…or are they?

I'm attempting to buy a house, it's been on the market for over a year at £250k or "offers in the region of"

There have been NO OFFERS made on the property and it is by no means a unique property in the area.

I opened negotiations at £214k, which was predictably declined, but they have come back stating that they will not accept any offer below £245k!

Am I being unreasonable expecting a 9-14% reduction on a guide price in the current market?

I'm a first time buyer, have no chain and ALL of my finances are in place.

Cheers,

James

It would seem so yes. But it was worth a try.

Walk away mate. Chances are if they really want to sell they'll come back to you. You'd think that after a year with no offers they'd have realised it's overpriced.

I think you have to accept that they have a price in their head. If it's more than you're willing to pay then walk away.

I'm not sure reasonableness comes into it. If there's other properties the same on the market then move on and forget them.

Not being unrealistic in trying such a figure. But they choose how much they want and you can't make them accept a penny less.

Sit tight for a month and ask them again.

My brother in law just took 6 months of offers/waiting to get £20k off a £425k house.

It's up to them, did you really think there would be any rules?

If it's not unique, look elsewhere.

Alternatively, make them an offer of £220k now, let them know you will reduce this offer in another month.

How long have the vendors been in the house? Are they in -ve equity?

You are not being unreasonable but a sale does need both sides to agree and you are assuming that the seller is as keen to sell as you are to buy. In this case thats clearly not so – that's markets for you!

Stick to your guns and they will change their minds or not. Of course that depends on whether you are willing to risk losing the house…

I'm a first time buyer, have no chain and ALL of my finances are in place

Did you make this clear when making your offer?

If so, let them know you are keen & give them some more time to think on it 😉

They want to sell at £245k

You don't want to buy at £245k

Can you guess what happens next?

Seriously – maybe they can't afford to sell for less, maybe they don't understand markets/are deluded/ are not too desperate to sell/like showing people around their house and never seeing them again – all you can do is pay what they think their house is worth, or move on.

They may have already dropped the price to squeeze under the stamp threshold. Ours was on at £250k and they weren't considering offers so we paid full asking. It was still a very good deal for the area.

Make a counter offer (£225k?) then leave it for a bit, unless you really want it.

Moses – Member

Alternatively, make them an offer of £220k now

I've increased my offer to my maximum of £226k as I do like the property, I'm eagerly awaiting my rejection.

How long have the vendors been in the house? Are they in -ve equity?

They've been in there for 13 years and paid £56k.

When considering the property, I looked into the figures published by RICS showing the average price below asking price that was paid in the last 2 months. It was 11%.

They've been in there for 13 years and paid £56k.

That means nothing though.

average

So some accepted the asking price, some accepted 30% below the asking price.

Again, means nothing at all.

I would also think about if they have been on the market for a year without reducing the price they don't sound like they are in any rush to sell. This might become very frustrating 6 months after you've had your offer accepted and they still haven't found somewhere else to live….

This happened to our first house, we got a decent deal, but looking back the sellers were never in any hurry and we should have spotted the danger signs. 9 months later after moving in with parents in anticipation, paying for surveys etc… they decided they no longer wanted to sell as finding another house was 'too stressful'. We were not impressed. Especially as the market had continued to rise in the mean time and we eventually had to fork out another £10k for effectively the same house 12 months on.

without seeing the property it's impossible to know which of you is being more realistic about perceived value.

they or their agent has made a mistake putting it on at £250k if they categorically won't go lower than £245k, though.

they or their agent has made a mistake putting it on at £250k if they categorically won't go lower than £245k, though
Why? That is the price, they choose if they want to accept an offer.

Drac – Member

They've been in there for 13 years and paid £56k.

That means nothing though.

I only put it up there as someone asked a question about potential negative equity.

edit – to mastiles:

because people expect to be able to make offers in any market, at the moment the perception is that there is even more leeway than usual, and that's often the case. putting the price within 2% of your cutoff point is only ever going to alienate the vast majority of people viewing it.

I only put it up there as someone asked a question about potential negative equity.

I know but they could still be in that situation, having remortgaged.

putting the price within 2% of your cutoff point is only ever going to alienate the vast majority of people viewing it.

This was my view as well, we've looked at over 35 properties in the past 4 months and not one of them has sold. Mortgages for FTBs are hard to get especially on houses of this value what with deposits and interest rates.

It should be a buyers market as there seems to be alot of property going nowhere, but no one seems to agree :-/

because people expect to be able to make offers in any market, at the moment the perception is that there is even more leeway than usual, and that's often the case. putting the price within 2% of your cutoff point is only ever going to alienate the vast majority of people viewing it.

But people can make offers – there is no duty to accept lower offers just because of the market conditions – the seller decides what they want for their property. The agent is acting for them and their interests.

i'm well aware of that. which is why the agent is an idiot for agreeing to put it on at that price knowing their cutoff, or is stupid for deciding the price to list it at.

to put it another way, people viewing a house listed at £250k would almost always be stretching themselves to go to £240k, let alone higher. the gap between list price and cutoff here is ludicrously small if they actually want to sell.

