Expectations of ‘offers in excess of’

firsttimespender

I always feel nervous when I see ‘offers in excess of’ in a listing. Surely it’s implicit in any listing that the seller wants to be offered more money than the asking price! I’d love to get thoughts on the unspoken codes around this. Does it mean the seller is hoping for a bidding war? Or that the estate agent won’t pass on offers below because they’re definitely not interested? Would you make a starting offer just a little bit over the amount given or does it suggest they think it’s worth a lot more than the starting price and you need to go in big?

Snookie12cat

Its just a term. The buyer is hoping for offers in that region, but there is no hard and fast rule. I offered asking on an "offers over" house and it was accepted. Mine was listed "offers over" and I accepted slightly under.

TripleH

We offered under and ours said offers in excess of.

If the buyer wants / needs to sell sooner rather than later and demand is low, they may well take a lower than advertised offer.

Alter_ego

Just offer UP TO what you are willing to pay. You can start as low as you like, but don't go over your max.

theartfullodger

You can offer whatever you like - £5:37 if you choose.

I offered more that 10% off a house on with "offers over".  Got the bluntest rudest "no" from agent, informing me the vendor had never been so insulted.  I thanked them politely.  A week later I made the exact same offer.  It was accepted, kept it for about 18 years.

eddddy

In my experience, it's often a ploy used by estate agents to 'trick' sellers.

For example,

• The seller wants an asking price of £260k, but the EA wants an asking price of £250k.

• So the EA says "As a compromise, let's say 'Offers over £250k' - and hopefully, you'll get offers close to £260k"

• But the EA is only really expecting offers between £240k and £250k

But having said that, if somebody else offers more than you (over £250k) the seller will obviously accept that higher offer. And/or the buyer might be determined that they won't accept less than, say, £255k.

 

davilown

We offered under for asking over prices. I don’t like them personally but each to their own

jenni_fer

I don't really pay much attention anymore. I couldn't even tell you what ours is listed as.
The value is a guide price, offer whatever you think it's worth /are prepared to pay to secure the property if you want it.

Ramouth

I think it depends on the market in your area.  In some areas it will just be like a normal asking price, i.e. it might sell just under or over.  In others it might be the starting point for a bidding war.  If you keep an eye on the local market you should get an idea of how hot it is.

PadreM

It's meaningless.  I'm buying a house with that wording (OiEO 180k) and offered 160k, agreeing on 162k.  They can ask what they like and word it how they like: it matters not a jot as to what they'll get.

robatwork

All those terms are meaningless. I'm sure there's one seller in a million who would stick to it rigidly, but in just about every case if a property was on for OIEO £300,000 a seller would accept an offer of £299,000 if that was their only offer. 

I just see a price of £300,000 and then investigate what the real market value is. Personal experience selling 6 houses has told me I know as much or more than the EA about the real valuation. Not arrogance but simple research on factors including:
Local similar properties sold £
Local similar properties market £
Past sold prices - trends
Time on market
How long local properties stay on market