'Down valuation' phenomenon happening at 'scale not seen before' - and it's threatening house sales

Brokers are seeing more down valuations in the property market, putting sales at risk and causing deals to collapse.

One has seen a spate of down valuations during the past fortnight, ranging from 10% up to almost a third of a property's value.

What is a down valuation?

It's when a mortgage surveyor or valuer deems a property's value to be less than the agreed sale price or open market value.

Down valuations can cause problems and delays in the buying process and the purchase to fall through.

What have brokers said?

Marginal property valuations are not that uncommon, but one broker said he has seen up to £400,000 knocked off in the past couple of weeks.

Jamie Elvin, director at London-based mortgage brokers Strive Mortgages, said: "In percentage terms, some have been 10%, 20% and even 30% of the property value.

"I've seen periods of down valuations before, but not really to this scale, and in a lot of these cases I don't think the wider market justifies the size of the reduction."

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He put it down to some surveyors taking an "extremely defensive position" due to market uncertainty.

"The knock-on effect is obvious: deals fall apart, chains come under pressure, buyers have to find larger deposits or renegotiate, and brokers end up spending huge amounts of time trying to challenge valuations or salvage cases that were otherwise perfectly workable," he said.

Tracey Dixon, owner at Cardiff-based mortgage broker Pure Mortgage and Protection, said down valuations "are certainly causing more disruption than they were a couple of years ago".

"In many cases, surveyors are taking a more cautious view of value because of ongoing market uncertainty, while sellers and buyers are still pricing properties based on stronger market conditions," she said.

"As brokers, we're increasingly having to manage expectations early and prepare clients for the possibility that the lender's valuation may differ from the agreed purchase price. Clear communication from the outset is becoming just as important as finding the right mortgage."

(c) Sky News 2026: 'Down valuation' phenomenon happening at 'scale not seen before' - and it's threatening house sal