We're FTBs as well, just wait until you finally get an offer accepted and get a survey done only to find out that the house needs a new roof, damp work, new electrics, and additional support in the basement, back to trying to negotiate price…again…

which is why the agent is an idiot for agreeing to put it on at that price knowing their cutoff, or is stupid for deciding the price to list it at.

But it depends on the house value – they may have had it valued at £260k but put it on at £250k to attract those not wanting to pay stamp duty. As I said before, he is just an agent acting on the instructions of the seller. Only the seller could really be called an idiot.

When we first moved to Cornwall, we viewed a house that was on the market at 250,000, and made several negotional offers on it, each time being informed that our offer came below what the vendor was expecting. We caved fairly quickly and offered the full asking price, and were still turned down, as the t**t felt his property had been 'unrealistically valued'. Needless to say, we declined and walked away. However, I do think that in the current financial climate, the vendors on your property are being a bit hopeful – If its the right property for you, carry on negotiating, try and get them to meet you somewhere in the middle perhaps?

Offer £200k, tell them you're prepared to go to £150k

mastiles_fanylion – Member

which is why the agent is an idiot for agreeing to put it on at that price knowing their cutoff, or is stupid for deciding the price to list it at.

But it depends on the house value – they may have had it valued at £260k but put it on at £250k to attract those not wanting to pay stamp duty. As I said before, he is just an agent acting on the instructions of the seller. Only the seller could really be called an idiot.

i would disagree and assume that if the sellers were upfront about their expectations and how much they wanted for it, only a very desperate agent would have agreed to take the instruction on those terms. that agent is an idiot, and is now regretting it with every day that goes past with it not selling.

Sobriety – I feel your pain man, I really do 🙁

barnsleymitch –
If its the right property for you, carry on negotiating, try and get them to meet you somewhere in the middle perhaps?

That's what I was originally hoping for. I assumed that they'd be looking for £235-£238ish (not £245!), and that maybe we could secure at £226(max) given just how long it's been on the market.

I guess not.

MF – I see your point, I really do, but shirly people must realise, that it's not going to get better in a hurry and that they, like we've had to, must get used to the CURRENT situation, not live in the past. The market is what it is, right?

MF – I see your point, I really do, but shirly people must realise, that it's not going to get better in a hurry and that they, like we've had to, must get used to the CURRENT situation, not live in the past. The market is what it is, right?

Absolutely – so just sit tight and play the waiting game. If in a month or two they still won't accept your offer you will have to resign yourself to the fact that they aren't that desperate to sell.

See above for the long waiting game my brother in law just played to finally get the house they wanted.

Conversely, my brother's house is on the market. It went on 6 weeks ago at £290k but they have already dropped it to £260k as they ARE desperate to sell as they are wanting to move to the Isle of Wight so he can start his new job. (So anyone wanting a 4 bed semi in Knaresborough really could bag a bargain there with an offer well below the originally valued price).

Each seller brings with them their own expectations.

This is where the level of mortgage matters. I'd ideally like to sell my house. It's probably worth a little more than the loan secured on it, but not a whole lot more. There's no earthly way I'm going to sell and have to pay agent's commission on my credit card, so (as long as I can keep on top of the mortgage) there's an absolutely hard floor below which I'm not going.

Agreed that putting the asking price so low relative to the price they're willing to settle for is a recipe for frustration though.

TBF I can see the OP view and I am being a bit of the Devil's advocate here.

Tomorrow we are going to see two houses, one at £385k, one at £310k

If we like either we would only start with a bid of £365k and £295k respectively but would still expect there to be haggling and a middle ground to be reached.

Ours is valued at £300k but I know I will probably get bids at around the £285k mark.

Well, i'm going to be stuck in rented for a few months, so can afford to wait. Shame though, as it wastes, mine and their time.

They too are waiting for someone to buy their home so they can move on.

Am I being thick?

Why go to see a house prices at "around £250k" if you only have £220k to spend?

Why go to see a house prices at "around £250k" if you only have £220k to spend?

Sometimes if people have been waiting to sell for along time and a buyer comes along with no chain they'll accept a low offer. Not on this occasion.

druidh – Member

Am I being thick?

Why go to see a house prices at "around £250k" if you only have £220k to spend?

You;re in scotland aren't you? up there it's usually "offers over", whereas down here as Drac says buyers will price high expecting to be offered a lower price.

it's in england onion.
none of the silly closed bids you do up there.

Ah yes. Still – I'm surprised at the implied gap.

Ah yes. Still – I'm surprised at the implied gap.

I'm surprised he thought that they just automatically say yes. Like I say worth a pop but don't be shocked when they're no prepared to take a £36k drop.