Is offering 10% less still the thing to do?

Loopy28

Do you think this is the done thing or an outdated idea?

Are people expecting to be offered 10% less? Most people I speak to who are selling their house have been told it is worth x amount by the EA and they think they will get this figure. Yet half the time the EA has inflated this figure to get their business, the house doesn't sell as they don't accept lower offers and then three months later they end up reducing it anyway!

I have been looking at houses that based on comparable recent sales are worth about 155k, yet are priced at 170k as they are new to the market. I feel like there is no point offering this early on and that I just need to wait for the price to be reduced (and they always are in my area after 2-3 months) It seems crazy or am I just approaching this whole offering business completely wrong?!

littlepinkbiscuits

It seems some EA's still do this, round here anyway. I put my house up for sale with an EA who did not inflate the price, and it sold for the asking price within a week. A house over the road which had an inflated price by a different EA has now been withdrawn from sale, as they couldn't get any reasonable offers.

bluebell2014

I would always go in with a low offer then work your way up. I managed to get our house for 40k cheaper than it was listed for. I went up 1k at a time and really drove her mad! Went on for days! Plus I bought in the run up to xmas and I think that was helpful as the seller wanted their cash in the bank before xmas. Always worth a thought!

BeansOnToast_2

We offered full price straight away in the knowledge that there had been two previous full price offers, and a house just up the road had gone for 5% over the asking price.

We got the house

AdrianC

If you offered me 10% less than asking then, unless I was desperate, I'd regard any future offer-upping from you in a negative light, since you'd have flagged yourself up as somebody who was likely to gazunder at a late stage.

cloo

Depends where you are and state of the house. For a house in good nick in London, 10% off would be a big ask; round here I'm not sure I'd ask for less than 5% off in first offer for a place that was move in ready.

J_i_m

I'm probably going to go in with an offer 10% below asking, expect it to be rejected and then meet somewhere in the middle after a increased offer.

I think there's got to be some compromise on both sides, the buyer shouldn't be too cheeky but equally the vendor ought not demand a big premium either, and it's only logical that EAs set the asking price above the expected sale price.

Loopy28

I would happily offer asking price if the property was priced realistically. However, there is just a constant pattern of overpricing in my area, the house doesn't sell and then 2-3 months later the price is dropped. It's like they are trying to create a price increase but it just isn't happening in my area. To be honest if I did offer asking price on these new to the market properties, I feel the mortgage valuation would be an issue.

I would not feel right offering 10% under the asking price though as I would worry that I would not be taken seriously even if I felt that was all the house was worth and I emphasise the word 'felt' as I may not be right about the value.

I did offer 2k under asking price recently for a property I really liked, it had been on the market for 7 months but they rejected my offer. I guess every case is individual as I would happily accept 2k under asking price if my property had been on the market a while.

Another property came on the market for 175k, was reduced to 170k, I offered 165k-rejected. One month later and the property has been reduced to 160k, bet they wish they took my offer now and I am tempted to go back for another viewing now

Poppy9

A house is only worth what someone will pay for it. You have nothing to lose by making an offer of what value the house is to you.

One of my neighbours is up for sale at about £60k over realistic value of the house. So for months they have had people look around and then say it's overpriced. They have now knocked £10k but unless they get realistic they are not going to sell.

So if you feel house over priced, make your offer. The worse they can do is say no.

SunReader

All offers are buying signals, if you have the finance and are ready to proceed then don't be embarassed about it.

When putting low offers in on cars and bikes I usually say something like ' Sorry to be cheeky, not saying it isn't worth what you want but this is all I can do, I'm serious and have the cash now' .

Also for a seller, variables like you being a cash buyer or with no chain could make your offer more attractive than just the figure you offer.

Seems to me that lots of sellers overprice their houses and are only half serious about selling.

moneyistooshorttomention

You could wait it out for that "2-3 months" to see if the asking price gets reduced.

On the other hand, that is a gamble which you may not win.

The buyer of my last house saw my house the day it came on the market (they admitted that fact to my EA) and yet waited 2-3 months before coming along. They very nearly lost my house by taking that gamble, because someone else had just put in a high enough offer that I would have taken it and they had to take part in a bidding war to get it. In fact, I was quite happy to put them through that bidding war, because I was not very pleased with them for making me wait before they even turned up to view (as my house had been priced exactly fairly in the first place). My house would have sold sooner if they hadn't been playing that game after all...so....

My present house had other people interested in it and they gambled and waited that 2-3 months hoping for a price reduction, but I came along and bought it instead and they lost their gamble.