Scrap desk top valuations in today’s market, says surveyor

More lenders should scrap desktop valuations, a leading surveyor has said after one lender withdrew its use of Hometrack’s valuations.

Nemo Personal Finance decided that in a declining market, it was no longer safe to rely on automated desktop valuations, which use recent selling prices in the area to decide on a particular property’s value.

Now  Richard Kitt, managing director of Tyser Greenwood Surveyors, a part of Badger, has said that other lenders should do the same.

“It’s about time someone took this step and, hopefully, others will follow, helping to safeguard against perilous lending.  This announcement, however, is only relevant for lender valuations which are for the benefit of the lender, not the purchaser.

“Customers have a right to be treated fairly and be given correct and relevant information to make informed decisions. 

“On top of this, it is totally unrealistic for a lender to rely on a desk top valuation with data taken from completed sales which were arranged several months beforehand and, with the housing market currently in a state of uncertainty, the figure would undoubtedly now be much lower.”