In order to lead from the front and help inform/shape the market where possible, it’s important to consistently ask the big questions and not be afraid of the answers you may hear.
This is one of the reasons why we initiated our webinar series which has been running for just over a year now.
This monthly event has really helped us as a business when it comes to establishing a clearer line of communication and engagement with a variety of brokers, surveyors and property professionals.
It has also generated some healthy debate on important subjects ranging from cladding to green mortgages and from EPCs through to the ongoing confusion between surveys and valuations.
Essentially, the type of subject matter which is having a real impact on our industry and our interactive polls within these sessions have generated some interesting results and headlines along the way.
The latest in this series takes us to yet another popular but highly divisive topic – Down valuations – myth or fact?
One of life’s certainties when the housing market is busy is the resurgence of the label ‘down valuation’. Whilst this webinar is all about getting to the heart of what this actually means, and its impact on the industry, I thought I would get the ball rolling now and hopefully offer a very brief taster of what might be to come within this session.
A popular narrative around this particular subject tends to revolve around a ‘down valuation’ being a deliberate ploy and this is a myth that we, as an industry, need to try and debunk once and for all. In my opinion, there is no such thing as a ‘down valuation’.
What this really means is that there is a simple difference in option on what a particular asset is worth, for the purpose of this discussion a property.
From a surveying perspective, we can’t speculate on what someone is prepared to pay for a property when they get that ‘feeling’ and/or when other potential buyers compete to drive up the price.
Surveyors can sometimes be accused of being cautious or near sighted in such markets but our principal aim is to report an accurate valuation and to fulfil the terms of the instruction by determining market value.
By this I mean that market value is usually based on comparable market evidence, which will typically refer to recent transactions of similar types of properties in the local area, other economic indicators and also the professional’s knowledge of the local market and economy.
For this reason, it is quite possible that the lenders valuation at market value does not always match the asking price of a property set by a seller or agent. But does this justify the use of what feels like a derogatory term? No.
So, let’s move away from ‘down valuation’ altogether as it really does serve no good purpose in a market which needs greater alignment rather than additional friction.
Matthew Cumber is managing director of Countrywide Surveying Services
