ESTATE agents' property valuations are a lottery, with suggested asking prices varying by up to six figures on the same home, it has been claimed.

Consumer group Which? warned that overvaluing a property to get business was a common problem in the industry, while other agents would undervalue homes to get a quick sale.

Researchers for the group posed as sellers and invited 56 estate agents to value 14 homes across the country in locations including London, Tyne and Wear, Suffolk and Worcestershire.

The group found that in six cases the top valuation was at least 25 per cent higher than the lowest, while in one case it was 63 per cent more.

The biggest discrepancy occurred in Tyne and Wear, where Halifax Estate Agents valued a property at '200,000, while Moody & Co suggested it went on the market for '325,000, a 63 per cent difference.

In Liverpool, Bradford & Bingley valued a house at '125,000; however, Halifax thought it was worth 44 per cent more at '180,000.

Touting

Author of the report Pete Tynan said: "Touting for business, deliberately overvaluing, is a common problem, according to a property expert questioned by Which? Some agents give high valuations to get a customer's business, then suggest a more realistic price once they've locked sellers into a contract."

But the group warned that undervaluing a property could also be a problem. It said one consumer had been told his house in Exmouth was valued at under '250,000 by two estate agents, but a third recommended an asking price of '325,000, and eventually sold the property for '320,000.

Which? said the research added further evidence to its claim the Ombudsman for Estate Agents scheme was ineffective at monitoring the industry.

The group has set up a Move It campaign to call for estate agents to be regulated and a proper system of redress to be set up.

Which? editor Malcolm Coles said: "For two years Which? has been demanding all estate agents are members of an independent redress scheme. This new government must do something to protect consumers when making the biggest purchase of their lives." Tweet