Agents have role educating owners on values, claims Zoopla

Some 45 per cent of people who had their home valued by an agent or sold it in the past three years discovered it was worth more than they thought.

The home was typically worth £46,305 more than they expected, according to Zoopla.

But a quarter said their home was worth less than they thought, by an average £44,313. 

The data is from Zoopla’s new Hidden Equity Survey of 2,000 owners who have had their home valued by an agent in the past three years.

The portal claims the results show “the role the agent community has to play in educating consumers, with just three in 10 homeowners having an accurate idea of the estimated value of their home.”

It adds that the equity survey aims to put Zoopla’s agent partners “front and centre of the homeowner journey”, piquing homeowner interest via a price estimate on the portal's new My Home page and driving valuation leads directly to agents.

“The pandemic and subsequent lockdowns have led to a once-in-a-lifetime reassessment from homeowners about how and where they want to live. This, coupled with the stamp duty holiday and the search for space, has led to a buoyant market; however, it's clear this soaring buyer demand is not currently being matched by the supply of homes being listed for sale” says Andy Marshall, Zoopla’s chief commercial officer.

“This is why Zoopla has launched My Home, to encourage homeowners to check the estimated value for their property and consider selling their home to unlock hidden equity, which will, in turn, stimulate the market. 

“For those keen to progress with a sale, they can contact an estate agent directly using My Home to make contact with an agent for  an expert market valuation and personalised guidance on how to best navigate this busy housing market.”