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Questions on down valuations for RICS

ended 02. December 2025

We are interviewing Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) on the theme of down valuations.

Brokers say they are becoming more prevalent and can often be very inconsistent.

What questions should we ask them? 

For example, do they or do they not exist?

Any suggestions welcome. Responses this morning please.

2 responses from the Newspage community

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Editor
Chris Barry
Director at Thomas Legal
In RICS own guidelines, they suggest that they should be valuing for the present. So when a valuer says a property has a nil valuation due to lack of investor appetite, this surely is an assumption on future sales if a property is currently let and working well as an investment property. It feels like Val’s on behalf of banks are all on the assumption of tomorrow worse case scenario rather than based on data available on the day
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Editor
Ken James
Director at Contractor Mortgage Services
How does RICS ensure consistency in valuations across different regions and surveyors?

Are surveyors encouraged to take a more cautious approach in uncertain markets, or does their methodology remain unchanged regardless of conditions?

Do lenders play any role, whether that is Direct or indirect that influences how surveyors assess risk or valuation levels?

Can differences in lender risk appetite lead to variations in the way surveyors apply market evidence?