House valuation - help please!

[labsarelife]

House valued at 450k in Aug 2017. Out on at 440k. Few viewings. Reduced to 415k after 12 weeks, end of Oct. Had about 6 viewings since but no offers. Phoned agent yesterday and asked bluntly, what price will we sell it at. Answer, try from £350/375k! Person from the same estate agency that originally suggested marketing it at 450k, with a view to attaining 425k.
I am dumbfounded, speechless, upset and frustrated. Our future projections were based around 400k minimum.
If you have experience of this industry, please can you comment as to how ludicrous you find this (or not!)
Thank you.

[crimsonlake]

Did you not get at least 3 estate agents to come around and value your property when you decided to sell? Have you compared your property to others which have recently sold in your street?

[MaggieFS]

Apart from getting three quotes, when you do, ask them how many of their sales achieve asking price or within a small % of asking price. Last time I moved the EA who got my business explained that x,y and a in the area were known for over valuing the then rushing reductions whereas p,q and r were known for achieving almost on offer. She may have been spinning me a yarn, but sure enough, the ones predicted to over value came in with high quotes and dodged the q on sales at asking price.

[Jonathancreek]

I feel your pain. I have had 3 valuations this month: £450, £500 & £385!! I told the last agent I couldn't understand how there was such a broad range and I was going to get another valuation. He said I'd confuse myself if I had another valuation. I am already confused!
I live in a unique grade 2 listed building with nothing comparable in the area.
Got the 4th agent coming in an hour. Should probably be tidying and not on MN!

[Molly1969]

What on earth possessed you to believe the fantasy valuation given to you by an estate agent who was only telling you what you wanted to hear?
Of course he was going to fill your ears with promises of untold riches, because he wanted you to give him your business, instead of giving it to the agent who offered you a more realistic valuation. The estate agents is a charlatan, and you have been greedy, stupid and naive to fall for the game.

[lalalonglegs]

I've skimmed the thread but can't see any mention of having more than one valuation before putting your house on the market. If this is the situation, perhaps other agencies would have valued the property much lower and you wouldn't feel as if the rug is being pulled out from under you. Did the agent show you recent comparable sales? Did you look on Zoopla etc for prices that similar houses had sold for with other agencies? I understand your dismay - and I agree the agent has not acted in your best interests - but I think you have to be slightly savvy when instructing agents, especially in the static/falling market that has taken hold in some parts of the country.

[WheresMyMuppet]

you have been greedy, stupid and naive to fall for the game

Er, bit harsh, the OP has asked for some advice not slanging. Most people ask estate agents for valuations and believe them, it's extremely common. OP now understands the value of comparison valuations. I don't think is greedy and your post is unnecessary.

[retirednow]

Yes that is a harsh reply especially under the circumstances of the sale.

[Molly1969]

I would say that it is greedy stupid and naive to fall for a confidence trick (which is what that estate agent is about). It is accepted that confidence tricksters prey on greed and naivety. Estate agents have a strong reputation as being cunning (legal) confidence tricksters, and it is stupid to believe otherwise, given estate agents' very long track record.

[ElsieMc]

I do sympathise op. Our valuations ranged from £425,000 to £650,000. Just what??? Two properties were on in the village for £495,000 achieving around £460,000 which is what I would tend to expect or hope for. The agent who valued low said it was because it had a separate dining room and kitchen and did not have an ensuite although it has two bathrooms. Fair enough.

I think my dh is expecting too much to be honest and we will be disappointed. I don't think we are being particularly greedy, just hope for similar to those that sold fairly quickly.

Must be so annoying op, because if you see something you like you will now have to offer lower because everyone, along with you, goes by the estate agent valuation/estimate. Did you have a few agents round? I would ask more round tbh than one later in the week. It gives you a chance to see if you like them and if they are enthusiastic about the house.

[namechangedtoday15]

Molly that's really harsh. The OP asked for a valuation and got one. Yes, she should perhaps have done her own research and got more valuations but relying on an estate agent's view (who hold themselves out as professionals) is not greedy or stupid.

[RaspberryCheese]

The EA just wants to get it flogged and rake off his/her commission in a slow market. They dont care about any perceived loss .

