Should I bother looking at this expensive house?

princeofpounds

There are two options here. Either the one already suggested where the agent wants to test your upward resolve, or the fact that they know it is overpriced and believe they can argue the vendor down to your level. You have no idea which it is.

Suggest, if you like it, that you go to view but make it expressly clear beforehand that you will not be putting in offers over £x at any point, so you would be unwilling to waste anyone's time if that's not going to be acceptable.

DKLS

I have seen up to 100k drops locally, you can smell the desperation of some sellers, there are some great bargains out there.

pardal51

OP: I think what may count against you at this stage is that property has been on the market for "only" 3 weeks, i.e., vendors might be reluctant in terms of price, at this stage.

As said by princeofpounds, you can put an offer and they have your contact details should they want to discuss/negotiate further. In the mean time you will be viewing other properties, etc. I don't know your circunstances, but I am not rushing, going overbudget, falling into EA talking, etc. I am taking my time and trying to find a suitable/right priced property. In the end this strategy might prove wrong, but I think it is the best for the current economic climate.

maninthestreet

I suspect the EA told then vendor their house was worth that much to secure their business, knowing that the property was really worth less than that.

princeofpounds

I don't understand why the EAs don't try to persuade vendors to be more reasonable, hence selling quicker

They do. But this process normally happens after they have advertised the property.

Agents need to price high to secure business. Rather bizarrely vendors seem to think that higher valuation means better service, when the two have little relationship in reality. After all, you can advertise a house at any price with any agent. But it's just a psychological thing.

The increased commission from pricing high is not such a major draw as the incremental benefit is low as you have correctly identified. In good times when transactions are easy to put together they might do this, but an EA will always prefer completions to high pricing. Culturally though I think the house price boom has led many agents to forget (or never learn in the first place) this crucial lesson.

zappahey

michaels wrote: »

If the agent didn't think your 350 might be enough then why would they send you round?

• It gets a viewer though the door, so the seller thinks the agent is doing something
• They think the seller might drop a bit
• They think the buyer might go up a bit
• It gets the EA out of the office for an hour

pardal51

maninthestreet wrote: »

I suspect the EA told then vendor their house was worth that much to secure their business, knowing that the property was really worth less than that.

probably the EA advised vendor to overprice and then come down in price during negotiation, ie, giving the buyer a feeling of snapping a "bargain". If you think it is worth the max of your budget go for it with no regrets.
I still think AP do not reflect the current market.

serious_saver

Give it a try! If the estate agents thinks it's worth having a go then why not look. In a worst case scenario, you put in an offer and it gets rejected.

You might even look at the house and not like it!

Charliezoo

serious_saver wrote: »

You might even look at the house and not like it!

Unfortunately I know I'm going to love it. I had my heart set on an identical property in the same area but unfortunately it sold on the same day I accepted an offer on my house, I was absolutely gutted!

I'm wary of looking at it as I'm probably going to fall in love with it but not be able to afford it:o

tawse57

You have a whole generation of EAs and sellers who either simply were not around in the last housing crash or they have conveniently forgotten that it ever happened.

The UK is technically bankrupt, hundreds of thousands of public sector workers are about to lose their jobs, the price of food and fuel is rising, there are little private sector jobs and, oh, house prices have gone through the biggest bubble in this country's history.

If I was selling now I would be dropping my price to sell and moving into rental or bargaining for a HEFTY discount on whatever property I wished to buy.

House sellers who whinge about people not buying their vastly inflated properties are either greedy or stupid or both IMPO... and probably just lazy... People need to get out there and haggle down prices of the stuff they wish to buy so that they can lower the price on their own property.