The Asking Price
Once you have had your 3 or 4 valuations there is likely to be a difference in the suggested asking prices. Your instinct will probably be to go for the highest figure, it is only natural to want the best price for your property, but you should resist this temptation and look at how the agents justified their valuations.
The only reliable way to value a property for sale is to look at what prices were achieved on recently sold comparable properties. If the agents that you have invited in to give you a valuation were chosen because they had a good selection of properties like yours on their books they should be able to provide you with details of comparables.
What you are looking for is an agent that comes to see you armed with particulars of properties that they have recently sold. They should talk you through how the comparable properties differed from yours and what prices they achieved. Through this process it’s likely that you will have a good idea of the value of your property before they even tell you.
Make sure that the agents differentiate between the asking price and what they think you will realistically achieve. Agents build in varying amounts for negotiation but the figure that you should be interested in is the amount that you can achieve.
Your natural desire to get the best possible price may be exploited by the more unscrupulous agents. Deliberate overvaluing is a tactic that some agents use to get properties on their books. This often goes hand in hand with a very long sole agency agreement so that by the time you realise that your property is overpriced you cannot dis-instruct the agent that misled you so you are forced to reduce the price and stick with them.
There are two ways in which you can protect yourself from this scenario. Study the comparable evidence carefully to ensure that it backs up the value you have been given (remember you are looking for properties which have sold, not those on the market which may also be overvalued) and if greed does get the better of you insist that the agency agreement is for a limited time.