What Is a Down Valuation? Why Offers Change and What You Can Do

Estate agent Benham and Reeve estimates that one in eight of all properties sold get down valued, putting the average down valuation at 2.8%. Zoopla quotes mortgage broker, Bankrate UK as estimating that 46% of properties are down valued, while financial services provider, HBB Solutions, puts the figure even higher, estimating that as many as half of all properties are down valued in some way.

If your home has been down valued, it could mean that your buyer can no longer afford to buy it. You may have to drop the price or you could even lose the sale.

An example of down valuation

• According to the Office for National Statistics, the average UK house price in March 2025 was £271,000.
• Using the above average down valuation of 2.8%, this would mean that the average property would be valued at £263,412
• This leaves the buyers with a shortfall of £7,588

If a down valuation occurs, buyers will have to find a way of making up the difference. This could mean using savings allocated for work in their new home. They can also try changing to a higher loan to value mortgage, for example 95% instead of 90%, so they can use half of their original 10% deposit to cover the shortfall, or trying a different lender in the hope of getting a better valuation.

If they’re unable to find a way of covering the shortfall, your buyers may try to renegotiate the price, or even simply drop their offer outright in a take-it-or-leave-it move. As the seller, you don’t have to accept this lower offer, and you can pull out of the sale. Unfortunately, formal mortgage applications often come quite late in the sale process, and so walking away and starting again might not be possible at this stage.

It’s also worth bearing in mind that other buyers will probably come across the same down valuation when they come to apply for a mortgage. You may need to accept the fact that your property simply isn’t worth as much as you hoped. If this is a general market trend, then you could try renegotiating the price of the home you’re buying to compensate for your own lower sale price.

What can sellers do to avoid down valuation?

Obviously, the best way to avoid getting a down valuation from a mortgage lender is to make sure your property is priced correctly in the first place. Here are some of the ways to avoid a down valuation:

Price your property accurately

Pricing your property accurately is quite an art. Ask three different estate agents, and you’ll probably get three different prices. We know it’s tempting to go for the highest of these estimates, but you need to be realistic and not be greedy. If you overprice your home, you’ll reduce the number of potential buyers and with it your chances of a quick sale. Even if you do find a buyer at the higher price, there’s a strong possibility that their lender will down value your home anyway.

Read our companion article ‘the signs a house is overpriced and what to be aware of’ to find out more about pricing your home correctly.

Research the value of improvements and extensions

Home improvements can add significant value to your home, but you need to understand exactly how much if you want to avoid overpricing your property and risking a down valuation. For example, Magnet Kitchens estimate that a new kitchen will add 5-6% to the value, while Checkatrade estimates that a new bathroom will add 4-5%.

Overestimating the added value of home improvements is one of the biggest causes of down valuations, so it’s important to do your research to reach a price that your buyer’s mortgage lender is more likely to agree with.

Watch the local market closely

Professional surveyors don’t just check out your home, they watch the local market closely too. If neighbouring properties are dropping or stagnating in value, then you may find that the surveyor errs on the side of caution and values your home a little less than you were hoping for.

Unfortunately, many of the factors that influence property values, such as interest rates, UK and global economics and wider world events, are beyond our control and can change in a heartbeat. This can change the value of your home just as quickly, even though you’re selling exactly the same property.

Get your own survey

The best way to get a valuation that your mortgage company’s surveyor will agree with, is to play them at their own game. The most accurate valuation for your home will come from a RICS registered surveyor. They are completely independent from buyers, sellers and lenders, and so they will give you an accurate and unbiased valuation for your home.

If your property still gets down valued by a mortgage lender, you can use this survey as evidence to get them to reconsider their position.

Fix any red flag problems

One reason why properties are often down valued is because of work that needs doing or faults that need fixing. In theory, the down valuation should only be the amount that it would take to resolve these issues, but surveyors often overestimate these costs to be on the safe side and protect the lender.

If you have the time and the money, it’s usually better to get any red flag issues fixed yourself before you sell. This will usually cost you less than a down valuation would be. If you’re not in a position to fix problems, you should at least get professional estimates for the work that you can use as evidence to challenge an excessive down valuation.

Be aware of the new build premium

Buying a brand new home is a bit like buying a brand new car. It will start to lose value the second you take ownership. That means that if you come to sell a new build home soon after buying it, then it could well be worth less than you paid. This is because of what is called the new build premium.

Specialist valuers, VAS, explain that while you may have been be prepared to pay a premium to be the first to live in a home, this is not part of the true value of the property, especially when it comes to selling it on. As a result, your property may be down valued compared to the price you originally paid for it. This can be the case even if you bought it very recently and the local market has gone up.

Dealing with a down valuation as a seller

Finding out that your home has been down valued, after you have agreed a sale price with your buyer, can be a bit of a shock. But it doesn’t have to be the end of the world, or even the end of your sale. There are a number of steps you can take to try to resolve the situation and save your sale:

Challenge the down valuation

There is nothing to stop you from asking the mortgage lender to think again. Lenders are generally risk averse and surveyors will err on the side of caution when it comes to valuations.

If you think that they’ve got the valuation wrong, you can ask them to look at it again. You’ll need to present evidence as to why their surveyor got it wrong, and the stronger your case, the more likely they are to listen. However, there are no guarantees and they are under no obligation to reconsider their decision.

Get the property surveyed by someone else

As discussed above, you can check the valuation by having your own survey done by a RICS registered valuer. This will cost you money, between £250 and £500 depending on property value, but it can be worth it if they value your home higher and you can use this to persuade your buyer’s mortgage lender to do the same.

Find a new seller with a more flexible lender

If you think that your buyer’s mortgage lender has been particularly cautious, you could ask them to try for a loan elsewhere. Alternatively, you can look for a different buyer with a different lender who may view your home more favourably. This can be a risk, however, as lenders tend to share the same caution and aversion to risk. If you let your buyer go, you may struggle to find a new buyer who can get the valuation you need.

Renegotiate the sale price with the buyer

It will feel hard to come down on price when your buyer has already agreed to pay more, but in the end, you may have no other option. You can try to save some of the lost value by meeting your buyers halfway, with you taking a hit on price while they add extra cash from savings or a higher loan to value mortgage. This can make the process feel fairer all round, if your buyers are willing to compromise.

That said, if your buyers stick to their guns and offer what their lender values your property at, then you may have no choice but to accept it. At the end of the day, a property is only ever worth what you can actually sell it for.

Is this something that buyers need to worry about?

As a buyer who wants to buy with a mortgage, it’s naturally worrying that your lender may not offer you a large enough loan to buy the home you want, at the price you have agreed. Unfortunately, most buyers will not find out about down valuation problems until quite late in the sales process, by which time they may be committed, both financially and in other ways, to completing the move.

If you’re unable to find a way to make up the shortfall, and the seller is unwilling to drop the price to match your mortgage offer, then the sale will fall through and you’ll lose the property.

Share of agreed sales that collapse before completion. Sources: Propertymark; TwentyCi, June 2026.

The best way to avoid being in this situation is to do everything you can to accurately assess the value of the home you want to buy, to make sure that you’re not paying over the odds. It can be tempting to offer high to secure a property that you’re keen on, but your enthusiasm and love for a home are not part of the surveyor’s considerations when coming up with a value.

If you’re calm and careful, and do all your due diligence on a property, then you should be able to put in an offer that is not only acceptable to the seller, but also to your mortgage company.