Properties are being routinely mis-measured by estate agents, it has been claimed.
The firm behind the allegation, Spec, provides technology which it says provides accurate property measurements for floor plans.
It says its uses software and laser scanners that comply with RICS standards.
Comparing measurements and plans of 304 properties in London with its own technology, Spec says that one in eight had a discrepancy of at least 100 square feet, while the average discrepancy across all properties was 54 square feet.
In most (60%) cases where there was mis-measurement, the size of the property was over-stated.
Anthony Browne, senior adviser to Spec, said: “This is the great hidden scandal in the property market.
“It is ridiculous that when you buy a pint of beer or a pound of sugar you know exactly what you are getting, but when you buy your home you don’t.”
Spec’s ‘white paper’ on the subject was put together by university researchers from London and Cambridge.
It cites cases adjudicated by both The Property Ombudsman and Property Redress Scheme where different agents measured the same property differently.
In the TPO case, three different agents measured the same property as being between 664 sq ft and 745 sq ft. In the PRS case, compensation of £1,000 was paid after a buyer complained that one agent’s floor plan was 25% larger than another’s.
The report says that one of the properties looked at by researchers was being marketed as 3,229 sq ft, when it was actually 2,808 sq ft.
It says that the difference in value, based on £626 per sq ft, was £263,546.
In another case, a property was marketed at 1,455 sq ft but was found to be larger, at 1,684 sq ft.
Comments (16)
Interesting…
So did the quoted size on the Agents’ floorplans tally with the EPC measurements?
In’t North we just pace em art tha knows – it’s near enough
A great advertorial for Spec, but the problem is one of practicalities for agents on the ground.
The correct way to measure a property is specified by The International Property Measurement Standards Coalition (IPMSC) https://ipmsc.org/ to which the RICS has been a major contributor. How many agents have even heard of the specification, let alone are prepared to take the extra time required to actually follow it?
For example, an “L-shaped” loft room needs to be measured at a specific height above the floor to avoid the distortion to room size presented by skeilings and it must also be broken down into blocks, rather than taken as maximum measurements.
Also measurements should not be door frame to window frame (as opposed to wall to wall) as these will add in the region of 40 centimetres either way to the dimensions of a room. In a room that is 3 metres by 3 metres that makes a total difference of 2.56 square metres that’s an error of over 28% of the total!!!
Most property details do not list rooms like this: Living Room 3.50m x 2.90m plus 2.00m x 1.70m. This is mainly because it makes the room look smaller but also because the average buyer might discount the property by thinking “Oh, that sounds small.”
Then of course the agent can add a room on the ground floor that is actually an integral garage that should not be included within the overall floor space but usually is. Often you will find a detached garage included in the overall size because that’s the way the agent has added the “room” to the floorplan.
EPCs are often wrong in the size they quote too as an irregularly shaped property with “sticky out bits” are often measured to be rectangular or square which will add or subtract additional floor space.
A simple problem to overcome by teaching the people who do the floorplans to do them correctly in the first place, but if they’re in a hurry, I guarantee that best practice goes out the window.
Shall we discuss fees at this point?
argh…. measuring sticky out bits incorrectly. Stop it… I am sweating.
…also, valuers take their own measurements, and this is what really matters.
Hardly a scandal, except maybe that some agents or software providers are using square feet as a measurement! There’s disclaimers, and the EPC that provide enough info.
We had one that gave measurements like 13’96” x 8’72”. Turned out to be accurate in terms of the total number of inches – but a bit of a head scratcher at the time.
I have 2 in the last 24 hours where property has swapped to us, one of which no matter how many times I measure it and work it out… 600 square foot out!
One thing I do love is measuring property and producing floorplans (shockingly boring!!!) and the volume of estate agents who allow the floorplan software to auto calculate the area is crazy!
So often you can instantly see the shape of the property wrong (just with a photo and their floorplan in front of you), therefore area quoted wrong. If they were conscientious enough to override the area with a manual measurement, you would think they would be conscientious enough to get the shape right.
Doesn’t surprise me this, but I blame in the main the floorplan software for allowing an auto measurement – there should be a dirty great big warning explaining how the auto measurement is calculated or default to “Don’t show” so a “do show” is an act in which you can then be blamed for doing.
Adding to this we have CRM systems which read EPC square footage! Another completely different way of measuring to the average EA.
Wow… I am boring myself now.
You need help mate! go lie down on a sofa and talk it out! 🙂
hahaha… I do… seriously do. Love it. haha. Made me laugh.
Can I lie down next to you please Ric? (purely professional of course) it has been 17,557 days since you were supposed to be measuring in SI; m and sqm
nah… measure in feet and inches display in both.
We do need a catch up Robert. (Perhaps sat down and not lay down though!!)
Everytime I clear the decks, I turn around and someone has tipped another load of rubbish infront of me.
Should we stick something in a diary for first/second week of April perhaps. (get it in, in advance).
Ta
I always used to input the measurements to get it to roughly the right size, but then remove the actual size labels on the finished floorplan and explain that it was for illustration purposes only. I listed the measurements separately on the room description.
Hi CountryLass
We all do it differently, no rights or wrongs I suppose.
I personall don’t like that method. Makes a buyer look back and to between different parts of a portal and when on a smaller screen that is a pain.
Just pop a footer note on the floorplans with your measurements approximate etc. BUT then again I don’t see why measurements cannot be accurate. 3m is 3m? unless someone is measureing incorrectly or with defective devices. Perhaps this is where the good old fashioned tape measure is safe. That said, I if you are prepared to say 3m x 4m on a list of rooms, it is no safe than saying that in the floor plan. You have said it, it is out there!
I personally think the end user would prefer to see the measurements in the room on the floorplan and can quickly identify when for instance “what a knock through of two rooms” would roughly produce in room size terms for instance etc etc.
Just my opinion…. and sorry, by no means anything against your method. just my view.
I love your passion to “get it right” 😀 You can bore me any day!
Haha… can I, can I…. everyone else glazes over when I go on my “in a perfect world” rant.
*MsMoPo added to Ric’s favourite list*