Are Homeowners Overvaluing Their Homes?

Setting a price for your home can be a difficult task, choosing between head and heart. To see how homeowners in England and Wales are valuing their property, the team here at The Property Buying Company analysed a year's worth of property deals.

We analysed over 3,725 property deals between 15th July 2025 and 15th July 2026, looking at individual counties whose homeowners were most likely to overvalue their property - and by how much.

How much are homeowners overvaluing their properties? 

The data shows that overall, two-thirds of homeowners (65.6%) looking to sell in England and Wales are overvaluing their property’s underwritten value. The research showed that, on average, homeowners overvalued their property by 4.3%.

Nearly one in five (19%) overvalued their home by more than 10%, and one in 20 (5.2%) overvalued it by 20% or more. 

At the other end of the scale, one in five homeowners (20.3%) were even undervaluing their property’s value. 

What does it mean to overvalue a house? 

Overvaluing a house means placing a value that is higher than what it is realistically worth based on factors such as its location, condition, size, and recent sales of similar properties.

This can happen for a number of reasons. Homeowners might have an emotional attachment to their property or have an outdated view of local house prices.

In this research, we compared the value homeowners placed on their property with The Property Buying Company’s underwritten value to measure the difference between the two

Counties with the highest average property overvaluation 

The size of the gap between homeowner expectations and underwritten property values varies considerably across England and Wales.

Greater London recorded the highest average overvaluation in our dataset at 6.9%, followed by Warwickshire at 6.7% and Lincolnshire at 6.1%. Overall, seven of the ten highest-ranking counties had an average overvaluation of more than 5%.

Overvaluation by county in England & Wales

Counties where homeowners are most likely to overvalue 

Looking at how frequently homeowners overvalued their property, Buckinghamshire had the highest proportion in our dataset, with 78.9% of properties valued above their underwritten value.

Suffolk followed closely at 78.3%, while Cumbria ranked third at 77.1%. In each of the ten highest-ranking counties, at least seven in ten properties were overvalued by their owners.

Where are properties overvalued by more than 10%? 

Some areas also showed a particularly large gap between homeowner expectations and underwritten values.

The Vale of Glamorgan had the highest proportion of properties overvalued by more than 10%, at 28.9%. Cumbria and Humberside followed jointly at 25.7%, with Durham close behind at 25.5%.

This means that in each of these areas, around one in four properties within our dataset were valued by their owners at least 10% above their underwritten value.

Where are properties overvalued by more than 20%? 

There were also clear regional differences when looking specifically at properties overvalued by more than 20%.

Durham recorded the highest proportion, with 12.3% of properties in our dataset overvalued by more than 20%. This was followed by Tyne & Wear at 10.9% and Humberside at 9.5%.

Is there a disconnect between homeowners’ perceptions and objective property valuations? 

Our data demonstrates a clear disconnect between homeowners’ perceptions and objective property valuations, with just 14.1% of homeowners spot on with their valuations. The majority of homeowners are overvaluing their homes, compared to their value determined by the underwriting process. This can be due to a number of factors such as emotional attachment to the property, investment bias, and limited knowledge of the property market.

What happens if you overvalue your house? 

While it might be tempting to set a higher asking price, this can make it more difficult to attract serious buyers, particularly if you’ve overvalued your home in comparison to similar local properties on the market.

This means your property can spend longer on the market. Reductions further down the line can cause buyers to question why the property hasn’t sold or create further room for negotiation.

If you do receive an offer at a higher price, your buyer’s mortgage lender may still value the property at a lower amount. If this happens, the buyer may need to renegotiate the agreed price, provide a larger deposit, or reconsider the purchase altogether.

If speed is a priority, our guide to selling your house fast for market value explains the options available and what to consider when looking for a quicker sale without unnecessarily compromising on price.  

How do I find the market value of my home? 

There are multiple factors that can determine the value of your property, such as location, size, condition, age, and features, as well as wider conditions reflected in the local property market. While there is no single figure that determines exactly what your property will sell for, it’s often helpful to research recent sales of similar homes in the local area to give you a strong starting point. 

Estate agent valuations and online valuation tools can also give you a good starting point. If you’re unsure of where to start, our guide on how to find out how much your house is worth explains the different ways to value your property accurately. 

Methodology 

The Property Buying Company analysed a total of 3,751 deals between the 15th July 2025 to 15th July 2026. Data outliers were excluded, i.e where a county had fewer than 20 deals, or where the deal county was classified as ‘Unknown’. Counties were then ranked based on individual factors such as: highest average overvaluation of properties; highest percentage of people overvaluing their property; percentage of people overvaluing by more than 10%; and the percentage of people overvaluing their property by more than 20%.