If an EA has plenty of business then sure they will value high and hold on,,if things are slow,well i bet many will throw clients under a bus to get the sale through and cash in their till,,next please..

[Molly1969]

namechangedtoday15 Indeed, estate agents may hold themselves as professionals, but the general public knows they are charlatans. Believing an estate agent only comes about because a seller wants to believe a fantasy promises of a known charlatan. There is evidence galore that the housing market crash that started in London is hitting the rest of the country. The OP's estate agent would have known this, and was trying it on with the OP to win her business, and later manage down her expectations. The OP should not have been so naive. To go out and actually spend fantasy money is even higher naivety.

[RaspberryCheese]

What really needs to happen in this country is to end the almost feudal and arrogant stranglehold that EAs have over the housing market.

[wowfudge]

Good grief some posters on this thread are rude and unpleasant. The OP has already stated she trusted the EA having used them before.

In your position OP I would dis-instruct the current agent now and request the house is removed from all marketing activity by x date - check the terms of your contract with them.

I would line up three other agents at least to come and have a look. Ask them what price they would market at in order to sell - you don't want to be flattered, you want to move. Ask to see evidence of their valuations, i.e. what have they sold or agreed sales on which is comparable.

Choose the agent you feel is most likely to be able to relate to your target market - is the person who comes round going to be doing the viewings or will it be one of their colleagues? How do they progress sales - is it the agents in their office who do it or is it a call centre staffed by people who haven't even seen your house?

Once you are happy you have found someone who can sell the house for you, get fresh photos taken and relaunch it to the market.

Good luck! When we last sold two years ago, all three agents we had round valued the house at the same price. We chose to market it at less, having kept an eye on prices locally, and achieved about 4% less than that.

[BackforGood]

It is shocking they can get is so wrong, however I can't understand why anyone wouldn't have got 3, 4, or even 5 valuations before putting it on the market. There are so many estate agents about these days, with on-line agents adding to national and local ones. That is just basic common sense when you are talking about what is such a vast sum of money.

[wowfudge]

Cancel the cheque! The OP has said she may have been naive going to just one EA, she doesn't need more posters telling her.

[WheresMyMuppet]

Believing an estate agent only comes about because a seller wants to believe a fantasy promises of a known charlatan. There is evidence galore that the housing market crash that started in London is hitting the rest of the country. The OP's estate agent would have known this, and was trying it on with the OP to win her business, and later manage down her expectations. The OP should not have been so naive. To go out and actually spend fantasy money is even higher naivety.

Molly. Please stop stating things as facts that are not true. Not all estate agents are known charlatans, giving fantasy promises. There is not a housing market crash, prices as slowing down as they do periodically, in line with the economic cycle. There are varying factors to this, it's certainly not solely caused by estate agents.

[WheresMyMuppet]

To go out and actually spend fantasy money is even higher naivety.

No one move house! Ever again! Problem solved...

[Molly1969]

wowfudge
Other estate agents would probably have given similar valuations, since they are all competing with each other for her business. The estate agent first lies to win the listing by tempting the seller with false promises, and then to softly manage down the seller's expectations to reality whilst keeping her business, and finally to sell the house and pocket the commission.

[Molly1969]

WheresMyMuppet
Spend the money when it is in the bank, not when it is just a sweet nothing whispered by an estate agent, who wants to tempt your commission away from competitor.

[wowfudge]

Oh do sod off Molly - you are tarring all EAs with the same brush for some reason. You are also speculating.

You are also assuming all vendors are idiots. They are not.

[Molly1969]

WheresMyMuppet
"There is not crash"... I think you will find you are wrong. I just read this article yesterday:

Apocalypse now: London’s property crash has begun

medium.com/@dreilly35/apocalypse-now-londons-property-crash-has-begun-4bd489e594ce

[wowfudge]

And for someone who believes they are so knowledgeable, I would expect you Molly to know that the London and SE markets are a bubble and not representative of the property market in the rest of the country, which, unsurprisingly varies from area to area.

[Molly1969]

wowfudge Housing market crashes ALWAYS start in London and then relentlessly hit the rest of the country, very time. To think your area is immune is just wishful thinking.