Does anyone know how the value of a house might have changed in last 18months?

[mintchocchick]

We are thinking of offering on a house that is not yet on the Market. It was last sold 18months ago so we can see this sale on the Internet. The area is pretty stable as it is a lovely near city/near countryside area with catchment for really good schools.

We are thinking of offering the same as it last sold for just to prevent them going on the Market and us potentially loosing it. However my brother was saying that we will then be paying over it's value and our mortgage provider might value it lower, causing us a problem with the loan. He suggested 2% less than it last sold for, as that is the agent fee reduction.

Not sure how we work out it's current value. One agent has been involved and suggested a value nearly 8% higher than it last sold for - they have not done much, if any work to the house so I can't see that being realistic. I don't want to loose it but also don't want to pay over it's current value.

Not sure where in the country you are and the size of house you're looking at but here in Scotland we're looking at 4 bed houses which have dropped from £240,000 to £210,00/ £220,000 in the past year/ eighteen months.
Don't know if that helps?!

Look on property snake. You can put in the posycode and see trends for that area

or Zoopla.

not very accurate as sometimes very small areas can have varying trends.

and if in 18 months the owners fitted a new kitchen, bathroom etc...they may think they have added value..

Use Land Registry custom reports for a guide - the most reliable of all indices as it covers the vast majority of all transactions. On average prices have dropped around 3.5% over the last 18 months but obviously that's an average and would be less in say Central London and more in the North East, the Land Reg link will tell you what's happening in your specific area though.
Ignore the prices of homes for sale - they, by definition have not been sold at that price. You can find actual sold prices of specific properties here

Bear in mind too that you will probably pay over the odds offering so soon; the vast majority of vendors will understandably aim for top dollar initially and their expectations won't drop until they've been marketing for a while.

Many thanks. Lots more research needed!