How low would you go?

tawse57

IMPO we are now in a falling market and the public sector job cuts will force thousands of people to sell their homes. By this time next year I suspect that it will be a bloodbath in the housing market - accepting 20% less now is better than having to accept 30% or more less next year... but people are so brainwashed into house prices always rising that the return to the early 1990s crash will come as a shock to many.

You can't fire 600,000 people in 5 years and expect house prices not fall in price. Those people are not going to have jobs. Large parts of the country are now almost entirely dependent on public sector jobs so it does not bode well for them.

I think it is an ego thing for many sellers and many estate agents. They both convince themselves that a house is worth the ludicrous asking price but at the end of the day a house is only worth what someone will pay for it.

Part of the problem is estate agents convincing someone that the house is wortk 350K when it is worth nearer 250K but they refuse to pass on offers - which I believe is illegal - probably because it makes them look stupid or they get grief from the seller wanting to know why the offers are coming in much under the asking price.

Truth is, houses are not fixed price assets like baked beans.

TBeckett100

an estate agent told me that properties at 220k 225k would have hada chat with their agent to expect and take 200k. the agent told me this as there was a property i liked via another branch that was 20k over. they had a word with the vendor before i viewed and i took being allowed to view as acceptance of the ball park. when i submitted 198500, the agent said they would pass ona lower offer and work their way up. it worked.

a case of agents working for the buyers now, not the sellers.

Emy1501

Depends on the market in your area and whether the AP is reasonable.

I have offered 12-15% below on 2 properties. I increased one offer to 10% but both offers were rejected. Both properties are still on the market a month later. Neither are worth more in the current market so moved on to other properties now.

I suspect in my area it will be another 4-8 weeks before people start to realise the market has turned and people start to realise that their property is no longer worth 2007 or even 2006 prices.

starlights

poppysarah wrote: »

Someone said "If you are not embarrassed by the low offer yourself, then it's not low enough"

We looked at one property with AP of £145k and liked it. OH told me to go and offer £120 but I felt that was too cheeky and never did. We looked at other properties with this one in mind i.e. similar, cheaper properties which needed some work and always worked out how much it would cost to bring to the standard of 1st property. Eventually the price was reduced to £140k and then suddenly to £130k, he was in like a shot with his offer of £120k (this time I was not so embarassed) It was of course refused but we offered £125 which was accepted. Now he moans that we would have saved a lot of leg work if we had just done that in the first place.
Lesson learned.

jmt

Chocolate*fish wrote: »

Best of luck!
C*F

Well, my offer of £125,000 on AP of £139,950 has been rejected . They want minimum of £130,000. I will not budge because of stamp duty, so I'll keep looking.

westv

jmt wrote: »

Well, my offer of £125,000 on AP of £139,950 has been rejected . They want minimum of £130,000. I will not budge because of stamp duty, so I'll keep looking.

You mean the rate or the amount? The rate at 125,000 is the same as that at 130,000 isn't it?

NyimaR

westv wrote: »

You mean the rate or the amount? The rate at 125,000 is the same as that at 130,000 isn't it?

No, stamp duty only applies to properties OVER 125k.

jmt

westv wrote: »

You mean the rate or the amount? The rate at 125,000 is the same as that at 130,000 isn't it?

I am not a FTB so I would have to pay £1300 in stamp duty on a purchase of £130,000.

I have just spoken to the EA again to view another property that they have for sale and they said that they were suprised that it had not been accepted.

Made_Without

Just a quick update...

both offers declined.

1st - EA says they are getting 1-2 people viewing it every day and as it's only just been put on the market, they are going to hold out to see if they get something closer to the asking price. My offer had been 10% under asking.

2nd -on at 399k - EA reckons they can get 360k - but added "but if the couple find a cheaper place then they may be willing to accept something in the 350s" Basically making it all about how much their next place is worth rather than the property for sale!
Time for me to walk away from this one.

C*F

matt1987

Hi all..

Been lurking for a while on this thread.. we are FTBs, so don't really have a good grasp of what/what not to offer.

We are looking to buy a house with a budget of approx £105K. We have found a road where properties seem to be good value, and the area is not too rough (it is the border of a 'nicer' area and seems to be the edge of the cross over for a cheaper area - roads that come off it are a no no though). There are a few for sale at the moment, so we can get a good idea of comparison.

House 1 - Offers in region of £109,950 (has recently been reduced from £115k) 2 bedrooms. No dropped kerb/drive and tree blocking potential access to dropped kerb. Would ideally need new bathroom and kitchen in time. Large rear garden with shed.

House 2 - Offers in region of £115K (has been on RM since Jan) 2 bedrooms. Big flat front garden - ideal to be made a drive. Big through lounge and dining area. Kitchen with integrated oven and new combination boiler. Patio doors to large rear garden. Larger 'family bathroom' with sep shower enclosure. Looks like it has been well looked after.

House 3 - Guide price £115,000. 3 bedrooms. No central heating. Needs some attention - essentially a 'blank canvas' Again large rear garden and no off road parking without conversion of front garden.

They are all with different EA's, but like I said on the same road. We're hopefully going to arrange some viewings in the next week or two, but got to get our head around what they're worth, and if we prefer one to the other two, which Im sure will be the case, use the other 2 as bargaining tools/to support our offer. We can't really stretch to over £105K, so we'll have to see how it goes!