Question about listed price and guide price.

SneakySpectator

Almost every ad I click on the listed price is like £120,000 or £125,000, which is what makes me click on the ad. Then when I read the description it says "guide price "£135,000 - £145,000".

I'm assuming the listed price is a way of click baiting you into looking at the property and the seller absolutely would never actually sell at that price. So I should always assume the lower end of the guide price is the actual price the seller wants, and offering the list price is just a waste of time?

Kinda reminds me of that Facebook ads that say "free" or "£0" and then when you click on it they want £400... 

Bigphil1474

Depends how much time you've got to mess around really. Some of those sellers will absolutely expect to get more, some won't. Depends how slow the market is where you are buying, and how desperate the seller is. You might end up viewing 10 properties and offering list price and 8 turn it down. Difficult to say.

When we were looking last year there were loads of empty ex rentals on the market - they are keen sellers as the landlord is paying for an empty property so the sooner they sell the better for them. Personally, if a property was listed at £125k and that's what I wanted to offer, that's what I'd offer. If they want more, they'd turn it down, and if you want to offer more, you can. If any seller took umbridge at a low offer, they probably aren't the type of people you want to deal with anyway.

harlequinnyc

No, offering the list price is not a waste of time. Personally, I'd go by the list price, rather than guide price (estate agent working for the seller will try to get them a higher price for the commission) and stick to the adage, "a house is only worth what you want to pay for it". If they wouldn't consider £125k, it wouldn't be listed at £125. Doesn't really matter to me what the seller 'wants', or these wide ranging guides. I'd offer what I think it's worth, considering what I'd want to then spend on it myself and make an offer. If that's £125k for you, just offer that; or less as a starting point. If they want or need to sell, they will consider your offer. If they say they want more, personally again, I'd walk away. Be a bit hard-nosed about it. You're looking after your own interests, not the sellers (or the estate agent!). 

RHemmings

There are people who will play games e.g. by listing at a price that they won't expect, hoping for a bidding war. But, it may be better to stay away from sellers such as that. 

Obviously I have no inside knowledge on what actually happened, but I wonder if the £125k price is the current price, and the higher range in the listing is an old price. 

If the OP installs the PatMa browser plugin, then this may reveal the price history of the property. 

newsgroupmonkey_

A question. How long has it been on the market?
If you use one of the free tools (Personally, I use PatMa), it'll tell you what the changes have been.

Maybe it originally was put up at £130k, and no-one bit. They've dropped the price, but not updated the details.

RHemmings

Having re-read the OP, it is said that this is happening for a large number of properties. That is unusual. Are all the properties showing this pattern listed by the same EA? 

theartfullodger

You can offer whatever you wish, there are no rules.  I offered significantly below the "offers over" price.  Got the rudest bluntest ever rejection "never been so insulted" etc etc.  Thanked agent politely.  

A week later repeated same exact offer.  Accepted.  Owned for over 20 years.

There are no rules.

Good luck.

eddddy

SneakySpectator said:

Almost every ad I click on the listed price is like £120,000 or £125,000, which is what makes me click on the ad. Then when I read the description it says "guide price "£135,000 - £145,000".

Which websites are you looking at? Can you post a link?

It sounds like you might be looking at an online auction website. They sometimes display multiple numbers... like the Opening Bid / Current Bid and a guide price.

(If it is an online auction, you need to make sure that you fully understand the terms and conditions - and the risks - before you bid.)

SneakySpectator

newsgroupmonkey_ said:

A question. How long has it been on the market?
If you use one of the free tools (Personally, I use PatMa), it'll tell you what the changes have been.

Maybe it originally was put up at £130k, and no-one bit. They've dropped the price, but not updated the details.

I have the PatMa extension but I think estate agents are on to this, call me a conspiracy theorist but I've also seen strange things on listings as well. 

For example one flat I was was listed for £140,000, then 1 month later reduced to £130,000 then 1 month later reduced again to £120,000. I suspect they're purposely listing it high and then "reducing it" to make it appear to the viewer that "omg it's a bargain it's down £20k in just 2 months and make people fomo buy. 

Kinda like how Temu will list an item for £12 that was "originally" £90. It was never worth £90, they just want you to think it's super cheap. 

 
Either this is one very impatient seller or they're purposely trying to play mind games. Even if I offered £115,000 the agent might say "it's already been reduced from £140k" to make my otherwise reasonable offer appear outrageously low. 

I just don't know what tricks and traps these guys play and whenever there's large sums of money involved I am always dubious and don't trust people.

ExEstateAgent

You are waaaayyyyy overthinking this! 

The EA will give the seller their opinion of what the property is likely to sell for (based on similar recent sales) and what to market at depending on the sellers position (do they want a quick sale, are they in no hurry and want to 'test the market' etc.). 

Regardless of all of that some vendors have their own idea of what their place is like and will instruct the EA to list it at £X. 

In the example above it seems like the original price was completely unrealistic and it's being dropped down closer to what it will actually sell for (maybe £120K is still too much, how do you think it compares to other properties in the area?). 

SneakySpectator

ExEstateAgent said:

You are waaaayyyyy overthinking this! 

The EA will give the seller their opinion of what the property is likely to sell for (based on similar recent sales) and what to market at depending on the sellers position (do they want a quick sale, are they in no hurry and want to 'test the market' etc.). 

Regardless of all of that some vendors have their own idea of what their place is like and will instruct the EA to list it at £X. 

In the example above it seems like the original price was completely unrealistic and it's being dropped down closer to what it will actually sell for (maybe £120K is still too much, how do you think it compares to other properties in the area?). 

Perhaps I am overthinking it and I have no experience in this field at all, I've never even rented a private property before, always been in social rented housing. 

OK so another 1 bed flat in the block next to it (2 story block instead of 3 story block) sold in 2022. Originally listed at £150,000, sold for £125,000.


Only a few flats have sold in this exact area in the last several years, I'm assuming the ones that are £140k+ are 2 beds? The PatMa extension is great but for some reason doesn't tell you how many bedrooms the properties that sold are...

£130,000 - 1 Feb 2024

£155,000 - 2 Oct 2023

£125,000 - 1 Jun 2022

£140,000 - 28 May 2021

£160,000 - 21 Apr 2021

£105,000 - 26 Mar 2021

£142,000 - 16 Nov 2018

£150,000 - 12 Jan 2018

£97,000 - 30 Nov 2016

£125,000 - 1 Apr 2016