New research has revealed just how over-optimistic home sellers are in the current market when it comes to the average asking price of homes across the major portals compared with the average sold price in each area of the market.
The study, undertaken by MoveStreets, the property portal, shows that across Britain, the average asking price across the major portals currently sits at £296,950, while homes are actually selling for £258,464 – a reality gap of 13% or £38,486.
In some areas, this gap is far more pronounced. In London, for example, the average asking price is a whopping £833,994, yet properties are selling at an average of £494,673, a disparity of 41%, claims MoveStreets.
This is ahead of the large gaps found in the South West, South East, and Wales, at 24%, 23% and 21% respectfully.
By contrast, the study suggests that the most realistic vendors are found in Scotland, with a gap of just 4% between asking prices and transaction prices in Scotland.
CEO and Co-Founder of MoveStreets, Adam Kamani, commented: “We’ve seen an incredibly hot market of late and despite the end of the stamp duty holiday, high levels of buyer demand and low levels of available stock continue to see properties fly off the shelf at pace and for a very good price.
“However, it’s clear that even in current conditions, many sellers are listing their homes at an over-optimistic price point, no doubt in an attempt to take advantage of the market boom.
“This can be detrimental to your sale regardless of how the market is performing and can result in months of little to no interest in your home. It’s the responsibility of the listing agent to guide sellers and set these expectations. While some will value a home at a higher price point to win business, a difference of ten to hundreds of thousand pounds above market value is perhaps a little too far.”
Comments (16)
Overpricing is a cheap trick by corporate brands to justify outrageous fees to pay for less than average middle/ area managers who only got there on there ability to shed their last ounce of self respect. Seriously though, the listers are put under so much pressure in these places, they will say what the vendor wants to hear just to get numbers on the board. Very poor estate agency.
“Overpricing is a cheap trick by corporate brands to justify outrageous fees to pay for less than average middle/ area managers who only got there on there ability to shed their last ounce of self respect. “
Complete and utter bull. Overpricing is an industry-wide issue and you know it. ‘X’ pushes it by £5k… ‘Y’ pumps up the volume by £5k more because they know what ‘X’ will do… and ‘Z’ simply asks the homeowner how much they would like their semi-detached mansionette to go on the market for. They all want the job… for whatever reason. One of what I once considered the best “independent” Agents (and FRICS to boot) I have known in over 40+ years in the industry went from giving sensible, realistic valuation advice and shaking his head in disbelief at the tactics of others, to demanding of his listers “get it at any price… any fee – just don’t let X,Y or Z list it”.
Bad practice is a cancer spreading through the industry… the entire industry. The good ones are sick of the bad ones doing it – and getting away with it.
Little wonder that some allow their own standards to slip to the same levels. And as long as those industry and government bodies that are supposed to police the industry in terms of standards and compliance with legislation continue to do ****** all about the state of affairs the situation will continue and compound.
I totally disagree. This cancer was started by these corporates and still carries on today. Nearly every listing comes on in our area a good 20% over value by corporates only. Who have balls to charge for photos. Isnt that our job anyway? They take money up front, sell the dream on a stupidly long contract and then sell it for what the professionals really valued it at. Obtaining money by deception? Not a practice myself or independent colleagues I know would ever do.
conoco9
Corporates didn’t ‘invent’ overvaluing – just like onlines didn’t invent portaljuggling. They are just easier to identify as doing it.
Never heard of movestreets
So… a “portal” that 99.99998% of the population AND Estate Agents haven’t heard of releases a PR piece having a go at the what it claims are excessive and unrealistic asking prices being advertised on portals – including, among others… …itself, presumably.
Now call me cynical, but I’m starting to see a pattern emerge here. Simply cobble together some numbers and call the resultant statistical f***wittery (credit: Jonnie) “research”; wrap it up in 500 or so words with a comment from someone who’s title suggests they know what they are talking about and BOOF! – Robert is one’s parent’s brother. Guaranteed inclusion in EYE, EAT… and a passing mention on page 934 of some regional daily or other.
SSDD, as Stephen King would write. Except in the case of what we are currently being force-fed, it is more DSSN.
But despite being just another of many, this latest effort at to55pottery takes the proverbial biscuit and pushes the boundaries further than thought possible.
That old saying “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and to remove all doubt” is attributed to many as the originator.
Whoever it actually was – it would appear that today they have Mr Kamani to thank for proving them absolutely, unequivocally correct.
House Price index, Transaction Price index, Asking price index, Valuation index.
Mixing and matching different sets of unique and different numbers will always lead to confusion. It is not possible to compare HPI which is an accounting exercise that’s used for government statistics with Transaction price index.
One is an algorithm adjusted number that uses 36% of the data from the 4% of properties that have transacted to come up with an average property price. Whereas the transaction price index is an accurate and indisputable number but which still only covers 4 or 5% of the housing stock.
Asking price index (now) is what’s being asked and is a number that can only be compared to TPI in 9 or 10 months time when properties have been marketed, sales agreed, sales conveyed and the transaction finally not actually reported by Land Registry
Only when valuation lag is taken into account can the difference bewteen API and TPI be compared
I woke up this morning and some how a million properties were listed on my site at a very optimistic price.
Since when did asking prices become an exact science , surely the asking price is a strategy To achieve the best outcome , of course if you go to high the strategy will fail , perversely realistic asking prices tend to generate over asking deals being done .
If you sell at 13% over “correct value” was it overpriced ?
This article to my mind shows a complete lack of understanding of how the market actually works .
Sellers listing their homes? What the heck is he on about? I can also confirm that over the last 12 months we have been getting on average 100% of the asking price including many over asking price.
There is a lot of truth in what he says, most agents don’t care about the “real price” of a property, they just want a new instruction on their books. It’s a case of, we will work on it later if some poor fool hasn’t bought it but there are also some foolhardy comments too as I would like to see proof of any property on the market at 834000 and sold for 495000! He should have said that it just shows that, in London, more lower priced properties are selling than higher priced properties hence the higher ave entrance price to the lower average exit price of those entering the market and this is echoed up and down the country.
What a pity that Mr Kamani’s PR Puffery is churned out by someone else and not you, Essjaydee51!!
’t’s the responsibility of the listing agent to guide sellers and set these expectations.’
It’s clear he’s never done a valuation in his life and lives in a utopia world with this obvious comment.
“In London, for example, the average asking price is a whopping £833,994, yet properties are selling at an average of £494,673, a disparity of 41%”
I cannot believe the CEO of a company has written this without a giving it a second thought !
If we’re being kind then let’s put it down to a typo. That said, Mr Kamani if you’re going to put ‘factual’ statements out to the media you might want to check them. And double check them. Then check again.
…and then decide it was a really really dumb idea in the first place – and don’t do it.