Has my property been overvalued?
Mon 29 Jul 2019
Kay Fogg, Benfleet Sales Administrator
HAS MY PROPERTY BEEN OVERVALUED?
Are you noticing the “sold” boards going up around you while your own property remains with a dispiriting “for sale” board outside?
If your house is already on the market, an early indication that your property has been overvalued is if you are getting viewings but no or very low offers. Even worse, is if you are getting no viewings at all.
In tricky market conditions, such as the industry is seeing in the present uncertain climate, it is absolutely vital to the get the price right at the outset to maximise your viewing potential.
A valuation figure should be what an agent thinks someone will be prepared to pay for a property. According to the online agent Yopa, there is a pragmatic reason why some agents deliberately overvalue, simply that, if the valuation is substantially higher than other agents own valuations, customers are more likely to be encouraged to go with that agent believing the higher figure will attract a buyer.
This is why it is vital to listen to the evidence provided by agents when they come to value your property, and see if they can back up their valuation figures with suitable comparable evidence of similar properties which have actually sold. Any agent can show you plenty of properties on the market at a certain level, but you need to see what has actually sold.
If you get the price wrong, you run the risk of your property remaining on the market unsold for longer than is necessary, and inevitably having to reduce the price to a level that other agents may have indicated originally. You also run the risk of potential buyers being discouraged by seeing price reductions believing that there may be something “wrong” with a property.
Overvaluing is rarely about a higher commission – for an agent, the quicker a property is sold the better! As already mentioned, it is purely about securing the instruction and stopping another agent from doing so, despite the fact they have probably valued it more accurately.
When you make that decision to sell a property, do your research beforehand and look around to see what is selling around your local area. Have a knowledge of what attracts potential buyers to your area – is it schools, proximity to a station, the availability of leisure activities?
Then, take a critical look at your property and see if there is anything that might put potential buyers off which could be easily changed. Tidying the garden, a fresh lick of paint maybe or a bit of a de-clutter even.
When you are ready, research your options with estate agents. With the proliferation of independent and online options, there are plenty of places to go to for free, no obligation valuations. Before you do, look for recommendations and reviews, find out their commission (a “fee” is still commission, after all) and think about boards you see locally, how many are sold and check on the online portals – Rightmove, OnTheMarket.com and Zoopla are the main ones – for market presence. Don’t be afraid to talk to more than one agent, it’s far better to get a few valuations just to compare what agents think.
As market leaders, we would be more than delighted to come and meet with you to discuss further.
You can contact us via our website https://www.williamsanddonovan.com/ through our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/williamsanddonovan/ or calling us on 01268 755252 / 01702 200666