Sellers overvalue their properties by 6.8% ...

Homeowners in England and Wales over estimated the value of their property by an average 6.8% in 2016, according to research by Quick Move Now.

The company compared the figure owners believed their property to be worth to the price the property eventually achieved being sold on the open market.

But while homeowners are still overvaluing their properties, their expectations have become increasingly more accurate in recent years, as reflected by figures for the previous four years, which were also released by Quick Move Now.

Advertisement Year	Average amount homeowners over/undervalued their property by
2016	Overvalued by 6.80%
2015	Overvalued by 9.85%
2014	Overvalued by 13.69%
2013	Overvalued by 13.93%
2012	Overvalued by 18.07%

Danny Luke, Quick Move Now's managing director, commented: “After the property boom, many homeowners became overly optimistic about the value of their property. Widespread coverage of rising property prices and the profit on offer through the buying and selling of property gave many homeowners false expectations. This can be seen in the figures from 2012.

“Thankfully, as time has gone on, homeowners have become more realistic about the value of their property, but, as the figures for last year show, with homeowners still overvaluing their property by an average 6.8%, many still believe their property to be worth considerably more than its true value.”

When it comes to regional figures, it seems homeowners in Greater London have been most successful in accurately valuing their homes over the last five years. In fact, according to Quick Move Now's figures, homeowners in and around the capital actually undervalued their property by an average 4.3% between 2012 and 2016.

At the other end of the spectrum, homeowners in the North East of England offered the least accurate property valuations, on average overvaluing their property by an average 19.99% over the corresponding time period.

Region	Average amount homeowners over/undervalued their property by (2012-2016)
Greater London	Undervalued by 4.30%
South East England	Overvalued by 5.32%
East of England	Overvalued by 6.06%
South West England	Overvalued by 9.81%
East Midlands	Overvalued by 10.02%
West Midlands	Overvalued by 12.71%
Yorkshire and the Humber	Overvalued by 14.77%
North West England	Overvalued by 16.87%
Wales	Overvalued by 19.42%
North East England	Overvalued by 19.99%

Luke added: “Looking at the regional breakdown of figures over the five year period we can see a great deal of optimism from homeowners across the country.

“In areas where the property market has performed well in recent years; London, the South East and the East of England, that optimism is not too far off the mark.

“Unfortunately, in areas where the property market has struggled to pick up following the recession; the North East and Wales in particular, property owners appear to be vastly over-optimistic about what their property might be worth.”