Guides · Estate agents
Using sold prices in a valuation appointment
Most vendors arrive at a valuation appointment with a figure already in mind. It may come from a neighbour, a portal listing or a price they saw years ago. Recent sold prices give you a shared set of facts to start from.
Completed sales are the strongest evidence you can put on the table. They show what buyers actually paid, not what sellers hoped for. This guide covers what to prepare, how to present it and the rules that apply to the price you recommend.
What sold prices add to the appointment
Your recommendation rests on what you see in the home, what you know about current demand and what similar homes have sold for. The first two are your judgement. The third is a matter of record, and the vendor can check it.
Showing the sales behind your figure moves the conversation from opinion to evidence. A vendor who can see that three similar homes on the street sold within a narrow range is more likely to accept a price in that range. It also helps when another agent has quoted a higher figure, because you can ask what evidence supports it.
Preparing before you go
Look up every sale on the street in the last 12 months, then sales of the same property type in the surrounding postcode sector over the last six months. Note the date, price, tenure and whether each home was a new build.
Check the trend for that type of home in the postcode district. If the median price has been flat for a year, older sales need little adjustment. If it has moved, allow for that.
Remember that sales take two to eight weeks to be registered after completion. Homes your office has sold recently may not appear in the data yet, and you can add them from your own records.
Checklist
- List every sale on the street in the last 12 months
- Add same-type sales in the postcode sector from the last six months
- Check the district trend for that property type
- Add recent sales from your own office that are not registered yet
- Explain each comparable and where the home sits in the range
- Leave the evidence with the vendor
- Confirm your advice in writing if the vendor wants a higher price
Walking the vendor through the evidence
Start with the closest matches: same street, same type, recent. Explain why each one is or is not a good guide to their home. A larger extension, a garage or a home that needed work all change the comparison.
Then show the range. For example, if four similar terraced houses nearby sold for between £285,000 and £305,000 in the past six months, you can explain where you place their home in that range and why. These figures are only an example.
Leave the evidence with the vendor. A printed or emailed set of comparables lets them check your reasoning after you leave and compare it with other agents' figures.
When the vendor expects more
If the vendor's figure is well above the evidence, go back to the sales. Ask which homes they had in mind and look at them together. Often the price they remember was an asking price rather than a sold price. Our guide to asking price vs sold price explains why the two differ.
If the vendor still wants to market at a price you think is too high, confirm your advice in writing and keep a note of the evidence you showed them.
The rules on pricing advice
The Property Ombudsman Code of Practice requires any figure an agent gives, as a recommended asking price or a market valuation, to be given in good faith, to reflect what is known about the property and current market conditions, and to be supported by comparable evidence. Overvaluing to win an instruction does not meet that standard.
Agents must also not mislead consumers about price evidence. That duty sits under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, and the Competition and Markets Authority enforces it. Trading standards withdrew its material information guidance on 8 May 2025, but the legal duty still applies.
Your figure is a market appraisal. It is not a formal valuation, which is carried out by a RICS registered valuer.
What sold prices cannot show
HM Land Registry Price Paid Data records the price, date, address, property type, tenure and new build flag. It does not record bedrooms, floor area, condition or parking. Those come from your inspection, energy certificates and old listings.
Some transfers are not in the data at all, such as gifts and right to buy sales at a discount. What Land Registry price data includes lists what is in and out.
Using House Price Monitor
The professional plan costs £15 a month and covers up to five postcode districts. It includes a monthly report for each postcode with your logo, firm name, phone and website on the PDF, and valuation packs.
For a valuation pack, you enter the address and property type and get a branded PDF with every sale on that street in the last 12 months, similar homes of the same type in the same postcode sector in the last six months, the postcode's quarterly trend for that type and a short written summary. Your first report is free when you sign up.
Other guides
Preparing a market appraisal from sold prices
Explaining a rising or falling local market to sellers