The valuation playbook

You are not presenting
a number. You are
presenting evidence.

Every rival agent will arrive with a figure and a smile. You are arriving with sources, dates and workings. This is how to use each page of the report while you are standing in someone’s hallway.

The seller cannot tell whether your number is judgement or flattery. They can tell whether you did the work. Show them the work, and the question answers itself.

01
Arrive prepared
Read the research pack in the car.
02
Hand it over
Let them read the cover in silence.
03
Show the evidence
Comparables before conclusions.
04
Answer with the curve
Do not argue about price. Point.
05
Volunteer the gaps
Say what you could not confirm.
06
Leave it with them
The pack keeps working after you go.
01
Page 1

Cover

Cover page

always

Your logo, the address, the client's name, and the three headline figures.

In the room

Hand it over before you say a number. Let them read it themselves. The silence while they look at the cover is the most valuable ten seconds of the appointment.

“I’ve done the homework before coming. Everything in here is sourced.”

WatchDo not talk over them while they read the cover.

Headline figures

always

Evidence-based value, recommended launch price, and the six-week sale probability.

In the room

Three numbers, not one. The gap between the value and the launch price is your strategy, and the probability is your honesty.

“The value is what the evidence supports. The launch price is what I would market it at, and here is what that does to your chances.”

WatchIf a seller fixates on the launch price, bring them back to the value. That is the defensible one.

02
Page 2

The evidence

Executive summary

Six cards: value, launch, likely range, probability, confidence score, property at a glance.

In the room

The likely range is where negotiations actually land. Point at it early and you will never be accused of over-promising later.

“Most sales agree somewhere in this band. I would rather show you the band than a single flattering number.”

WatchThe confidence score is here. If it is low, address it before they find it.

Probability and confidence explainers

Plain-English captions saying what those two numbers mean, and what they do not.

In the room

Most sellers have never seen a confidence score on a valuation. Explain it once and they will trust everything after it.

“A guarantee would be dishonest. This is how strong the evidence is.”

WatchRemoving this leaves two numbers nobody understands.

Property overview

A short factual description of the home, its accommodation and its position.

In the room

Read it aloud. If anything is wrong, the seller will correct you, and you have just improved the valuation for free.

“Tell me if I have any of this wrong. It changes the number.”

WatchThis is written from the form. Errors here are the seller’s errors, and worth catching.

Value analysis

Floor area, price per square foot, and condition, with a note on how the figure was reached.

In the room

Price per square foot is the language of professional valuation. Using it makes you sound like a surveyor rather than a salesperson.

“Your street trades at roughly this per square foot. Your home is this size. That is where the figure starts.”

WatchIf floor area is unverified, it says so. Own it — offer to arrange an EPC.

Comparable sales evidence

The sold homes behind the figure: address, size, rate, date, price, and the weight each carries.

In the room

This is the section that wins the instruction. Every rival agent brings a number. You are the only one bringing the receipts.

“These four sales are why. Number 2 sold in July for this, at this per square foot. You can look it all up.”

WatchKnow why each one carries the weight it does. A seller who asks and gets a shrug learns you did not read it.

Sales we left out, and why

A short note under the comparables naming nearby sales we looked at and set aside, each with the reason.

In the room

Your rival's higher figure usually leans on a sale that is not like for like. Show the sales you set aside, and why, and their number has to answer to the same evidence.

“We looked at that sale. It was a much larger extended home, so we did not lean on it. Here is why.”

WatchOnly appears when there were sales worth naming. Do not pad it.

03
Page 3

The strategy

Pricing strategy and sale probability curve

A chart showing how the chance of selling within six weeks falls as the asking price rises.

In the room

The single most persuasive object in the pack. When a seller asks for more, do not argue. Put a finger on the curve and let it answer.

“We can absolutely ask that. Here is what it does to your chance of a sale in six weeks.”

WatchNever use it to bully. Show it, then stop talking.

Three ways to launch

Three asking prices side by side: a quick sale, our recommendation, and testing the market, each with its chance of selling in six weeks and what the seller keeps.

In the room

Let the seller choose with the numbers in front of them. Most who ask for more than the evidence supports change their mind when they see the third column's odds sitting next to the first.

“There are three honest ways to launch. This is what each one asks of you, and what it costs if it does not work.”

WatchPresent the three together, never the ambitious one alone. The recommended price is the one to defend.

Local market conditions

How the wider local market is moving, and where this street sits within it.

In the room

Useful for sellers who have been watching the portals and formed a view from asking prices rather than sold prices.

“Asking prices tell you what sellers hope for. Sold prices tell you what buyers paid.”

Current market conditions

The homes actually for sale near yours at a similar price, each with a line on why it matters.

In the room

Buyers compare your home with what is on the market this week, not what sold last year. Walk the seller through the three closest rivals and let them see the competition for themselves.

“These are the homes your buyers will be looking at on the same Saturday morning.”

WatchA home that has sat on the market for months is evidence too. Ask why it has not sold.

