Reducing the asking price....

reissgirl

I'm trying to sell my house but haven't had any interest as yet. 3 local EAs all valued my house at £85k-£90k and I've put it on the market at £84950 to try and under cut the competition.
I want to reduce the price now to see if I can generate some interest. The minimum I'm prepared to take for my house is £80k. So I'm thinking of setting the asking price at 'Offers over £79950'. What do you folks think of this? Or would you drop to £82500?
If it doesn't achieve min £80k I'm happy to rent it out for a couple of years. My lender will grant consent to let and my father has an established buy to let business so would be in safe hands. Plus the rent will easily cover the mortgage even if interest rates rise.

zzzLazyDaisy

Are you in Scotland? If not, then your problem is that whatever the asking price, any buyer is going to want to negotiate a reduction. If you put it on the market for £80k and are not willing to take any less, then you might as well rent it out now. (If you are in Scotland different considerations may apply as the 'offers above' situation is much more common there).

Doozergirl

Unless your 'offers over' price is what people would perceive a bargain then you can put people off viewing at all. There is not much difference IMO of £82,500 or OO £79,950. I'd be more inclined to try £82,500 or just go for the price I actually wanted and stick to it.

I am always put of by 'offers over' an acceptable price. If the price is sensible then I'd still probably only offer the £79,950. If it is an absolute bargain, it creates competition amongst people as many people view and the price goes up as it creates an auction situation.

It's only competition that drives a price up. If you attract one person at £79,950 then that will be your offer.

Eric1

'Offers over' puts off some buyers (including myself) but in the end it doesn't really matter. If the house is worth £80k in the current market, it should sell regardless of the starting price.

hazyjo

How long has it been on the market?

Ta.

Jx

beccad

I'd still offer under even if I saw an 'Offers over' price attached to a house. A house is worth what a buyer is prepared to pay, not what the seller needs to sell it for.

reissgirl

Thanks for all your replies. Has anyone got any other suggestions what I should do?

It's only been on for 1 month but either want to sell quickly or get it rented it out so it starts earning some money. I'm not living there at the moment.

I just want to price it attractively so it gets some interest. My EA suggested 'offers over £79,950k' so it comes up in rightmove searches of up to £80k. Also, with the asking price starting with a 7, it may appeal to the investor market.

Most other similar properties in the area are on between £85k -£90k. There are cheaper houses available which require more work than mine.

I perfectly understand that some people may feel it's worth less than 80k in the current market and offer accordingly. However I don't, so will just go down the rental road if it fails to sell.

Person_one

beccad wrote: »

I'd still offer under even if I saw an 'Offers over' price attached to a house. A house is worth what a buyer is prepared to pay, not what the seller needs to sell it for.

Me too. Whatever price the seller puts it up at, I would still offer what I think the house is worth. If anything, I think your plan would tempt people to make offers in the low seventies.

southantrim3

Though all you need is more than 1 person to start offering in the low £70s for there to be a bidding war and then you're in business. Could be worth a shot. Better to have more people interested at a lower price than none at an ok price.

reissgirl

Another idea is to go with a fixed price of £80k?

tawse57

When I see 'offers over X' I think what an arrogant jerk and do not even consider the property as I get the impression that the seller is someone who believes his or her opinion on the price of the property is somehow superior to anyone elses and who will not negotiate.

Hope this helps.