Published: 31/12/2025 By Tom Bloomfield
The property market in East Anglia has remained broadly flat in recent years, with little meaningful price movement. For those buying and selling locally, a stable market can actually be a positive: it creates an unrushed, predictable environment in which to make decisions confidently.
However, there is one area where a flat market requires a shift in mindset — and that’s how we approach asking prices.
Overvaluations Are Becoming More Problematic
Overvaluation has resurfaced as a hot topic in estate agency circles, likely driven by the more challenging market conditions affecting much of the UK.
The criticism is familiar: some agents present vendors with optimistic price advice they know is unachievable, simply to secure the instruction. Once the property is tied in and interest proves lacking, the vendor is then encouraged into a series of price reductions until the house eventually sells.
In my view, conversations about overvaluation are often too simplistic. Two points are worth making:
- An agent’s role is to achieve the best price possible, and that naturally includes some ambition when setting the asking price.
- The real issue isn’t the number — it’s the language.
Consider the difference:
Agent 1: “Your house is excellent, Mrs Jones. If you appoint me, I’m certain I’ll find you a buyer very quickly at £600,000.”
Agent 2: “Mrs Jones, based on the comparable evidence, my view is that £600,000 is the upper limit of what we can reasonably ask. That’s the price I’d suggest we launch at. But property markets can be unpredictable, so we may need to make adjustments if £600,000 proves too strong.”
£600,000 and £600,000 are the same figure — but these are very different valuations.
Most agents in the UK behave more like Agent 1 than Agent 2 and in a rising market, this is less of a problem: if you start too high, the market often “catches up.”
In a flat market, though, overpriced homes simply sit. Vendors end up wasting weeks or months waiting for a buyer who is unlikely to materialise, clinging to overly confident advice.*
Practical advice for vendors in today’s market:
- Treat confident pricing advice with a healthy dose of caution.
- Be ambitious at launch, but don’t fall in love with the number. If you don’t see strong early interest within the first month, be ready to adjust. In a flat market, responsiveness wins.
Adopt a Dispassionate Mindset
During the Global Financial Crisis, a Zoopla survey (October 2008) found that a third of homeowners believed their property had held or increased in value in the previous year — despite 97.3% of homes experiencing declines. Even more intriguingly, only 5% thought their own home would fall in the year ahead, while 16% thought their neighbour’s would.
These biases usually have familiar justifications such as:
“Our village is the most desirable in the area.”
“Mine is the only house with that view.”
“Mine is the only house with that view.”
But here’s the reality:
While submarkets absolutely exist** — and can help or hinder your property — broader shifts in lending, taxation, or affordability change the foundations of the market. Everything else moves with it.
Your village may indeed be the smartest in the county. It probably was when you bought. But in a market where buyers have less spending power, even the most desirable locations are affected.
In a flat market, unchecked optimism doesn’t help — clarity does.
In Summary
A good estate agent’s job is to secure the best possible price. That requires skill, understanding modern marketing techniques, discipline, and well‑organised processes — not bravado.
The savviest vendors are those who:
- Appreciate that good agency is process‑driven, not confidence‑driven.
- Maintain balanced expectations about their own home’s value.
- Are bold and decisive when negotiating on their onward purchase.
Footnotes
*Valuing highly individual homes is inherently more complex than valuing standardised properties due to limited comparable evidence. In such cases, more definitive language from an agent may be appropriate.
**For example, in my opinion the market for modern homes is currently outperforming the market for period homes due to increased energy costs. Homes with annex potential are also outperforming those without, given the rising cost of care.