On-site valuation guide

always

A grid showing how the value moves with the standard of the home as found on the visit and its verified floor area. The centre cell is our recommended price.

In the room

Use it in the hallway, not the car. Look at the home properly, choose the row that matches what you see, then read across to the measured floor area. The seller watches the number move for a reason, not because you wanted it to.

“Our figure assumes this standard. If what I see today is better, here is what that is worth. If it is worse, here is what that costs.”

WatchRows marked needs market evidence sit above the best sale we found. Do not move up them without proof. The guide is vendor-facing, so be ready to defend every row you choose.

What happens if we overprice

The mechanics of a stale listing: fewer viewings, an early reduction, a lower final price.

In the room

The hardest conversation in the job, already written down. Let the page be the bad guy so you can be the ally.

“I am not going to flatter you into a price cut in six weeks. I would rather lose the instruction than do that.”

WatchSay this before they ask for a higher figure, not after.

Our recommendation

The formal launch recommendation, in one paragraph, with the reasoning.

In the room

Your professional opinion, on the record, in writing. Sellers keep this page.

“That is my recommendation, and I have put my name to it.”
04
Page 4

You and your fee

Why choose you

Four cards about your agency: photography, review process, honesty, communication.

In the room

Read last, if at all. The evidence has already done the selling. This is a reminder, not an argument.

“I will leave that with you.”

WatchEdit these to be true of your agency. Generic claims undo the credibility the evidence just built.

Our fees and estimated proceeds

Your fee including VAT, and what the seller is likely to walk away with.

In the room

Sellers care about the number at the bottom, not the percentage. Showing proceeds rather than a rate reframes the whole conversation.

“This is what you would expect to have in your hand, before your mortgage and legals.”

WatchTurn this off if you prefer to discuss fees verbally. Many agents do.

What is included

The services covered by your fee, in one line.

In the room

Pre-empts the cheapest-quote comparison. Costs nothing to include.

“All of that is in the fee. There is nothing else to pay.”

Final valuation summary

The four figures restated, with one closing sentence.

In the room

The page a seller photographs and sends to their partner. Make sure it says what you want repeated.

05
Page 5

The workings

How we built this valuation

A waterfall of every adjustment, from the anchoring sale to the final figure.

In the room

Hand this to the sceptical spouse. It is the page that survives being read twice.

“Every pound of that is itemised. Argue with any line and I will change it if you are right.”

WatchBe ready to defend each line. That is the point of it.

What we checked

always

Three columns: confirmed from records, taken as described, still to confirm.

In the room

The most counterintuitive section, and the one that wins trust. You are volunteering what you do not know, before anyone asks.

“This column is what I have not been able to confirm yet. I would rather tell you now than have a survey tell you later.”

WatchCannot be switched off. A valuation that hides its assumptions is the thing this product exists to replace.

Evidence limitations

always

A statement that this is an evidence-based market appraisal, not a RICS Red Book valuation, survey or legal advice.

In the room

Nobody reads it. It protects you anyway.

WatchCannot be switched off. Removing it would misrepresent what the report is.

IN
Before you knock

Delivered with the report

Draft covering email

A written covering email to the seller, ready for you to review, edit and send.

In the room

Never sent automatically. It arrives with you, in your voice, for you to check.

WatchRead it before sending. It is a draft, not a decision.

Internal research pack

A separate admin PDF listing every source, every assumption and everything outstanding.

In the room

Read this in the car before you knock. It is where the answers to awkward questions live.

WatchNever give this to a client. It is marked admin only.

Site-visit checklist

A separate PDF listing what to verify on the visit, built from the gaps and conflicts found in the research.

In the room

It turns the gaps in the evidence into a to-do list for the appointment. Tick them off as you walk round and the score is earned honestly.

WatchInternal. Do not hand it to the client.

Challenge this valuation

A button on the report-ready screen and in My Reports. Add your context and evidence and the research is re-run.

In the room

If the seller says the floor area is bigger, or you know the story behind a comparable, put it in writing with the evidence and challenge. The result is a new report. The original is kept.

“That is useful. Let me add it to the evidence and see what changes.”

WatchUses one credit. Specific evidence moves the number. Opinion does not.

The one rule

Never defend the number.
Defend the evidence.

A seller who challenges your figure is not challenging you. They are challenging a comparable, a floor area, or an adjustment. Find which one, turn to that page, and answer it. If they are right, change the figure and say so out loud. You will have won more trust in that moment than any pitch could buy.

And when the evidence is thin, say the evidence is thin. The confidence score is on the page whether you mention it or not. Mentioning it first is what separates you from every other agent who has stood in that hallway.

Evidata reports are evidence-based market appraisals. They are not RICS Red Book valuations, surveys, or legal advice. Every report is produced from public records and the information supplied, and is reviewed by you before it reaches your client. Four sections cannot be switched off: the cover, the headline figures, what we checked, and the limitations statement.

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