House Valuations from Zoopla

Running_Horse

DannyboyMidlands makes the crucial point.

The asking price is the starting point. If they have had to drop it, the house was overpriced. You don't get to choose whether or not to negotiate in this market. Keep doing that and they will have to drop it again, presumably with the proviso that all offers must be a certain percentage above.

canaster

DannyboyMidlands wrote: »

"The E/A told him that the house price had already been dropped by 8K so the seller would not accept a bid below the current asking price."

Of course the EA is gonna say that, it's his job to screw as much money out of the purchaser as possible. I suspect that your friend should have played slightly harder. Who would pay full asking price in this climate?

Anyway, in answer to your question, Zoopla valuations are useless and can be way too high or way too low.

Fully agree! Like I said he is naive. I feel he should have just put the offer in writing instead of discussing it over the phone and letting the E/A talk him out of it.

I had hoped that the Zoopla valuation may have given some guidance but I can see from the replies that it is no use at all.

The other thing is that the current owners bought the property about two years ago and are now splitting up, hence the sale. They bought the house for (more or less) 180K and are now asking 200K, an increase of 20K. According to the Zoopla website, (and I think this may be more reliable), house prices in this area have fallen by just over 2 per cent since they bought it.

Again, I am wondering, is it usual for people to ask for more than they paid for their property even though values have fallen since the original purchase?

hcb42

they might have completely renovated the place.

at the end of the day, your friend has to decide if he thinks the house is worth the price paid.

paddyrg

It is entirely possible they bought a fixer-upper and have sunk £20k into new kitchens, bathrooms, heating, wiring, plumbing etc. Or they may have just listened to the highest number an EA told them and decided they wanted a punt at 10% uplift in a depressed market.

Thing to remember right now is the market is not stable - there will be base rate rises at some point, which means interest rate rises, which means unaffordable mortgages, which means distressed sales, which means price drops still waiting to hit the market. All those notional 'house prices will rise forever' valuations will need to correct, and I personally feel the market has not corrected for the wild, unsustainable growth times yet. There is plenty more recession to come, despite the government trying to prop up the country as best it can. This makes for a buyers market. I sure as hell wouldn't be paying more for a property than it was bought for at the top of the bubble a few years ago.

canaster

hcb42 wrote: »

they might have completely renovated the place.

at the end of the day, your friend has to decide if he thinks the house is worth the price paid.

The house was built in the 1970's so I dont think there has been any renovation work.

He does think the house is worth the price (to be paid). The problem is that he is so keen to move from his current home that he is steaming ahead with the purchase and has not got his partner onside. She is thinking that they should have negotiated a lower price, in the normal manner. So this is causing some internal friction.

mallada

If he is proceeding with the sale and tries to reduce the price to far along the vendors may think he is trying to gazunder and may pull out, best to get the price right asap. It all depends how much they want it on wether or not to try renegotiating.

Have you got a righmove link for it? Property bee may show any reductions already made.

canaster

paddyrg wrote: »

Or they may have just listened to the highest number an EA told them and decided they wanted a punt at 10% uplift in a depressed market.

I sure as hell wouldn't be paying more for a property than it was bought for at the top of the bubble a few years ago.

I think this just about sums up the situation, as I see it. I believe he has offered too much and could have easily have negotiated a reduction in price.

I am trying to see if we can salvage something from the situation. I think some people do successfully reduce their original offers although obviously he has made it much more difficult for himself by being too hasty with his first offer. I am thinking maybe some negotiation may be possible once he gets a surveyors report.

canaster

mallada wrote: »

If he is proceeding with the sale and tries to reduce the price to far along the vendors may think he is trying to gazunder and may pull out, best to get the price right asap. It all depends how much they want it on wether or not to try renegotiating.

Have you got a righmove link for it? Property bee may show any reductions already made.

Thanks for that. Will check them out.

nollag2006

According to Martin, Zoopla tends to undervalue:
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/mortgages/free-house-prices?utm_source=forum&utm_medium=clicks&utm_campaign=resourcebar#value