Value to be found on the SM?

I've only been investing with PP a few months, so hardly an experienced hand, but since you only have one reply I will comment anyway 

I would agree with your observations on the SM price dynamics. I am not sure that it is always the case that the new listings offer better value. In general the buying and negotiating power of PP has grown as the platform has grown. The bulk buying discounts obtained now on new listings were maybe not so common at the start. New listings are heavily marketed and the most recent listings have been oversubscribed partly due to the promotions offered by PP.

SM purchases don't benefit from promotional offers such as the recent 5% enhanced income. They are also subject to an extra 0.5% charge for stamp duty.

Just to clarify the point made above, the 5 year holding period runs from the date the property purchase originally completed. So if you buy into a property originally listed in 2015 you only have to hold roughly another 3 years to realise any discount. This is obviously subject to whatever happens to property values between now and then, but can be useful in capital gains tax planning.

I think the best thing about the SM is that you can use the same funds to place multiple bids, unlike the system on Ablrate where each bid has to be funded individually. Therefore there is nothing to lose by adding a few cheeky low bids on as many properties as you want.  The bid manager is a useful tool for setting up multiple bids at once. They are unlikely to match, but there is always a chance if a big hitter needs some funds in a hurry.

One thing to watch out for is that all your bids will be automatically cancelled if your account balance falls to zero. If you have to set them up again from scratch it is not only time consuming but also puts you at the back of the queue at your chosen bid point. When pre-ordering a new listing it is better to fund your account first and then choose how much of your available funds you want to allocate to the new property. I would suggest keeping your account funded at least a couple of pounds above your chosen bid amount, so that it doesn't drop to zero if a bid is matched.  

Looking at the SM, many properties around one year old or more have either been flat or declined vs forecasted price growth (esp in the capital where many have gone slightly south). Wonder when the property market reaches its nadir before a possible decline starts. PS I am an active investor with PP

Absolutely - happened to me when I got a flurry of offers overnight and was very time consuming and irritating to reinstate them all.  I would prefer the system paused them rather than cancelled them. I always keep several K in the wallet now to try and avoid this happening again.

that sounds like a good plan.One of my worries with the 5 year sell out is that if the property has gone down and a few people get cold feet,rather then sticking it out it may need to be sold at a loss(unless i have misunderstood) if not sold on sm.So buying at a discount on the sm would be a good buffer

not so much a complaint about the buying with a crowd more the fact that i can see an imbalance,even if it is the most democratic way by looking at it.In the sense some people may have done auto invest for a couple of months or put in £50 to try PP the property goes down and they see the 5 year option as a good time to get out while everybody else knows its better to stick.Or you could have one person with thousands do the seem thing,so when placed on the market at a true value not at a discount(i believe)then it may be hard to shift so forcing a sale of the property at the wrong time.Hopefully there will only be rises so not a problem

I think the valuations are more intended to offer false comfort to investors.  Dashboard valuation 326 press Sell and it suggests instead 282.  I think I'm going to swallow the bitter pill and leave, I hate being diddled