A Liverpool based estate agent who spent five years inside the property industry has launched a free AI tool to tackle a systemic issue he saw happen time and again: sellers being told their home is worth far more than it will ever realistically sell for.
Joshua Owens, aged 33, watched the cycle from the inside. A seller would be quoted an eye-catching valuation, list at that price, and then sit on the market for months—before quietly accepting a string of price reductions and selling for far less, with a hefty agent’s fee still to pay on top.
“Sellers were being anchored to a number that was never realistic,” says Owens. I wanted to give people an honest picture before any of that—not the figure they’d like to hear, but the one they’re actually likely to get.”
Together with business partner Khashi Shahverdi, aged 37, Owens built the solution: a free AI-driven tool at howsold.uk. The platform instantly pulls live sold prices, local demand, crime data, flood risk, and energy ratings—homework that once took a professional days—to return a realistic estimate of what a property will fetch.
Crucially, the data isn’t plucked from thin air; real sold prices set the baseline, and the AI stress-tests and explains the figure in plain English.
Owens is upfront about how the industry works. “The big property portals earn money by selling sellers to agents,” he explains. “The traditional online estimate exists to turn a curious homeowner into a lead. The tool’s job is just to get you to put your hand up—and the figure that makes someone do that is usually a flattering one.”
The tool is the centerpiece of Howsold, a modern Liverpool-based estate agency launched by the duo in 2025, who bring over 20 years of combined property experience. Based on Victoria Street in Liverpool City Centre, Howsold uses the Modern Method of Auction to bring transparency and speed to the property market.
“This isn’t a fire-sale of run-down properties,” says Owens. “These are market-price homes people want to live in. We just take out the bit everyone hates—the months of uncertainty and the chain collapsing at the last minute.”
For Shahverdi, the tool and the auction model are two halves of the same idea. “We started Howsold because buying and selling a home in this country is slower and more stressful than it needs to be,” he says. “Everything we build comes back to that — giving people an honest starting point, then a faster, more certain way to actually get the sale done. The tech is there to serve the seller, not the other way round.”
Properties are listed on Rightmove and Zoopla with a fixed auction date. Buyers bid online, and the winner signs auction terms and pays a non-refundable reservation fee, committing them to complete within 56 days. Crucially, Howsold instructs solicitors to prepare the legal pack before bidding even opens, heading off the last-minute legal surprises that cause ordinary sales to collapse.
Because the buyer pays the reservation fee, Howsold is able to offer the service with zero seller fees.
“We only get paid when a property actually sells,” says Shahverdi. “An inflated figure that sits on the market for months is the last thing we want. Telling the truth isn’t bad for business—it is the business. The tech is there to serve the seller, not the other way around.”
“It’s fast, it’s free, and there’s no catch,” adds Owens. “If someone uses the tool and decides we’re not for them, fine—they’ve still had an honest answer. That’s more than most people get.”
Try the free tool at: Sell Your Property for the Right Price | Zero Seller Fees | Howsold
Estimates are indicative only, based on comparable sales data, and are not a formal valuation. Independent advice is recommended.
Howsold, Pacific Chambers, 11-13 Victoria St, Liverpool L2 5QQ
Website: Sell Your Property for the Right Price | Zero Seller Fees | Howsold
Instagram: (1) Instagram