Tools for House Buyers

[XVGN]

Hope this helps anyone looking to buy. Please add any other sites/apps/tips.

RM House Price History. See all the previous price changes on RM using Chrome Browser and adding Property Log extension

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/property-log/jccihedpilhidcbkconacnalppdeecno?hl=en-GB

Local House Prices transacted and whether price has increased in real terms or nominal terms

https://houseprices.io/?q=here

Flood Maps

https://flood-map-for-planning.service.gov.uk/location

Neighbourhood Information

https://www.streetcheck.co.uk/postcode/hr48ql

Noise and Air Quality

http://www.extrium.co.uk/noiseviewer.html

Sun Tracker

https://www.suncalc.org/#/51.4994,-2.6227,18/2023.11.04/14:33/1/3

An experience from a single woman buying a property and having to cope with various issues :)
https://greenmermaidcottage.blogspot.com/2024/10/home-not-so-sweet-home-tips-for-first.html

@XVGN well we will be buying a house in 2025 and I think this thread could be very useful. I have saved it. All of the links together, etc. So thank you.

I love this. A shade mapper. It seems quite accurate for my own home which is near a block of flats. Just enter your postcode and slide the slider at the bottom of the page to see how your home is affected by shade. Probably doesn't do a good job with tree shade, but hey ... Update: I tried it on a tree shaded garden where I used to live and it did seem to pick it up. Interesting

https://shademap.app/@50.84662,-0.93918,11.72866z,1741888561244t,0b,0p,0m,qZW1zd29ydGg=!50.84592!-0.93534

To find asking prices versus sold prices without bookmarking a ton of stuff. Good to also see which agents are overpricing.

Google the EA and area + Getagent

Knight Frank Chelsea Getagent

Click on the first link google gives you: reviews and performance

Scroll past all of the reviews performance stats and activity and more agents until you get to:

SOLD PROPERTIES

Which you can click 'more' on until your heart's content - see screenshot.

Caveats: it won't be helpful if the home was listed with another agent then moved, you'll never know what the original full asking price is

I find the timings they state to be a bit inaccurate.

They must be dragging data from both Rightmove and the Land Registry.

@KievLoverTwo that's an amazing tool!

Yup. Then you can pull up the houses from RM and ascertain which areas are getting lower than asking, what age properties, properties in which condition, etc.

I felt exceptionally smug with myself when I found it :))))

Love it.

I'd not seen this thread before.

Thanks for taking the time to post all the links, that is really helpful.

Thank you. You're welcome. The trouble is that it's not really a discussion thread so it only pops again when I, or anyone else, adds a new info source.

This one will be a very personal consideration. If you'd like to know whether a home may be big enough for you, then you may want to look at the government's "Technical housing standards – nationally described space standard" which suggests the minimum amount of desirable space for various configurations of house type and number of occupants.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6123c60e8fa8f53dd1f9b04d/160519_Nationally_Described_Space_Standard.pdf

I forgot about this data site. Loads of info here including local reports on house type prices, indices, economic data, trends, etc

https://builtplace.com

Here the government report median house prices by constituency. The data is lagged but gives a good indication of relatively recent direction of travel and details for towns within constituencies. It doesn't separate out prices by home type, e.g. flat, terrace, semi, detached, so you have to use your imagination. Anyway, top marks for using median instead of dumb arithmetic average.

commonslibrary.parliament.uk/constituency-data-house-prices/

Slightly old reddit link with tons of useful resources.

Users have also put other useful URLs in the comment of the thread:

https://www.reddit.com/r/HousingUK/comments/tsw93z/useful_websites_for_property_purchase/

Copy and paste:

