Asking prices seem high

w00519772

I am finding it difficult to establish fair offers for houses (the offers are getting rejected). Please see the examples below:

1) House 1: http://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/30861290?search_identifier=9bb0f7d90bf0cae6abd05eb352a7b385. This house has been on the market for three months. It was last bought on 30th Apr 2003. Since buying from new the vendors have not added any value to the property. It was a new build so there was probably a premium added when it was bought. This website values this house at: £146,017: http://houseprices.landregistry.gov.uk/price-calculator. 20 Exley Square is the same house and it sold for 150,000 earlier this year.

2) House 2: http://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/30759842?search_identifier=d70d5f5baeac8b36d00b15e0fea171f0. This house has been on the market for three months. It was last bought on December 2005 for 158,000. The house next door, which is exactly the same house sold for 140K (same interior) earlier this year.

I have used the following website in my analysis, which seems to support what I am saying: http://houseprices.landregistry.gov.uk/price-calculator.

There are other houses that follow this theme. It seems to me that asking prices are massively inflated? Am I missing something?

thequant

Despite all the stories, of properties going for asking price plus. The return of gazumping etc I have yet to see this happen.


I truly believe prices are massively inflated, one estate agents near me are pricing up properties 20-30% higher than similar sales that happened in the summer.


The net result, I have yet to see this agent sell a property in the last 3 months. Occasionally the odd property goes under offer or sold stc, but after a couple of weeks the property is back on the market.

w00519772

thequant wrote: »

Despite all the stories, of properties going for asking price plus. The return of gazumping etc I have yet to see this happen.


I truly believe prices are massively inflated, one estate agents near me are pricing up properties 20-30% higher than similar sales that happened in the summer.


The net result, I have yet to see this agent sell a property in the last 3 months. Occasionally the odd property goes under offer or sold stc, but after a couple of weeks the property is back on the market.

Are you a first time buyer? Where are you from? (London?).

thequant

w00519772 wrote: »

Are you a first time buyer? Where are you from? (London?).

Yes & Yes ....................

DRP

If your offers are getting rejected then you need to offer more!

mail2z

Do not get sucked into researching internet sites (which predict value) to arrive figures to offer. The selling price will be determined by what other buyers are ready to offer. Use sold prices for comparable homes, adjust value based on condition and make an offer that you are comfortable, worst thing that could happen is that they can reject your offer, if your offer is rejected outright either your offer is low or the seller is not wishing to sell at this price, if you hear no response they are evaluating your offer in which case let the offer sit on the table. Do not get fixated on a particular house you most likely will pay over the odds to get it.

Good luck, it is all good experience and you will ultimately get a house you will love.

Happy New Year.

DaftyDuck

In my opinion, the only thing you are missing is patience. You are doing your homework and, while I agree the internet website values are far, far from perfect, they do help. There's plenty of leg-work looking at the outside at least of as many properties as you can, looking at details on Rightmove in areas near where you want, keeping an eye on no-selling houses, and asking yourself - why?

Not all house sellers (or buyers) are realistic. If you want a particular house, or a particularly desirable street, you'll pay for what everybody else wants as well. That may be a "concrete" reason, like good schools... so what are the other schools doing in the area to improve?

I have quite often had a very low offer rejected, only for the EA to re-contact me later asking if I'd like to consider their property again. I usually reply that it's up to the owner to reconsider my offer.

Reselling newbuilds (say to ten years old) is an odd market ... The owners always believe their house will have increased in value, that they've "improved" the garden (three shrubs from Wilko, a sandpit used as cat5hit alley, and a water feature that makes Jordan tasteful), and that's why they'll stick to their price. In fact, the cheap trellis fence is falling down, the plaster has shrunk, the staircase creaks at the thought of a mouse on the treads, the heating is appalling, and the newbuild guarantee resembles a half-melted chocolate teapot.

As you may notice, it's not my preferred housing market! However, no, you are doing it right, just hoping for a quick answer. Which you can have, by slapping a wad more cash on the table. Or, you work hard and hold your nerve for a bargain - or at least value for money!

katejo

w00519772 wrote: »

I am finding it difficult to establish fair offers for houses (the offers are getting rejected). Please see the examples below:

1) House 1: http://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/30861290?search_identifier=9bb0f7d90bf0cae6abd05eb352a7b385. This house has been on the market for three months. It was last bought on 30th Apr 2003. Since buying from new the vendors have not added any value to the property. It was a new build so there was probably a premium added when it was bought. This website values this house at: £146,017: http://houseprices.landregistry.gov.uk/price-calculator. 20 Exley Square is the same house and it sold for 150,000 earlier this year.

2) House 2: http://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/30759842?search_identifier=d70d5f5baeac8b36d00b15e0fea171f0. This house has been on the market for three months. It was last bought on December 2005 for 158,000. The house next door, which is exactly the same house sold for 140K (same interior) earlier this year.

I have used the following website in my analysis, which seems to support what I am saying: http://houseprices.landregistry.gov.uk/price-calculator.

There are other houses that follow this theme. It seems to me that asking prices are massively inflated? Am I missing something?

my impression is that many asking prices in my area are inflated. I can't comment on Lincoln prices as I have never lived there. I am in north East London and asking prices here are much higher than at the beginning of the year. Then one house sold for 250k (Victorian terrace). Now similar houses are priced at 380-400 k. I looked at sold prices for these. Much lower!

thequant

katejo wrote: »

my impression is that many asking prices in my area are inflated. I can't comment on Lincoln prices as I have never lived there. I am in north East London and asking prices here are much higher than at the beginning of the year. Then one house sold for 250k (Victorian terrace). Now similar houses are priced at 380-400 k. I looked at sold prices for these. Much lower!

same here, south west London. Despite all the ramping in the newspapers, stories of gazumping, places going for asking price plus within days.


What I am seeing is properties marked up 30%+ on last years prices but now sitting for months on end on RM & Zoopla. (one EA near me doing this hasn't had a sale in 3 months).


yet the properties sales that I am seeing go through are 10% up on last years prices.


price are up on last year, no doubt about that, but they have not gone up the amount that asking prices are suggesting they have.

ruggedtoast

The fact is that while nearly every vendor will expect to drop down from the asking price, most of them now expect to get something approaching it.

If you cant get them to go down to your maximum then politely leaving the offer on the table while you look elsewhere can sometimes pay dividends in the future.

Turnbull2000

Prices and seller confidence is gaining strength, so values 6-10% higher than the start of the year is not unusual.

You could try and hold out of a price you believe is better 'value', but do bear in mind that prices are widely expected to surge 8-10% in 2014.