Why would a vendor just not reply to an offer on their property?

dander

I've made an offer on a property - it's probably lower than the vendors hoped for but not a lowball in any way and proceedable with a very short chain. I even said to the estate agent, if they say no, get a counter offer. But I'm well over 24 hours now and still no reply and starting to get a very bad feeling. 

I can't understand why people would just go quiet rather than negotiate. Anyone been that vendor that didn't reply for days - really love to know the psychology of what on earth is going on. 

user1977

"Over 24 hours" is hardly the same as "never", is it? People can be busy, the "vendor" may not be one individual but someone who needs to consult with a joint owner, etc. It might be as simple as they need to chat it over with the agent but that involves doing it during work hours (not always easy for people depending on their work) and them catching each other on the phone.

BoGoF

Psychology wise - In your opinion it's not lowball - in a vendors eyes it may be insulting enough to merit them deeming it not worthy of a response. 

That said it's probably as said above, 24 hours is no time.

Flugelhorn

You need to wait a few days - 24 hours in nothing. I offered, below the advertised price and below what they had originally paid. Heard nothing for 4 days when agent came back with a very sensible counter offer, seemed he had been back and forth with them many times. 

cymruchris

24 hours? In the property world that's like saying I've put my kettle on, and it's not boiled in 2.4 seconds. You need a bit of patience They might say no - they might give a counter offer - but maybe they're mulling it over first. The estate agent may not have been able to reach them immediately - all kinds of reasons why you need to give it a couple of days or so.

dander

Flugelhorn said:

You need to wait a few days - 24 hours in nothing. I offered, below the advertised price and below what they had originally paid. Heard nothing for 4 days when agent came back with a very sensible counter offer, seemed he had been back and forth with them many times. 

That's reassuring, thank you. Although in this case I can't see the need for a back and forth, we're only a couple of percent below asking, so I honestly can't understand why this would be any great drama for a vendor. 

I'm just worried that maybe the asking was something that the estate agent talked them into with promises of a bidding war after a "come and get me price" and they were always convinced the house was worth way more and don't actually want to sell at near asking.

RHemmings

It took a week between when I made my offer on a property, and when it was accepted. I have a sample of n=1 for this, but I didn't think that was too long. 

gazfocus

In addition to the above, the seller might have other viewings booked in (the estate agent is under no obligation to tell you if that’s the case) and may be waiting for those viewings to see if they get a better offer. 

They might also be looking at what they can buy if they accept a lower offer as it might mean they can’t afford the onward purchase they’d anticipated. 

When we bought our house, the house had been on the market for a year or so and so the sellers didn’t look for an inward purchase until they received an offer from us. It took about a week of back and forth to get an offer accepted that we were all happy with. 

In the end though, our sellers were as motivated as we were to get the sale completed. From the first viewing to getting the keys was only 6 weeks (this was about 10 years ago). 

Albermarle

OP - you are assuming the vendor is in a position to always react immediately.
They maybe be visiting their dying relative in hospital. They may be dealing with an issue with their children. They may be very busy at work. They may be the type who likes to mull things over/sleep on things. They may need to consult with a partner, who similarly may be busy with other important issues etc etc.

Hoenir

If there are other viewings booked this week. I'd wait to see the outcome of these. Nor would I respond immediately to a low offer. From experience those that do rarely end up buying the property. 

housebuyer143

I made a lowish offer once and the seller didn't refuse it, just took the house off the market 🤣🤣 
It was strange, but some people are strange. 


24 hours isn't long though.