I have only been on the market a couple of days, I’ve had one viewing and they have made an offer. Does this mean my property was undervalued?

I can understand why you might think so. In fact, you probably won’t be surprised to learn that this is one of the commonest issues that people raise. Which is interesting, when you think about it. After all, if something is offered for sale – particularly given the current state of things - and it’s snapped up straight away, then it would normally be reasonable to assume that the seller would be absolutely delighted! But instead – this being the property market, and human nature being what it is - it’s immediately tempting to believe that we could all have got a higher price.

And of course, that may be true, even with the way the market is at the moment - although to be frank it’s pretty unlikely. But in any case, that does not necessarily mean that your agent has somehow been at fault. After all, the whole point of pitching the asking price at a particular level is to attract buyers - not drive them away! Besides, it is generally accepted that most properties attract the maximum amount of buyer interest during their first 2 weeks on the market. Finally, let’s not lose sight of the fact that you are under no obligation whatsoever to accept this - or any other - offer.

Taking all this into consideration, I would suggest that your agent has actually done a pretty good job – not only with the valuation, but by skillfully filtering your potential buyer from his or her existing mailing list, and knowing that they were looking for a property like yours.

The real key question here is, how close is the offer to your asking price? Use the fact that this is the first viewing to play hard ball. Perhaps ask your agent to negotiate and/or clarify the buyer’s bona fides. And don't agree to take your home off the market immediately. You don’t have to do so, as long as you make your intentions clear, and it’s always possible that this buyer may disappear back into the woodwork just as quickly as he or she popped out. But at the same time, be careful – you don’t want to drive this buyer away, because in the current climate they might just be the only one you get.