What did that house sell for?

Having reviewed our recent keywords as to how people arrive at our website, three search terms appeared very highly at the time of writing, namely 'What did the house sell for?', 'How much did a property sell for?' and 'How much did that house sell for?' so thought it appropriate to write this for some of our more inquisitive visitors.

Finding out what a house sold has actually sold for

When viewing properties for sale, such as our listings of houses for sale in Cambridge, you can see offer prices - but what about the prices that houses actually sell for?

There are numerous house prices indices where you can find out the sale price of a completed property. The ones most commonly used within the industry are Rightmove, which also shows images of the property along with the sold price and date of completion. Zoopla which also shows the sold price and completion date, along with images (if the selling agent advertised on the site) and a suggested value of the property in the current market.

In addition, lenders such as Halifax and Nationwide have monthly house price reports based on their own sales data. In our opinion Rightmove has the most detailed report with information such as regional and national trends and a general overview of the market. It is always worth remembering that Cambridge can buck most trends, so the best way to find out how active the market is, is to speak with one of our local estate agents.

Data Delay

The issue with relying on this data is that it can often take three to six months for the land registry to update their records, which they then pass on to portals like the above. Taking into account the period between sale agreed and completion as well as the delay in the data from land registry, the value of the sold property is now likely to differ.

Why isn't data showing?

Compulsory registration of property sales was not completed until 1990 and the information for the price paid for the property was not recorded until 1995, but there are numerous situations when the prices are not recorded at all, namely:

• The address may have been recorded incorrectly.
• The property had a commercial element to the sale, for example a shop with a flat above
• There may be a Land Registry error
• Sale of part or a share of a property
• Sale of right-to-buy properties
• Transfers following divorce or by way of gift or exchange
• Transfers under Compulsory Purchase Order or by Court Order
• Transfer of more than one property as part of a portfolio

Historic Valuations

We are regularly asked for historic valuations for probate or tax purposes and find that the Nationwide house price calculator is a useful tool as they also give an approximate calculation based on historic house price data, meaning you can work backwards from current values. However, it is again based on regional and national trends and the regional data can only be filtered to East Anglia.

Instant Online Valuation

We do offer an instant valuation service that will give you an idea of the approximate value of your home, but for the best way to know what your house is worth it is best speaking to a local estate agent as they can give you a 'live' opinion based on buyer sentiment, demand and recent sales that have been agreed that haven't completed.

Free, no-obligation, valuation

Should you wish for a representative to visit your Cambridge property, we will happily arrange a free, no obligation, value of your home from one of our experts. Simply click now to request a valuation and we'll do the rest!

Image used under Creative Commons licence 2.0. with links to the original photo and licence.