Price adjustment for smaller homes

BungalowBel

I don't think any seller would be best pleased if their buyer suddenly offered less at the last minute.  You should have factored your concerns  into the price when making your offer.

You can either withdraw (if you think you are paying too much), but bear in mind you will still have to pay your solicitor for the work they have done so far.

Or you can offer the lower amount and don't be surprised if they decide not to sell to you.

Personally, if I was the seller, I would not budge, at this late stage.

ReadySteadyPop

MeteredOut said:

jake_jones99 said:

GixerKate said:

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.

The one 18mo ago was only to show some pattern. The main comparable is the one that completed a few days ago. 

The problem here is you do not know the circumstances of that sale. Maybe they were moving to their dream home and had to sell quickly, so marketed at a lower price. Maybe they sold to a family member at the lower end of all the valuations they received. 

If you want to use sold prices of other houses, you'll need data, not anecdote.

Possible, but more likely they just understood market dynamics.

ReadySteadyPop

BungalowBel said:

I don't think any seller would be best pleased if their buyer suddenly offered less at the last minute.  You should have factored your concerns  into the price when making your offer.

You can either withdraw (if you think you are paying too much), but bear in mind you will still have to pay your solicitor for the work they have done so far.

Or you can offer the lower amount and don't be surprised if they decide not to sell to you.

Personally, if I was the seller, I would not budge, at this late stage.

Sellers with no other offers don`t have the luxury of being "best pleased" or otherwise, they are trying to sell a small overpriced house, they will have to learn how to negotiate in my opinion.

Tabieth

You made an offer, presumably one you were happy with. Nothing has changed - the house is exactly the same size now as it was when you made your offer. I’m struggling to understand what this is if it isn’t gazundering. If you’ve changed your mind, that’s fine - it happens. I’d be open and honest as soon as you can be. If you choose to ganzunder then be prepared for the seller to say “no”. 

jake_jones99

Tabieth said:

You made an offer, presumably one you were happy with. Nothing has changed - the house is exactly the same size now as it was when you made your offer. I’m struggling to understand what this is if it isn’t gazundering. If you’ve changed your mind, that’s fine - it happens. I’d be open and honest as soon as you can be. If you choose to ganzunder then be prepared for the seller to say “no”. 

That's not fully correct, something has changed. There is a fresh sale that went for lower than expected. The agents earlier this year were arguing that a house right next to it of the similar size should be £25k more expensive than it actually went for. So this sale provides a new reference point. 

theartfullodger

My response as a seller if buyer offered a late lower price would be to say " ... Oh, didn't realise the agreed price was flexible, it's just gone up by the same amount you tried to reduce it".  

Very likely, in the opinion of many, not ...........

Emmia

jake_jones99 said:

Tabieth said:

You made an offer, presumably one you were happy with. Nothing has changed - the house is exactly the same size now as it was when you made your offer. I’m struggling to understand what this is if it isn’t gazundering. If you’ve changed your mind, that’s fine - it happens. I’d be open and honest as soon as you can be. If you choose to ganzunder then be prepared for the seller to say “no”. 

That's not fully correct, something has changed. There is a fresh sale that went for lower than expected. The agents earlier this year were arguing that a house right next to it of the similar size should be £25k more expensive than it actually went for. So this sale provides a new reference point. 

It doesn't matter what other properties go for... If you're not happy with the price, just pull out and stop wasting everyone's time.

GDB2222

Round here, one criterion is definitely floor area. I would not be happy paying effectively 10-15% more per square foot for the smaller house.

I agree that the OP has left it rather late in the day to discover that information, and he should definitely apologise for the mistake he made and the effect on the seller. 

jimbog

What have you decided to do?

jake_jones99

jimbog said:

What have you decided to do?

As noted in a previous message I found out that, when it was first built, this house sold in the same month as one next to it. It was 20% smaller and 9% cheaper at that time (early 2000's). My offer is 8.8% cheaper than another nearby property whose sale just completed days ago, and is 23% smaller. It is close enough for housing market standards, so I'll dismiss the difference. 

I have also seen other houses in the same cul de sac sold at just 25% discount to larger ones, while being 50% smaller and having one fewer bedrooms. So it seems that this is the type of adjustments being done in this area. At least that's what they were around 15 years back when they were all built, so I'll assume the same ratio is maintained. 

So I'll go ahead with it, but not because "there's no objective price, the price is only what you want to pay",  "don't dare upset the seller" and other reasons invoked. But because I found some data that shows I'm not the town's biggest idiot if I proceed.