Every estate agent has seen it happen.
You provide a carefully considered valuation, supported by comparable evidence. Another agent suggests a much higher asking price and wins the instruction.
The property launches, fails to attract enough interest and is reduced several weeks later -sometimes more than once.
The solution is not to overvalue too. It is to make your recommendation more convincing.
The highest valuation is not necessarily the best strategy
Some agents overvalue to win instructions. The homeowner is encouraged to “try the higher price” on the basis that it can always be reduced later.
But those first weeks matter.
A new listing receives immediate portal exposure and reaches active buyers through property alerts. If the price is unrealistic, that initial opportunity can be wasted. A later reduction cannot fully recreate the impact of a well-priced new instruction.
Rightmove’s May 2026 analysis found that:
- properties that did not require a reduction found a buyer in an average of 36 days;
- reduced properties took an average of 127 days.
An earlier Rightmove study of 300,000 listings found that 63% of properties that did not need reducing secured a buyer during the study, compared with only 32% of reduced properties.
Overpricing is not a risk-free experiment.
The eventual price can also suffer
Speed is not the only consideration. The objective is to achieve the best price the market will support.
HomeOwners Alliance research published in January 2026 analysed data from 6,000 UK estate-agent branches. It found that agents averaging an 11-day selling time achieved 100.4% of asking price.
As average selling time increased, the percentage achieved declined:
- 10–11 days: 100.4% of asking price;
- 30 days: 98%;
- 60–90 days: 95.5%;
- 120 days: 93.2%;
- 150 days: 91.2%.
The research also found that branches averaging seven days or less achieved 94.1% of asking price. The message is therefore not “sell as quickly as possible”.
It is to price accurately, generate strong early interest and give the property enough exposure to establish the best achievable offer.
Use Acaboom to make the evidence visible
Telling a homeowner that another agent has overvalued their property can sound like one opinion competing with another.
A strong Acaboom presentation changes the conversation from:
“This is what I think.”
to:
“This is what the evidence supports.”
Include as much relevant evidence as possible:
· similar properties currently on the market;
· completed sales supported by Land Registry data;
· properties your agency has marketed or sold;
· Rightmove Best Price Guides;
· price-per-square-metre comparisons;
· your agency’s own performance statistics;
· independent research from Rightmove, HomeOwners Alliance, Zoopla and other credible sources.
For example, you can include the Rightmove evidence showing that reduced properties take longer to find a buyer, alongside the HomeOwners Alliance figures showing how the percentage of asking price achieved declines as average selling time increases.
Current listings show what buyers can choose today. Completed sales show what buyers have paid. Your own past instructions demonstrate relevant experience, while independent research helps explain the risks of launching at an unsupported price.
Acaboom brings this evidence together in one clear, personalised case for the recommended valuation and pricing strategy.
Make the valuation tangible
Price per square metre or square foot gives homeowners something concrete to understand.
If the figure is available, include it. If it is not, calculate it from the floor area and price of suitable comparables, then add the results to Acaboom as supporting evidence.
It is not a valuation on its own, but it provides a useful market sense-check.
If similar properties have achieved around £4,250 per square metre, while a competing valuation requires £4,800, ask what evidence justifies that premium.
Prove what your agency achieves
Your own results can be more persuasive than a promise.
Useful evidence includes:
- percentage of original asking price achieved;
- percentage of instructions successfully sold;
- percentage sold without a reduction;
- average time to secure a buyer;
- sale fall-through rate.
Zoopla reported that the average UK home sold for 3.5% below asking price in the first quarter of 2026, equivalent to approximately 96.5% of asking price.
If your agency achieves 98.5%, the two-percentage-point difference could be worth:
- £6,000 on a £300,000 property;
- £10,000 on a £500,000 property;
- £15,000 on a £750,000 property.
Zoopla also reported that 44% of UK homes listed during the previous three years failed to sell. If your success rate is better, evidence it and use it.
Keep the methodology honest and clear, including the period and number of properties measured.
Explain the pricing strategy
The recommended asking price should come with a strategy.
Explain how it relates to:
- portal search-price bands;
- current competing stock;
- buyer demand;
- “offers over” or “offers in excess of” positioning;
- the seller’s objectives and timescale.
For example, £500,000 may appear in searches ending at £500,000 and searches beginning there. Marketing at £510,000 could exclude an important group of buyers.
The right strategy will vary, but it should always be deliberate and supported by evidence.
The takeaway
Agents cannot consistently defeat inflated valuations with another opinion.
Use Acaboom to show:
- as many relevant comparables as possible;
- both current competition and completed sales;
- your own experience of similar properties;
- tangible measures such as price per square metre;
- what your agency achieves;
- why your recommended launch strategy gives the property its best opportunity.
Do not promise the homeowner the highest asking price.
Give them the strongest evidence that your strategy is most likely to achieve the best possible result.