I would dearly love to be able to go out and give someone a simple appraisal based on recent comparable sales adjusted for current market conditions but I know that some of my competitors will take that figure and then add a bit as they believe the vendor is expecting more.

If I did not value in a similar way I would not be in business for long. Sure there are some people who accept your reasoned and logical pricing but there are others who simply want the highest figure and are uninterested in the agents ability to justify it.

I am afraid that all too often the public get the agents they deserve. If the public had access to statistics such as those found on vizzihome then they could see for themselves which agents are successful and which cynically overvalue to get business.

Perhaps agents should have to display the % of properties that actually sell from those they take on.