Question 1

How do I find out what my house is worth without an estate agent?

Accepted Answer

You can get a free instant market estimate for any of about 14 million England and Wales homes we cover, by entering its postcode, with no agent visit and no email required to see the figure. The estimate is built from that home's own last recorded Land Registry sale, indexed forward using market growth data, and is shown as a range with a confidence level and the date it was calculated. It is an automated estimate rather than a valuation or a survey, and it is no substitute for a professional valuation before you buy or sell.

Question 2

Can I sell my house without listing it publicly?

Accepted Answer

Not through open for offer. You can see your market estimate and any interest buyers register in your home without listing it, and nothing is listed until you choose to test the market. Testing the market lists your home publicly as open for offer, with its address. There is no board, no viewings until you say so, and you never have to accept an offer.

Question 3

Can I buy a house that is not on the market?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Any of about 14 million homes we cover in England and Wales has a page here, whether or not it is advertised for sale, and you can register interest in it. Your registration joins that home's queue. Nothing happens to a home without its owner's say-so, and no owner is ever under any obligation to respond. About 2% of homes in England and Wales are for sale at any one time, so most of the homes a buyer would actually want are never visible on a traditional portal.

Question 4

What is open for offer?

Accepted Answer

open for offer is a UK pre-market property marketplace for homeowners who are considering selling but are not ready to list. Homeowners can see a data-backed market estimate and any interest buyers register in their home without listing it, and can test the market, which lists the home publicly as open for offer, with its address. No owner is obliged to sell. Buyers can register interest in any of about 14 million homes in England and Wales that have a page here, including homes that are not for sale. Your registration joins that home's queue, and the queue never shows names.

Question 5

Which areas does open for offer cover?

Accepted Answer

open for offer covers about 14 million homes in England and Wales - every home with a Land Registry sold-price record since 1995. Each of those has its own page you can search today. Homes that have not sold since 1995 are not in the data. Stamford in Lincolnshire is the launch market where we are building depth first, and we also cover Cambridge, Oxford, Marlow and Peterborough.

Question 6

Do I need an estate agent to sell through open for offer?

Accepted Answer

No. You list and manage your sale yourself on open for offer. We charge you no fee when your home sells.

What you see	Where it comes from
Why it is in this list	The name it is registered under
Last recorded sale	HM Land Registry Price Paid Data
Market estimate	A range with our confidence, worked out from Land Registry sold prices
Whether it is for sale	Shown on each home's own page

Cottages, for sale or not

What counts as a cottage here?

Questions