What the sales show for this house
The house is in Frome, Somerset. Its figures come from our published redacted folio, October 2026.
| Type | End-terrace, freehold, built before 1900 |
| Registers flag | Grade II listed, in a conservation area |
| Floor area | 1,432 sq ft on the energy certificate (the advert says 1,306) |
| Asking price | £695,000 |
| Comparable sales | 25, sold up to July 2026 |
| Middle of those sales | £482,000 |
| Sales range | £403,210 to £541,889 |
| Sales below the asking | 23 of 25 |
The asking is ahead of the sales. It’s above 23 of the 25, and about £150,000 above the top of the range. Size for size, £695,000 would buy a terraced house of about 2,060 sq ft here: about 44% bigger than this one.
£695,000, against a sales range of about £400,000 to £540,000.
Sold for less than the askingSold for the asking or more
An asking price is the seller’s opening, not a measurement.
That doesn’t mean the house won’t sell for £695,000. It means a buyer paying that much would be paying for something the sales don’t show. So what might that be?
Looking at a house that seems overpriced? The same check works on its asking price. See it against the sales
What the sales can’t see
The Land Registry records a price, a date and the type of home. The energy certificate adds the floor area. Neither says whether the roof is sound, the kitchen is new or the garden is long.
Listed status
The registers do flag this one: the house is Grade II listed, in a conservation area. You may hear that listed homes sell for more. Here the sales show little of it. Over five years nearby, listed terraced homes sold for only about 4% more than unlisted ones, size for size, and on few listed sales. The asking is 44% above the middle of the sales.
Listing brings duties as well. Changes that affect a listed building’s character, inside or out, need listed building consent. If a past owner made changes without it, the council can require the owner to put them right, with no time limit. After you buy, that owner is you.
Condition and work done
A new roof, rewiring or a good kitchen won’t show in the sales. If the agent points to work like this, ask what was done, when and whether each job had listed building consent. Then ask which homes in the same condition sold for more. A Level 3 survey by a surveyor who knows listed homes will show what the house needs.
The garden, and the rest
A long garden, outbuildings, parking or an open view won’t appear in either register. If the agent names one, ask which homes nearby with the same feature sold for more, and for how much.
The size question
The two records disagree. The energy certificate says 1,432 sq ft; the advert says 1,306. At the advert’s 1,306 sq ft, the same sales give a range of £367,835 to £494,347, so the asking sits even further above it. Ask the agent who measured the floor plan, and check it at the survey. A floor plan on its own is thin evidence for paying more.
So what should you offer?
On this house the sales support an offer well under the asking, and they give you the reason to put with it. Before you make the offer, decide your walk-away and ask your broker about the lender’s valuation. Which number you offer is your call.
Well under the asking is reasonable here
With the asking above 23 of the 25 sales, an offer well under it is reasonable, not rude. On this house, the sales point to a first offer far closer to their range than to £695,000. If nothing you find at the viewing or the survey explains the gap, the sales give little reason to go near the asking.
The sales don’t point to a rush, either. Size for size, prices here barely moved in a year, and fewer homes of this size sold than the year before. Ask the agent how long the house has been on the market, and whether the price has changed. Here’s what a long time on the market means.
Say why, with the sales
Phone with your offer, then email it. Say where you stand first, but only what’s true. Then the number, then the sales it rests on, as a list the agent can check. If the agent pushes back:
| The agent says | You can say |
|---|---|
| “It’s listed. Listed houses sell for more.” | “Could you send me the listed sales nearby that went for more? I’d like to see them.” |
| “We have offers over the asking.” | “Are those buyers ready to go, with a mortgage agreed and nothing to sell? My offer stands.” |
| “Those sales aren’t like this house.” | “Which ones would you take out, and why?” |
And anything over £695,000 would be at least 28% above the top of the sales range.
Decide your walk-away first
Before the first offer, decide the most you’ll pay, and write it down. Set it from the sales, what you can afford and how much you want this house, not from the asking. Paying above the sales for a house you love is a fair choice if you make it knowingly, with cash to cover a low valuation. Keep the number to yourself.
Ask your broker about the valuation
Your lender lends on its own valuation, not your price, and its valuer looks at recent comparable sales too. If the valuation comes in below your price, the lender lends less and you cover the gap in cash. That’s more likely when the price sits well above the sales. Before you offer on this house, ask your broker what they’d lend if it were valued at £542,000, the top of the sales range.
For any house, our guide to how much to offer on a house covers the wider question. The full folio for this house is published, redacted. See the redacted folios
Questions
How do I know if a house is overpriced?
Set the asking against what comparable homes nearby sold for, not against other asking prices. If most of them sold for less, and the asking sits above the top of their range, it’s ahead of the sales. Then ask what the sales can’t see.
Should I offer less on an overpriced house?
If the asking is above what comparable homes sold for, the evidence supports an offer well under it, and the sales are your reason. How far under is your call: weigh how much you want the house, what a lender may lend and anything the sales can’t see.
Should I tell the agent my walk-away?
No. Tell them your offer and the sales it rests on. Knowing the most you’ll pay only helps the seller.
What if the valuation comes in below the price I agree?
The lender lends on the lower figure, so you’d need more cash. You can ask the seller to meet the valuation, cover the gap, try another lender or pull out before exchange.