To cringe at the British mentality on the property market?

[GinDaddyRedux]

N.B full disclosure I am British, and a homeowner. before anyone questions!

I've read a number of articles online, and a number of posts on here, about the property market after easing of the COVID-19 lockdown. Some of them talking about a drop of 7%, some of 20%. Goodness only knows what's accurate here.

This wasn't the thing that grated on me though. It was the bitter, nasty comments on one newspaper that "young first time buyers are insulting if they offer 10% below asking. They're usually the sort who can't manage money anyway." Or "just because you ask for a discount doesn't mean you're going to get one! Greedy! I worked hard for my investment!!" etc. One even went as far to say "never, ever lower your price for anyone. People who ask are taking the piss."

AIBU to feel the whole mentality around housing is what is so wrong here?

The belief that house prices must, and should, inexorably rise no matter what the economic or social circumstances of the UK, just because millions of Brits have ties themselves up in that dream and want a slice of it?

Surely where we should be is a situation whereby if you need to move, you move. Obviously if you can ride out a crisis like this and have the space, great. But a house is a dwelling first, an investment second as far as I see it.

Therefore if first time buyers want to buy something this year, and make an offer that reflects their reality, why is it insulting or cheeky? Estate agents are legally obliged to put them forward. So. Why the "emotion" as if they are robbing someone's pension pot?

It's because I firmly believe too many people have tied up some of their hopes and self worth in housing. It's "insulting" and "cheeky" for someone to offer lower than asking price, yet we don't think twice about haggling the sticker price on a new car. Granted, a new vehicle isn't imbued with years of memories. Yet there are people who treat it like a personal insult.

AIBU to think some people need to accept they won't get the heady sale prices of 2016/2017, if you need to sell, you just sell. No one is being "cheeky" by asking to buy it at a price they consider reasonable.

I think it depends, if you bought your house a while ago and the price has risen sharply then I can't see why you'd get so offended by offers (that you could just reject anyway). On the other hand, if you've fairly recently bought and are losing your home because of covid, of course people saying they deserve a discount just because blah blah is annoying. You'll likely not get what you paid at the moment, and it sort of feeds into the idea a lot of people have that all sellers are greedy.

It depends whether the houses people want to move to will accept slightly lower prices.
I won’t take less for mine unless further up the chain takes less as I then couldn’t move to the house I need. I may as well hold on, even if it’s a year or more.

This is nothing new. I buy and sell for a living. I've only once paid over the asking price in an area where property was literally going under offer the day it was put on the market. All others I have bought below asking. You do your research and you can get a pretty accurate idea of what a property is worth in any given location considering its state of repair. When I price things for sale, I take in to account the agents recommendation and my own opinion. I have to say I have always achieved more than the agent suggested, because I know what my USP is worth. The issue now is the current uncertainty as so few properties have actually completed in the last couple months and the economy is in flux. I would would be reluctant to buy or sell anything at the moment, but I am speaking as an investor, not as some one who is actually wanting or needing to move home.
Make an offer, but make it a considered one.

I'm just worried if they fall too low they will just get snapped up by foreign investors or buy to rent landlords round here. I think we need a shake up of the housing market so normal people have a chance to buy or rent a home at reasonable rates. I say that as a home owner.

It could go the other way. We have decided to take our house off the market as I don't want anyone round, don't want extra mortgage and I was moving countryside - more city centre and I don't want to do that anymore. Whilst some people will have to move, others won't sell as they would have been upsizing and this is not something they will do now if it includes a bigger mortgage. It could go either way. It could be more supply of housing, or less. I don't think prices will rise either way.

Which paper was it that you read? I read somewhere that an Austrian man put in a very low offer for an estate in Italy but the estate agent refused to pass on the offer to seller saying he could not represent ''vultures and jackals''.

We've moved a few times and have never paid the full asking price, we've also accepted lower offers on ours, so it's nothing new. We got 10% off the asking price of this house 2 years ago. You can't make blanket statements about house sellers - everyone is different.

Sadly the house market will be affected regardless of people refusing discounted offers on their property. People losing their jobs and being forced to sell up will make it that way if the economy continues to decline.

In my family there is a mixture of scenarios property wise. I own my place, mortgage free, both my DS used inheritance to purchase their first property last year, my eldest still has a large amount left as he wanted to hold some back so they could start a family or in case of one of them losing their jobs (which looks a possibility). My other DS used most of his inheritance as a deposit to get a family sized property with his fiance, they both work for the NHS so, while they havent much in savings they are less at risk of losing their jobs, then there is my DD who still lives at home, now in her position if prices do reduce she will be in a better position to use her inheritance to purchase a property with a smaller mortgage, although she is a student so it will be a long way off for her.

