Estate agents' valuations are 'a lottery'

ESTATE agents' property valuations are a lottery, with suggested asking prices varying by up to six figures on the same home, the leading consumer group Which? claimed today.

Which? warned that overvaluing a property to get business was a common problem in the industry, while other agents would undervalue homes in order to get a quick sale.

Researchers for the group posed as sellers and invited 56 estate agents to value 14 homes across the country in locations including London, Tyne and Wear, Suffolk and Worcestershire.

The group found that in six cases the top valuation was at least 25% higher than the lowest, while in one case it was 63% more.

The biggest discrepancy occurred in Tyne and Wear, where Halifax Estate Agents valued a property at £200,000, while Moody & Co suggested it went on the market for £325,000, a 63% difference.

In Liverpool, Bradford & Bingley valued a house at £125,000; however, Halifax thought it was worth 44% more at £180,000.

Author of the report Pete Tynan said: 'Touting for business, deliberately overvaluing, is a common problem, according to a property expert questioned by Which?

'Some agents give high valuations to get a customer's business, then suggest a more realistic price once they've locked sellers into a contract.'

But the group warned that undervaluing a property could also be a problem. It said one consumer had been told his house in Exmouth was valued at under £250,000 by two estate agents, but a third recommended an asking price of £325,000, and eventually sold the property for £320,000.

Which? said the research added further evidence to its claim that the Ombudsman for Estate Agents scheme was ineffective at monitoring the industry. The group has set up a Move It campaign to call for estate agents to be regulated and a proper system of redress to be set up.

Malcolm Coles, editor of Which?, said: 'For two years Which? has been demanding that all estate agents are members of an independent redress scheme.

'This new Government must put legislation in place to protect consumers when making what is the biggest purchase of their lives.'