Idealista for a London apartment search from Warsaw: discovery tool or reliable shortlist?

W

watchTheSlate

Real estate agent
I’m in Warsaw and have been researching an apartment around London through Idealista. Coverage was useful, and planning applications were the standout feature, but duplicate listings, stale status and inconsistent floor-area data complicated comparisons. Should I treat it only as a discovery tool rather than my main shortlist, especially on mobile and after contacting advertisers?
 
Discovery tool is the safer approach. Keep your own shortlist, then confirm availability, floor area and exact location with the advertiser before comparing apartments seriously.
 
Were the duplicates obviously the same apartment, or could they have been separate units in one development? Similar photos and descriptions can make that distinction difficult.
 
Also, does “stale” mean advertisers said the apartment was unavailable, or simply that the listing had been visible for a long time? Those are different data problems.
 
The missing next step matters more than the duplicate count. A clear record of when an enquiry was sent and what response came back would help separate active listings from abandoned ones.
 
I’d record the listing address, advertised area, price, advertiser and contact date in a spreadsheet. That makes duplicates and changed details much easier to spot.
 
Floor area needs particular care in a London apartment search. Until the advertiser explains what the figure includes, I wouldn’t use price per unit of area as a decisive comparison.
 
Bruno’s point changes the workflow: compare asking prices first, but mark any area-based calculation as provisional. Otherwise one inconsistent field can distort the entire shortlist.
 
How accurate were the map pins? From Warsaw, a misplaced pin could waste considerable research time because street context and transport access may look entirely different.
 
I disagree slightly on keeping every uncertain listing. If the status, pin and area are all unclear, the apartment has already failed a basic information test.
 
That is fair for a large pool, but perhaps too strict for a scarce search. A three-level list—confirmed, awaiting reply and unclear—would preserve options without mixing them together.
 
Planning applications are useful context, though they shouldn’t compensate for weak listing details. Nearby proposals and the apartment’s own availability answer different questions.
 
On mobile, can you retain all the same filters after moving the map? Losing one filter silently would make apparent duplicates and irrelevant results harder to manage.
 
Saved-search alerts could help with freshness if each alert is compared with the original listing time. An alert alone does not necessarily prove the apartment is newly available.
 
I’d ask each advertiser three identical questions: Is it available now? What does the stated floor area include? Is the map pin the actual building or an approximate location?
 
Add one more: has the price changed since the listing first appeared? If no price history is shown, the response can still provide useful context.
 
A price answer from an advertiser is helpful but not independent evidence. Sold-record links, where relevant and reliable, would be better for historical comparison than an asking-price narrative.
 
Still, sold records may not describe an apartment’s condition or exact differences from another unit. They are context, not a substitute for checking the property itself.
 
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