I have the fortune misfortune of living in an area where house prices are strong. On arrival of second child, we have realised we have outgrown our current house and don’t have any scope to extend, so a move is on the cards.

Unfortunately there is limited housing for sale, as we are not in the Yukon. How much below the asking price would you go in at? The house we are offering on (or thinking of offering on) has one other offer (apparently). Think average discount was 6% last year, but don’t see that as achievable in the current market where we live.

I assume strong house prices = lots of people want to live there = you’re probably going to need to go in pretty close to the asking price or maybe even over it.

We moved before Christmas and had an offer of just less than 2% under the asking price accepted in a popular area with good schools etc.

Expect people to see their house as a licence to make themselves wealthy rather than thinking about simply getting a fair price so they can sell it and get on with moving and getting on with life.

A friend of mine derided offers he received on his dead sister’s flat last year as ‘insulting’. It’s still on the market. As is the flat I tried to rent before Xmas, where my offers elicited ’emotion’ rather than being accepted as a commercial transaction.

My friend is usually a very generous and giving kind of person – he works in healthcare helping addicts get access to treatment for e.g. but when it comes to selling houses, he like so many of us, loses the plot…

Buyer beware I say…

but don’t see that as achievable in the current market where we live.

There you go then, it’s worth what someone will pay for it, which means unless you get very lucky you’ll always have to be the person paying more than the average offer on the house.

Ours ended up within 1%

but when it comes to selling houses, he like so many of us, loses the plot…

In fairness, it’s the one and only time most of us deal with those sums of money. And especially when downsizing or selling dead relatives then it’s actual real money, no longer hypothetical or £5 a month on the mortgage for 30 years. I’d not give some random stranger £5k, just the same I’d not give them £5k off the value of the house. the flip side being it looks like your friends flat wasn’t worth what he thought.

Just sold my house with an offer about a grand under the asking price. Couldn’t really go much lower as I needed all the money I can get for the deposit on my new house.

We’d been told by the agent that our vendors were trying their luck and were open to offers of 5-6% below but some dipsh1t who hadn’t even put their own house on the market made an offer via another agent of full asking and we had to match that even though we were in a position to move quickly. In the end we decided to bite the bullet and not lose the house we loved and wanted to be in for the next 20+ years for the sake of admittedly a big chunk of cash.

On paper it’s gone up by 10% within 16 months so no regrets but wouldn’t have even if it had dropped as it’s perfect for our family and nothing else we’ve seen since was competitive.

Offer what it is worth to you.

Expect people to see their house as a licence to make themselves wealthy rather than thinking about simply getting a fair price so they can sell it and get on with moving and getting on with life.

Get whatever you can for it. I’ll not see my family out of a penny so that someone else can get a cheap house.

Buying houses is just like buying any other second hand goods – price on its condition so if, following a survey, there’s anything material that needs to be fixed (and which hasn;t been priced in) then aim for a discount based on that.

brooess is right – people do get in a tizz about it. Try to avoid that.

A friend of mine derided offers he received on his dead sister’s flat last year as ‘insulting’. It’s still on the market. As is the flat I tried to rent before Xmas, where my offers elicited ’emotion’ rather than being accepted as a commercial transaction

We had this when we bought our house, deceased parents, being sold by children (now adults) who still saw it as the family home, way too much emotion to comprehend a realistic price, despite estate agents and builders telling them otherwise. We ended up paying at least £5k more than what it was realistically worth (still 5% under asking), but it was our dream* house so we sucked it up.

*in so far as a house trapped in the 70s with no insulation in the attic, render dropping off outside, damp, broken central heating, pink bathroom, mustard painted anaglypta, and stencilled flowers everywhere can be a dream house.

Expect people to see their house as a licence to make themselves wealthy

You need to maximise what you get for your house so you can buy the house you want, taking on as little extra debt as possible. It’s got nothing to do with being fair or making yourself wealthy.

Bid what ever you want 5% lower 10%, whatever.

You can always bid up for it…. or miss out on it …. after someone decides not to mess about and buys it for the listed price.

Good luck

We had this when we bought our house, deceased parents, being sold by children (now adults) who still saw it as the family home, way too much emotion to comprehend a realistic price, despite estate agents and builders telling them otherwise. We ended up paying at least £5k more than what it was realistically worth

The sellers maximised the sale, can’t fault them for that. If buyers are prepared to pay over the odds, you can’t blame the sellers. They didn’t make you buy it.

We ended up paying at least £5k more than what it was realistically worth

the fact you paid it, made it worth it…

taking on as little extra debt as possible

That’s a joke isn’t it? We’re putting ourselves in insane amount of debt, to the point BoE daren’t take us out of emergency interest rates which were set when we thought the whole economy was going to crash! That was seven years ago…

Anyone else remember how 2008 came about? It’s like some kind of nation-level delusion this idea we have about house prices being real wealth that can actually be used to spend or invest… and produce economic growth, jobs etc.

It’s called the ‘wealth effect’ for a reason – it’s an effect rather than actual wealth… It’s quite interesting getting a foreigner’s view on the British and our house prices…

Find out what other houses have gone for (as in % over or under asking). I assume asking is related to survey valuation?

Then get a couple of valuation only surveys (drive bys) and add an amount on to cover “what ifs”.

Had a friend who did all this in a very rigorous fashion when buying a house he wanted. Took three surveys, added on the 10% offers over bump, and took the highest survey value. Of course this is in Scotland – I assume you’re not..

jam bo – Member

We ended up paying at least £5k more than what it was realistically worth

the fact you paid it, made it worth it…

Yes exactly, to us, even though from a pure non-emotional transaction point of view we paid more than we were advised to by people with better knowledge of house prices renovation costs etc.

