How much to offer

jw0102

Looking at a 4 bed house in Hythe, Kent. First time buyer and the market seems to be in favour (lots of places including this one have been on market a while).Estate agent has stressed to us that the price it is on for is the "marketing price" which is indicating they would accept lower.  We were thinking of offering 10% under but would love some advice / guidance on this?

tacpot12

I would recommend that you off about 5% lower than the asking price, but make it clear that the offer is subject to satisfactory survey. There is no point going in very low when you haven't had the survey done, as you may need to reduce your offer further, depending on what the survey report says. 

The 5% reduction should represent that highest price you are prepared to pay for the house.

Bigphil1474

We've just looked at a house marketed at £285k, and their EA said we might get it for £265k, which seemed a bit odd but it is empty and they had a sale fall through. So around 7%. Marketing Price is always just a guide. Also depends on the price range. I'd generally guess that at the lower end, 10% means more to the seller than at the upper end. 

I have a good friend who has bought a lot of properties - if he isn't that keen on somewhere he'll offer a really cheeky price and it did work once (about 33% below) - depends how desperate they are to sell. We rejected an offer on ours which was 10% below, but we'd definitely accept one 5% below.

MultiFuelBurner

Offer what you think it is worth and the seller will accept or reject the offer based on their circumstances.

There is no clear cut single discount percentage.

BJV

No harm in going in a 10% poss lower, be checky go 15%?

What is the worst, they could say ? No?

Ok then you can go up. It is always easier going up than trying to go down. BUT as another post said make sure it is subject to a survey and that ll other viewings and marketing stops.
 

MACKEM99

Of you offer low they could say "up yours"😂

BJV

MACKEM99 said:

Of you offer low they could say "up yours"😂

I have as part of my job bought lots of houses and even some commercial buildings ( lots ) and I always go in low. No-one has ever said "up yours " If a sale has fallen through and they are committed sellers, they will be up for negotiation. Always better to start low. The EA should handle this for you. They should already have a relationship with the vendor and know how to present it to them.

Exodi

MultiFuelBurner said:

Offer what you think it is worth and the seller will accept or reject the offer based on their circumstances.

There is no clear cut single discount percentage.

Agree with this, personally it makes no sense to me to suggest random percentages without knowing the specific property.

I live extremely close to Hythe (I live in Ashford, and we visit Folkestone very often), we see some houses go on the market and sell, but we've also seen some totally stagnating, dropping their price by £10k per month and still not selling. I have 3 on my street alone that keep dropping their prices, reflecting a decrease of 15%-20% since the original listing, and still available. Some vendors may think their Christmas's had all come at once if they listed at an optimistic price provided by a keen-to-win-their-business-by-saying-what-they-want-to-hear estate agent and only got knocked down 5-10%.

I achieved a 15% discount on asking price for my house a few years ago, and that was in a 'sellers market' at the time. Yet if the price was originally marketed 15% lower, I most likely wouldn't have been able to.

If you're buying from a probate/divorcing couple (and are incredibly patient) some people are able to achieve absolutely eye-watering discounts. If the phone is ringing off the hook about the first house in a decade that has come on the market in a prestigious street at a fantastic price, it's unlikely the vendor will consider any discount.

Look at comparables, there's no one size fits all. 

The worst thing that could happen is you say:

"I like the property... but I'd only be willing to make an offer if the asking price is reduced by 10%"

And they bite your hand off.

RHemmings

I'm thinking of two houses near me. To me they look pretty much the same (3 bed terraced). One is on for £199.5K, and the other is on for £290K. If I had to offer on both, then the percentage under asking would be very different. 

baser999

I suppose as well it’s dependent on what it’s on for? An offer of 10% under on a house on the market for £300k could be a huge amount to the seller when compared to someone selling at say £1m where they could more likely afford to drop their price.

Hoenir

What price is the property being marketed at ?  10% can either be a very small or very large number. Needs some context.