A survey of estate agents has revealed that 95% believe competitors are providing unrealistic property valuations to secure instructions, raising concerns about market practices and seller outcomes.
The research, commissioned by GetAgent, examined the prevalence of overvaluation within the current market and the competitive pressures driving the practice. Two-thirds of agents reported that overvaluing to win instructions has become more common compared with 12 months ago, while 28% said its prevalence has remained broadly unchanged.
Impact on market competition
The practice appears to be affecting agents who provide more conservative valuations. Almost 89% of agents said they have lost a potential instruction in the past year because a competing agent gave the seller a higher valuation than they believed the property could realistically achieve.
Agents identified sellers’ preference for the highest valuation as the primary factor encouraging overvaluing, cited by 33% of respondents. Greater competition between agents for instructions ranked second at 28%, followed by pressure to grow market share at 22% and pressure to hit internal listing targets at 11%.
The findings come as the property industry faces evolving market dynamics and increased competition among agency networks.
Seller decision-making
According to the survey, 89% of agents believe sellers generally place too much importance on the highest valuation when deciding which estate agent to instruct. However, 95% of agents warned that initially overvaluing a property can ultimately damage a seller’s chances of achieving the best possible outcome.
Agents suggested sellers should prioritise measurable performance indicators instead. A third said the percentage of asking price typically achieved should be the most important consideration, while 28% pointed to track records of selling similar properties locally and 22% highlighted the average time taken to sell. Together, 83% of agents pointed to one of these three measurable indicators as factors sellers should prioritise.
Colby Short, Chief Executive of GetAgent, said: “There’s a difficult dynamic at play here. Sellers understandably want to achieve the highest possible price for their home and, when they’re presented with several valuations, it’s naturally tempting to choose the agent promising the biggest number.”
He added: “The problem for agents is that this creates an increasingly competitive environment where those providing realistic, evidence-led advice can lose the instruction. When almost nine in 10 agents tell us this has happened to them in the last year, it’s clearly a frustration being felt right across the industry.”
Industry implications
Short emphasised that winning an instruction on an inflated valuation differs from delivering a successful sale. He said agents’ reputations are built on actual achievements rather than initial valuation figures, and suggested that demonstrating value through hard evidence such as local track records and asking price percentages provides a stronger argument when competing for instructions.
The survey results highlight ongoing tensions within the estate agency sector as firms navigate competitive pressures while attempting to provide accurate market advice to sellers. The findings suggest a disconnect between seller expectations and agents’ assessments of realistic property values in the current market.
