Price adjustment for smaller homes

jake_jones99

I am buying a house in a small cul-de-sac where a larger house just completed a few days back.  I am close to exchange. Both houses have the same characteristics: 3 bedrooms, 2 driveway spaces, condition, number of bathrooms, build year/company etc. However, the house I am buying is 20% smaller than the larger house (both in terms of floor area and garden space) and my accepted offer makes it 8.8% cheaper. 1.5 years ago, another house sold in the same cul-de-sac identical to the larger one. My house would be only 5.4% cheaper relative to that one (and still 20% smaller).

I am aware I am paying a premium. The question is simple, is the premium potentially justified, or is there good justification to drop out? Or propose another decrease - there were a few already - with the risk of dropping out.

I am not in a rush to move, and I am a first time buyer.

Chief_of_Staffy

You offer what you think it's worth. There is no 'premium'.

jake_jones99

Chief_of_Staffy said:

You offer what you think it's worth. There is no 'premium'.

I am aware it is a free market. My question is more about what people with prior buying/selling experience think it's worth, based on the info shared. 

MeteredOut

jake_jones99 said:

Chief_of_Staffy said:

You offer what you think it's worth. There is no 'premium'.

I am aware it is a free market. My question is more about what people with prior buying/selling experience think it's worth, based on the info shared. 

You really haven't given enough information for anyone to provide any meaningful feedback on what the house is worth.

born_again

jake_jones99 said:

Chief_of_Staffy said:

You offer what you think it's worth. There is no 'premium'.

I am aware it is a free market. My question is more about what people with prior buying/selling experience think it's worth, based on the info shared. 

No Matter how you word it or how others think.
A house is worth what you are prepared to pay.
Some would prefer a smaller house/garden & might pay more for a it over a bigger one. Others a bigger one.

Many things effect price, not just size.

GixerKate

Buying houses doesn't really work like that, the market changes so what was sold 18 months ago doesn't have a huge impact today.  Do you like the house and do you want to live there?  Do you think you could buy something better for less in the same location?  These are the questions you need to think about not crunching the percentages.

Based on the info provided I don't see a justification for lowering your offer and if I was the seller I would be suspicious that you are going to be 'that' kind of FTB and mess about.

If you truly don't like the house then drop out and look for something else.

silvercar

Depends if the 20% reduction moves you from decent to pokey room sizes or from large to decent. The former would be a bigger price difference than the latter.

Emmia

Ultimately, you have to decide if the price you're paying for the property is worth it for you. There's no point in comparing other properties that you're not able to buy. 

If you think it's over priced, offer less and see what they say, or walk away and find somewhere else.

Chief_of_Staffy

Reminds me of a guy whose house I went to view not long back. He had spent way into six figures renovating it to a high standard, but the buyer before had dropped out just before exchange. Apparently the buyer had been happy with his offer right up until he went on Zoopla and discovered the estimated cost to be £80k less than his offer. So he dropped it by that amount. No joke.

jake_jones99

Surely there's an objective reality on a range of fair values, such that even if I would be ok to pay a certain amount, it's unlikely anyone else would pay that.

jake_jones99

silvercar said:

Depends if the 20% reduction moves you from decent to pokey room sizes or from large to decent. The former would be a bigger price difference than the latter.

Well the smallest is the minimum standard for single around 7 sqm. What do you mean by pokey rooms?