How much below asking price to offer....?

AlecEiffel

Ok, so I do realise this is a silly question and there is no correct answer.....

My wife and I are on the verge of putting in an offer on our first home. We are trying to decide what to offer (asking price is within budget but we obviously want to pay as much under it as possible but don't want to look like idiots by offering too little).

Is there a rough ballpark % to start off at? The estate agent says that there is a fair amount of interest (but then they would) so I don't want to put ourselves out of it if others are offering at the same time and it progresses quickly. But then I don't want to just give them exactly what they want if there is room to manoeuvre. The house has only been on the market for a couple of weeks, is in good condition, and has what we are looking for.

DRP

AlecEiffel wrote: »

Ok, so I do realise this is a silly question and there is no correct answer.....

My wife and I are on the verge of putting in an offer on our first home. We are trying to decide what to offer (asking price is within budget but we obviously want to pay as much under it as possible but don't want to look like idiots by offering too little).

Is there a rough ballpark % to start off at? The estate agent says that there is a fair amount of interest (but then they would) so I don't want to put ourselves out of it if others are offering at the same time and it progresses quickly. But then I don't want to just give them exactly what they want if there is room to manoeuvre. The house has only been on the market for a couple of weeks, is in good condition, and has what we are looking for.

Do your research and identify the maximum you can/wish to pay.

Everyone knows that first offers are almost always declined, therefore for a house new on the market you can offer say 10-15% under your maximum and expect to be pushed right up to and over the asking price.

A vendor whose house that has been hanging around, stinking up rightmove for 6 months, may accept a lot less.

There is no real rules unfortunately, as you (and sometimes the vendor) don't really know what kind of offer they will/can accept...

steve2005

Our fitst purchase was a flat up for £200k. We offered £165, which the vendor sais was low, but did not immediately refuse it.
Sadly another person who visited the flat at the same time as our (we shared a viewing) offered higher. We gradually went up 2k at a time and agreed on £184k, which was £2k higher than the other people.

Our second purchase was up for £225k and we got that for £180k.

When buying I'd usually say that 10-15% short of the asking price would be where I start.

I've got a flat for sale at £350 at the moment, and am expecting offers around £320ish, although what others have said about the prices in London atm I'm really not sure what to expect!

AlecEiffel

Thanks for the replies.

We offered about 8% below asking price and it was outright refused with the vendor saying that they want the asking price with no movement and that they are in no hurry. Happy to negotiate but don't want to be played!

Cheers for the advice.