Both buyers and sellers miss out from over-optimistic pricing, particularly as the internet has now become an important tool for finding a home.

More people are using the web to research property prices and this is made easy because home are listed by location and in order of price, says estate agents Wlikinson Grant in an article in Negotiator magazine.

However, says the agency, take care when researching this way because over-optimistically priced properties will not show up in searches that are too selective.

Unlike newspapers, where homes are advertised in no order of price and location, the selective nature of the internet search may mean missing a property. This is more important for the seller who increasingly will find his over-optimistically priced home being overlooked.

The internet does provide the buyer with a unique tool for doing his or her own market research. “The transparency in pricing is particularly relevant with properties on a development where a similar mix of properties might also be close by,” said Richard Greetham, internet property co-ordinator for Exeter-based Wilkinson Grant.

“It would also have some bearing in a potential buyer’s choice of houses to view, if most of the selection appeared on the first few pages of their search rather than perhaps beyond the top end of their price limit,” Richard continued.

The agency has seen plenty of instances of over-optimistic asking prices this year and warns that in a ‘transparent price market’ this can be counter-productive. “As the most effective marketing is done within the first month, it is now more important than ever to get the price right from the start,” notes Richard.