the flat and get it looking as good as it can without spending a fortune. There's plenty will still need doing but want it presented well.


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## goat (May 8, 2015)

Well as an update, we had two independents, purple bricks and a high street chain come round in the end. Purple bricks were low in pricing, one independent and the high street chain were both high and the other independent somewhere in the middle. the middle one were also able to show similar flats they had recently sold so we decided to go with them. Got our commission down to 0.8% plus vat. 

Flat went on two weeks ago, viewing day last Saturday. 5 viewings on that day but no offers. Only comments were that the living room and spare bedroom are a bit small but not much I can do about that.

Finding it stressful already. We've not found anywhere to move to (well we put a couple of offers in on a place but couldn't come to an agreement) so not in a rush but don't want the process to be going on for ages. Just have to hang on in for now. Thanks again for all the advice given.


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## Radish293 (Mar 16, 2012)

We used purple bricks. Can't praise them and in particular our rep more highly. Less impressed with their linked conveyancing 


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