Long term lurker here. Thought I'd share some useful information websites for researching properties, covering neighbourhood statistics, pollution levels, services and so on. Hopefully they'll be useful to some. Please do comment to share other useful websites. I'll try to add them to the list at irregular intervals :)
Steps and Timeline https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/mortgages/buying-a-home-timeline/
Searching – Rightmove https://www.rightmove.co.uk/
Searching – Zoopla https://www.zoopla.co.uk/
Searching – Prime Location https://www.primelocation.com/
Searching – Social Housing https://uksocialhousing.com/
Searching (Northern Ireland) – Property Pal propertypal.com
Searching (Northern Ireland) – Property News propertynews.com
Valuation – Land Registry Data (UK House Price Index by Region) https://landregistry.data.gov.uk/app/ukhpi/
Valuation – Nationwide https://www.nationwide.co.uk/house-price-index/
Valuation – Zoopla https://www.zoopla.co.uk/house-prices/
Valuation – The Move https://themovemarket.com/tools/createvaluation
Valuation – Mouseprice https://www.mouseprice.com/house-prices/
Valuation – Property Price Advice https://www.propertypriceadvice.co.uk/
Valuation – Homipi https://www.homipi.co.uk/house-prices/
Valuation – Stirling Ackroyd https://www.stirlingackroyd.com/house-price-index/
Sold Prices – Rightmove https://www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices.html
Sold Prices – Zoopla https://www.zoopla.co.uk/house-prices/
Sold Prices – Net House Prices https://nethouseprices.com/
Sold Prices – House Prices io https://houseprices.io/
Sold Prices Per Square Metre - House Metric https://housemetric.co.uk/
Land Registry https://eservices.landregistry.gov.uk/eservices/FindAProperty/view/QuickEnquiryInit.do
Land Registry (Scotland) https://scotlis.ros.gov.uk/
Planning Applications https://www.planningfinder.co.uk/
Historical Planning Records – Search on each council's own website
Area Statistics Mapping – Xploria https://open.xploria.co.uk/app/know-your-place/
Area Statistics Mapping – Map Maker https://mapmaker.cdrc.ac.uk/
Area Statistics Mapping – Data Shine 2011 Census https://datashine.org.uk/
Area Statistics Mapping – One Dome https://www.onedome.com/locality-reality/explore
Area Statistics Summary – Street Check https://www.streetcheck.co.uk/postcode
Area Statistics Summary – UK Local Area https://www.uklocalarea.com/index.php
Area Statistics Summary – Crystal Roof https://crystalroof.co.uk/
Area Statistics Summary – Real My https://realmy.co.uk/
Crime Statistics https://www.police.uk/
Deprivation – England https://fryford.github.io/imdmap/
Deprivation – Scotland https://simd.scot/
Transport – Walking https://www.walkscore.com/
Transport – Trains https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/
Broadband Availability https://www.broadbandexposed.co.uk/
Fibre Broadband Rollout – Openreach https://www.openreach.com/fibre-broadband
Fibre Broadband Rollout – News https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/category/uk_isp_news
Service Lines Underground https://lsbud.co.uk/
NHS Services https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/
Flooding Risk https://www.gov.uk/check-flooding
Terrain https://en-gb.topographic-map.com/
Sun Direction http://suncalc.net/
Solar Energy Estimate https://www.pvfitcalculator.energysavingtrust.org.uk/
Pollution (Map) – Substance https://naei.beis.gov.uk/emissionsapp/
Pollution (Map) – Noise and Air http://www.extrium.co.uk/noiseviewer.html
Pollution (Report) – Air https://addresspollution.org/
Japanese Knotweed https://www.environetuk.com/exposed-japanese-knotweed-heat-map
Schools – Official Raw Data https://www.gov.uk/school-performance-tables
Schools – Locrating Map https://www.locrating.com/
Schools – Admissions Day Map https://admissionsday.co.uk/
Schools – Good Schools Guide Listing https://www.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/
The Times Best Place to Live Annual Ranking https://www.thetimes.co.uk/best-places-to-live
Happiness https://www.rightmove.co.uk/news/happy-at-home/
Finding a Lawyer – Use Google Map to search for local conveyancers with good ratings
Finding a Lawyer – Juxta Legal https://juxtalegal.co.uk/

Browser extensions as recommended by members of the sub:
Property Tracker https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/property-tracker/abgkpdjomdmemeefdefalbeogkmlmand
Property Data https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/propertydata-data-info-an/nmgflehpkmokienojjgpbddklnedoonp

wow, thank you

This is potentially a game changer. The tool allows you to enter lots of criteria with which to search RM, e.g. must be bungalow, 2 baths, within 1000m of a supermarket, high ceilings, artsy vibe, French speakers more than 1%.

Some of the criteria are stronger than others, e.g. I have no idea where the Artsy Vibe data come from!

www.geoglider.com/?dataset_parameters=%7B%22properties%22%3A%7B%22dataset_conditions%22%3A%5B%7B%22table%22%3A%22rightmove_live_listings%22%2C%22value%22%3A%22Sale%22%2C%22operator%22%3A%22%3D%22%2C%22column_canonical_name%22%3A%22transaction_type%22%7D%2C%7B%22table%22%3A%22rightmove_live_listings%22%2C%22value%22%3A%222%22%2C%22operator%22%3A%22Min%22%2C%22column_canonical_name%22%3A%22num_bedrooms%22%7D%2C%7B%22table%22%3A%22rightmove_live_listings%22%2C%22column_canonical_name%22%3A%22actual_price%22%2C%22operator%22%3A%22Max%22%2C%22value%22%3A%22600000%22%7D%2C%7B%22table%22%3A%22rightmove_live_listings%22%2C%22column_canonical_name%22%3A%22region_vibes_artsy%22%2C%22operator%22%3A%22%3D%22%2C%22value%22%3A%22true%22%7D%5D%2C%22sort_id%22%3Anull%2C%22offset%22%3A0%2C%22page_size%22%3A50%2C%22partition_id%22%3Anull%7D%7D&global_conditions=%5B%7B%22column_canonical_name%22%3A%22location%22%2C%22operator%22%3A%22Near%22%2C%22value%22%3A%22Sussex%22%2C%22type%22%3A%22location_1%22%2C%22distance%22%3A0%2C%22source%22%3A%22core_places%22%7D%5D