The numbers paint a clear picture. Rightmove recorded its largest August asking price fall since 2018. Stock on the market is close to an 11-year high. Zoopla reports that three-fifths of homes listed since January have yet to find a buyer. Buyer enquiries are picking up, which is encouraging, but those buyers now have far more choice than they have had in years. They are comparing your home against dozens of similar properties, and they are doing it quickly. In that environment, your asking price is your first and most important decision.
Why Overpricing Costs You Money
It feels logical to leave room to negotiate. In practice, it tends to backfire. A home priced above the market sits. Buyers scrolling through listings notice when a property has been available for six, eight, ten weeks. They start to assume something is wrong, even when nothing is. That stigmatisation is hard to shake.
The usual response is a price reduction. But a reduction often attracts a fresh round of low offers from buyers who sense a motivated seller. The final sale price on an overpriced, then reduced, listing is typically lower than it would have been had the home been priced correctly at the outset. You lose time, you lose momentum, and you lose money.
The evidence on the other side is telling. Seventy-four per cent of homes completing this year sold without any price reduction at all. Those sellers priced accurately from the start, generated early interest, and sold. That is the outcome to aim for.
How a Good Agent Sets an Accurate Price
A reliable guide price is built on sold prices, not asking prices. Asking prices tell you what sellers hoped to achieve. Sold prices, drawn from Land Registry records and agency data, tell you what buyers actually paid. Those two figures can differ considerably, especially right now.
A good local agent will look at comparable sold prices for similar properties in your immediate area, typically within the last three to six months. They will then adjust for condition, size, aspect, and any improvements you have made. A recently fitted kitchen or a well-maintained garden does add value, but within a realistic range for your street and property type.
The other figure worth understanding is months of supply. This measures how long it would take to sell all the current stock at the current rate of sales. When supply is high relative to demand, buyers have leverage. Your agent should be factoring this into their recommendation, not ignoring it to win your instruction.
Be cautious of any agent who gives you a significantly higher valuation than others without a clear, evidence-based reason. Winning your business with an inflated number and then advising a reduction six weeks later is a pattern worth knowing about.
Presentation Makes a Real Difference
Pricing accurately does not mean selling yourself short on presentation. A well-prepared home will achieve a better price than a neglected one at the same guide price.
- Declutter before photographs are taken. Rooms look larger and buyers find it easier to picture themselves in the space.
- Fix small defects. A dripping tap, a cracked tile, or peeling paint around a window frame all register in photographs and viewings. They give buyers a reason to chip at the price.
- Get professional photography. Most buyers start their search online. Poor photographs reduce click-throughs before anyone has even seen your price. Strong images, taken in good natural light, make a measurable difference to enquiry levels.
- Think about kerb appeal. The exterior shot is usually the lead image. A tidy front garden, a clean path, and a freshly painted front door cost relatively little and improve first impressions significantly.
Timing Your Listing
Launching at the right price matters more than launching at a particular time of year. A correctly priced home will sell in any month. An overpriced home will struggle regardless of the season. That said, your agent can advise on local demand patterns and how quickly comparable homes are currently moving in your area, both of which are worth knowing before you go live.
What to Do Next
If you are thinking about selling, or if your home has been on the market for a while without the result you expected, the starting point is an honest, evidence-based valuation. At Cooke and Co, we use local sold data, current stock levels, and straightforward advice to give you a guide price you can rely on. Book a valuation with our team and we will tell you exactly where your home sits in the current market.
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