Property sites: listings, portals and what the photographs leave out

Property sites divide between agency sites, which list only that agency's stock, and portals, which aggregate many agencies. Portals have far more listings but a well-known problem: stale entries. Properties that have sold or let are frequently left live, either through neglect or deliberately, because an attractive listing generates enquiries an agency can redirect.

The practical consequence is that a listing is a starting point rather than a fact. Confirm availability before travelling to see anything, and treat the absence of a "sold" marker as no evidence either way.

Photography in this category is more heavily managed than in any other retail context. Wide-angle lenses make rooms look substantially larger than they are, and the absence of a floor plan with dimensions is worth noticing. A listing that gives square footage and room measurements is being straight with you; one with only photographs may not be.

For anything involving money moving, verify the recipient's details by a channel other than email. Property transactions are the single most targeted transaction type for payment redirection fraud, and the amounts involved make it worth the criminals' effort.