POA - price on application banned
A big change in how estate agents are allowed to price a property has come into force, removing an option for sellers to keep the value of their home private. The Move Places team looks at what the change means for sellers and what other options are available.
What is POA?
The abbreviation POA means Price on Application. It’s a term often used by estate agents and sellers to create interest and draw in buyers. POA masks the asking price of a property in advertisements, both online and in estate agents’ windows. As a result, some buyers started the enquiry process only to discover the property was outside of their budget.
Who made the decision and why?
The change is being brought in by the National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency Team (NTSELAT), and it came into force at the end of May 2022.
Trading Standards was asked to review the use of POA as part of a wider project improving the details – known as material information - that is shared on property listings. It felt the use of POA was misleading as it withholds or hides the asking price from consumers.
The NTSELAT team believed buyers should have key pieces of information, including the asking price, when a property is marketed so they can make an informed decision on a property. As a result, they felt that POA was unhelpful, unlawful and should not be used in the future.
How does this affect sellers?
Although it is a significant change for the industry, in practice it will affect less than 1% of property listings as this style of pricing has fallen out of fashion of late. Sellers who wish to keep the value of their property private from neighbours and others can use the off market sales method – something our sister company, Open Property Group, can facilitate. Vendors using the open market method of sales must be more transparent about the amount of money they want for their home.
How can I price my property?
Sellers needn’t despair – there are plenty of ways to price your property to make sure it is attractive to the right buyers. One option is to use a single-figure guide price, which usually reflects the minimum a seller wants for their home. A guide price can be a good way to draw buyers in, with properties often selling for far higher than stated.
On the other hand, giving a price range such as between £400,000 and £450,000 can be attractive to buyers with different budgets and attract a wider range of offers. Alternatively, ‘OIEO’ or ‘offers in excess of’ can be used to show the minimum price you’d sell for, in the hope every offer will be made over this benchmark figure.
Achieving the best price with Move Places
Move Places has vast experience in property sales, agreeing a pricing strategy that suits each individual seller’s circumstances and timescale. Contact us for a free valuation and selling advice.