How to run a market appraisal that wins the instruction

Updated 30 October 2026, with home.co.uk data for homes that went under offer between 26 September and 23 October.

A market appraisal wins the instruction when the seller believes your price and believes you can achieve it. That takes a figure backed by comparable evidence, a clear plan for the first weeks of marketing, and proof of what you've sold. A high figure can win the instruction, but in our data homes whose price was cut before an offer had been on the market far longer, so agree up front when you'll review the price.

What the rules require

The Property Ombudsman's Code of Practice for Residential Estate Agents (March 2026) has a section on market appraisals:

• 4a: your advice to a seller "must be in the consumer's best interests and within the law", and you must explain the benefits and disadvantages of any method of sale you recommend.
• 4b: any figure you advise, as an asking price or a possible selling price, "must be given in good faith", must reflect the property and current market conditions, and "must be supported by comparable evidence. You must never deliberately misrepresent the market value of a property."
• 4c: the comparable evidence "must be retained on file for future reference."
• 4d: once instructed, you "must keep your marketing strategy under regular review with your client."
• 4e: for leasehold, commonhold or managed freehold homes, make the seller aware they should contact their lease administrator, commonhold association or freehold manager for the material information buyers will need.

So the evidence isn't only good practice. It's the file you'll need if a seller later complains about the figure.

Step 1: Build the evidence before you arrive

Walk in with two sets of comparables, not one:

1. What has sold. Completed sales of similar homes nearby over the last 12 to 18 months, from HM Land Registry price paid data. This is what buyers have paid.
2. What it's up against now. Similar homes on the market today. These are the listings a buyer will view on the same Saturday, and their asking prices shape the seller's expectations.

Know how long homes like this take to sell. Of the 11,958 homes on home.co.uk that went under offer between 26 September and 23 October 2026, the typical one had been on the market for 40 days. Typical time to an offer rose with price:

Step 2: Look at what the comparables can't see

At the property, note what moves value either way: extensions and loft conversions, condition, the EPC rating, parking, garden size and aspect, and tenure and lease length on flats. A refurbishment that hasn't reached the sold data yet is yours to price in, and to explain.

Step 3: Give a range, then a recommendation

Sellers trust a reasoned range more than a single number. A useful shape is three figures:

• A base price, the level the evidence firmly supports.
• An expected price, where you think it will sell.
• A go-to-market price, the asking price you recommend, and why.

Then talk about what happens if the price needs to change. Of the homes that went under offer in our four weeks, 71% did so without a reduction, after a typical 23 days on the market. The 29% that were reduced first had typically been listed for 123 days by the time of the offer. That isn't a like-for-like comparison, because a home that gets cut has, by definition, already been on the market a while. Looked at separately, the typical cut came 70 days after listing, and the typical offer 33 days after the cut (separate medians, so they don't add up to 123). Listings alone can't tell us whether those first prices were too high. What they do show is that a cut usually comes after more than two months, so agree with the seller now when you'll review the price if offers don't come.

Step 4: Show your results, not just your fee

Sellers compare agents on results. Bring yours to the appraisal in writing: homes you've sold nearby, how long they took, and what share of the asking price they achieved, for the seller's street or postcode if you can.

Step 5: Check who you're dealing with

Before you take the instruction, you have to know who your client is. The legal duty comes from the Money Laundering Regulations 2017, and paragraph 5f of the Code repeats it: you "must undertake Customer Due Diligence" on the seller "before you establish a business relationship", and keep those records for five years from the date of the transaction. Most estate agency businesses are supervised for this by HMRC. Asking for ID at the appraisal saves a delay once the seller says yes.

Step 6: Put it in writing the same day

Send the figures, the comparables and your marketing plan in writing, ideally before you're back at the office. A written appraisal answers the questions the seller will ask once you've gone, and keeps the record the Code asks for. If you're instructed, the Code (5g) also requires written confirmation and your Terms of Business, with your fees, before the seller is committed.

Step 7: Follow up, and keep reviewing

Call within a day or two. Once instructed, agree in advance when you'll review the price if viewings or offers don't come, so the review in paragraph 4d is a plan, not a surprise.

How Home helps

• The AI Market Appraisal gathers six sold and six live comparables, has three AI models value the home independently, and gives you base, expected and go-to-market figures in a report you can edit. How it works explains each step.
• Branded market intelligence reports put local data in front of a seller with your name on it.
• Patch scores which homes in your area are most likely to move next, so you can book appraisals early.
• Check sold prices for any town as you prepare, for example Leeds house prices and homes for sale in Leeds.

Listing on Home is free. Join as an agent to use the toolkit, or read our guide for estate agents.

Before you take the instruction, you have to know who your client is.

How we worked this out

We took every home for sale on home.co.uk that went under offer between 26 September and 23 October 2026, counting each home once: 11,958 homes. Days to an offer run from the date it was listed to the date it went under offer. A home counts as reduced if its price was cut between listing and offer. Figures are medians, the middle value. Only homes that went under offer are counted, so homes still unsold or withdrawn aren't in these figures.

More in Winning and running instructions: Home for agents

• Budget 2026: what the Chancellor's measures mean for estate agents

Frequently asked questions

What is a market appraisal?

An estate agent's assessment of what a home is likely to sell for, and the asking price they recommend, usually given in a free visit before a seller chooses an agent. It isn't a formal valuation. For a mortgage or legal purpose you need a RICS-regulated surveyor.

What's the difference between a market appraisal and a valuation?

A market appraisal is an agent's opinion of the achievable price, to help a seller set an asking price. A formal valuation is carried out by a RICS-regulated surveyor to a professional standard, for a lender or for legal reasons.

Can an agent overvalue a house to win the instruction?

They mustn't. The Property Ombudsman's code says any figure must be given in good faith, supported by comparable evidence, and must never deliberately misrepresent market value.

How many comparables should a market appraisal use?

Enough to show the range: a handful of recent sales and a handful of current listings of similar homes nearby. Home's AI Market Appraisal uses six of each.

How long does it take to sell a house?

The typical home that went under offer on home.co.uk between 26 September and 23 October 2026 had been listed for 40 days. Homes whose price was cut before the offer had typically been listed for 123 days, partly because a cut usually comes after a long spell on the market.

Sources

• Code of Practice for Residential Estate Agents (England, March 2026). The Property Ombudsman. Accessed 29 October 2026.
• Price paid data. HM Land Registry. Accessed 29 October 2026.
• Money laundering supervision for estate and letting agency businesses. HM Revenue and Customs. Accessed 29 October 2026.