Unfortunately there is limited housing for sale, as we are not in the Yukon. How much below the asking price would you go in at? The house we are offering on (or thinking of offering on) has one other offer (apparently). Think average discount was 6% last year, but don’t see that as achievable in the current market where we live.

No doubt you won’t be upset with your buyer(s) offering you 6% less too?

I have always found it odd in this country that we pay estate agents (professionals) to sell our house but don’t use a professional when we are buying. Largest financial outlay ever and no professional help. When we make any other financial decision such as a pension, isa, etc we are always told to see a professional.

Ballpark I’d go in around 10% under unless you think there are good reasons not to. Assume that “existing offer” is bullshit until proven otherwise. It may be a straight lie, it may be a BTL chancer wanting 25% off, in which case even a fairly miserable offer could seem like a lifeline!

When we sold a modest flat recently the agent said that they had achieved 98% of asking price on average (I think) and that is what we settled for. First offer was about 10% below and we said no, then 5% and we said no again. Only one genuine buyer but we knew the price was fair.

We bought our current house at about 8% under asking, knew the house had been on and off the market for a couple of years but the flipside of this is the owners were a bit stubborn/greedy, they were downsizing so didn’t have an urgent need to move. However it was the only house we viewed that we really wanted…

You can always go up, and you’ll feel like you overpaid if they bite your hand off on the first offer. You’ve got better bargaining power if you want a standard 3-bed semi and can choose between half a dozen near-identical properties.

Definitely go under. Even if it’s not the highest offer you’re still in the process.

I get the red mist when I look round a house and am told “there’s already one offer, and it’s at the asking price”. Seriously!? Who offers the asking price first up? It’s almost like they want to pay more for it.

“Here. Please. Take my money. Beat me with it.”

👿

Apologies. Red mist is descending….

We paid full asking for our current house. It had just come back on the market, agent knew we were looking for something like it and phoned us. Having seen lots of houses in the area we knew it was a good price so offered full asking straight away while looking round. Next door went for 70k more 9 months later. No regrets.

Ime if you get into negotiations then you can haggle them down to the right price but the real bargains are snapped up straight away, usually well before they get advertised.

I ended up getting 6.5% over my asking price in Bristol. We are now building a house instead and i am glad as I don’t want to go through all the buying process again.

I ended up getting 6.5% over my asking price in Bristol

that’s certainly happening at the moment. Been helping a friend look and every viewing has had a few people on it and they’ve all sold fast for more than asking. He’s up against btl buyers and they can’t spend money fast enough.

Gribble, it’s as if you’ve posted for me!
Got our place valued the other day and he came up with an obscene value.
We live in an area where the prices are so strong that it is quite normal for offers over the asking price.
I am not in anyway interested in ‘making money’ on my flat. I just need to upscale due to now having a family.
I really quite honestly wish my flat was worth something relative to what normal everyday people earn. I live in a normal everyday estate which I would love to stay in and but a bigger place.
Mortgage advisor has told me what I can get, I do not want that amount of a mortgage hanging around my neck, I just don’t know how people can possibly pay off this kind of debt.
I would much rather sell at a reasonable price, relative to what people can comfortably afford, then upscale accordingly.
When I asked how anybody could possibly even get a deposit for my property he laughingly said most people get it from parents remortgaging their properties? When will this madness end? I absolutely despair.

BTW, normal estate Lower Earley in Reading, not super swanky London Town or Chorlton.
For the prices people are paying for bog standard unkempt 3 bed houses here I would have expected to buy a cottage in the lakes.

LLL – research your local market – any advice has to be seen in context .

All the post about how much less to offer sound so clever until you apply them
to the wrong market – likewise offers over…

It’s like some kind of nation-level delusion this idea we have about house prices being real wealth that can actually be used to spend or invest…

When I sold my house and moved away in 2004 I’m pretty certain it was real money that cleared into my bank account.

And I’m pretty sure that I wasn’t delusional while I was spending it. (Pissed most of the time, yes, but not delusional)

Obviously it depends. However from watching Krusty and Phil on the telly it seems that most people get a bit below the asking price, across most of the country, including “hotspots” outside London. After all, you might reasonably expect that the asking price is generally something that the seller will accept, or else they wouldn’t have said that was the asking price. I know some say “offers over” or around but that’s rare IME.

OTOH I sold somewhere for about 30% over valuation in Scotland (different system to England, official valuation is obtained by sellers prior to marketing), but we all knew the valuation was rubbish, and it was never advertised as the asking price.

that’s certainly happening at the moment. Been helping a friend look and every viewing has had a few people on it and they’ve all sold fast for more than asking. He’s up against btl buyers and they can’t spend money fast enough.

They’ll vanish in April when the BTL stamp duty triples overnight.

Thanks all for your comments. Have put in an offer/expression of interest at just over 2% below the asking price. The point is taken about bidding too low, missing out and not being able to do much but go home and cry about it…

Some may consider that too high, but there are few alternatives and we like it. So we have to grow some nuts and cough up.

In response to the above questions on discounts offered on our place, I would expect the initial offers on our place to be below our asking price. I think it has been fairly valued, but know the BTL investors have looked at it and our type/size house is quite common in the area, so expect there to be more choice/competition.

They’ll vanish in April when the BTL stamp duty triples overnight.

I wouldn’t bet your pension on it. I know there are plenty of BTL buyers out there who believe this tax change is causing a mini bubble and waiting until after April expecting a dip in prices. They will then buy, which will push prices back up and so it goes on.

And to gribble. Good luck, buy a house you like at price you are happy with and live in it and you won’t got too far wrong

Good man OP

Hope you get it, the move goes smoothly and you are happy in your dream home.

The price you paid will not matter one little bit once you are in and settled

Good decision