I am considering moving myself at some point as I have 2 flights of stairs in my massionette and can see a point when this becomes too much as I get older, i am accept my place will have fallen in value but then so will be the one I purchase so everyone thinking not to accept a lower amount, unless they selling but not moving, eg, a second property, they wont really be affected.

I feel sorry for those that may lose their homes as a result of this crisis.

A friend of DH's is selling his house on the edge of a lovely village - the estate agent suggested £650k and he insisted on £750k. Nobody's even looked at the house at that price, but he insists that he can choose the price he sells for. He's shot himself in the foot, now, because not only will he not get 750, he won't get anywhere near 650. If he'd put it on sale in December at 650 and taken 625 it would have sold overnight - houses here go so quickly it would have been snapped up. People are odd when it comes to houses - like its a personal insult if they're offered below asking price.

I think some people treat houses like they treat children - they never see the flaws and are reluctant to accept that they're not worth the millions they are in their head because of all the love and devotion they've poured into them.

Yes it is funny.

Many people want property to be a "market" when the value of their investment is going up, but are incredulous that in a market the value can go down as well as up.

I think the OP needs to stay away from whatever newspaper it is. There's no 'cringe' or 'cheeky' about it - you offer what you think a house is worth to you and the seller either accepts or refuses it and you eventually end up in a house you can afford. Too much emotion swilling round here.

Tbh I think it's just MNs or that people with vested interests stalk boards. Apparently offering low makes you worse then scum.

In the real world I know my property is not going to double in 5 yrs & if i'm moving up the ladder it's better for me that prices reduce.

Plus a huge issue in London & SE is not FTBs it's people stuck on the ladder.

I might negotiate with someone who puts in an offer that is below asking price but I would never enter negotiations with anyone who put in a cheeky offer, well below the valuation. I would just say 'no' and nothing more.

I’m a home owner and never really understood the fascination with house price rises. Isn’t it only really beneficial if/when you downsize? If you’re moving to a similar size or buying a bigger house for a growing family, then house price rises will increase the gap you need to bridge. Yes, your house has gone up in price, but the house you want to move to will have by even more (assuming approximate even % increases)

Likewise with a price drop. Oh no, my house isn’t worth as much. Well thats ok if the house you want to move to has also dropped by a similar %. May even make it more affordable.

@NotEverythingIsBlackandWhite what do you count as a cheeky offer? I know friends who bought 2 yrs ago & got 25% off (400k).

I do remember selling a detached house, very standard post-war 3 bed, and getting a bit annoyed at one family who tried to haggle a much lower price than on offer as there were houses round the corner about £15000 cheaper.

Those were semi-detached, hence cheaper, and I was just a bit frustrated they were pushy and not comparing like with like. Just irritating really, wasting my time.

I have no problem with people putting in an offer via the estate agent where you can say a quick yes/no/bit higher please.

Frankly, YABU to take the comments on a newspaper site (sounds like the Daily Fail or Express) as a barometer for the national attitude towards anything.

I bought and sold and made 140% profit on original price in six years. That six years priced younger people with no help out of the market. I would love to see better pricing although I don’t think and slump will be sustained.

I'm selling and I expect to negotiate on the price, but if an initial offer was cheekily low, it would make me wary that they'd gazunder me further down the line. If I ended up with 2 similar offers on the table; one that had started cheekily low and one that had been realistic from the start, I'd choose the second buyer.

I agree it's silly. Reprehensible people are those who wait for exchange day and then drop the offer by 10% in a long chain. But otherwise it's supply and demand. I've had estate agents that priced the property too low (presumably to get a quick sale) and too high (presumably so I'd go with them). So you have to be realistic about what your property is worth given the market conditions.

Just because it was worth x last year doesn't mean it's worth x + 3% this year. Because Brexit, Coronavirus etc.

Just because the people down the road got y for their house doesn't mean that you'll get the same because a) they've built an extension, b) it's in much better condition and c) they don't live next to the chip shop/pub etc.

But people think because they love their decor/wild garden/water feature that everyone else will and get quite angry when they don't.

As someone whose wealth is largely tied up in their house (bought years ago in a favourable market in a ridiculously expensive part of London) I still think we need a correction in the housing market so people can actually afford to buy something. If I downsize then wherever I buy will be slightly cheaper anyway.

Equally I have no understanding of why people think the house prices are marketed at are a suggestion and that the vendor should be willing to accept a lot less than the price they have set. Don't even get me started on those who think a survey is a negotiation tool rather than due diligence. As a vendor my view of sellers is buy it or don't buy it but don't act as if you are doing me a favour!

Sorry my view of buyers not sellers!

There also seems to be a much more relaxed attitude to gazumping whereas gazundering is the devils work. Strange that!

People are obsessed with what they think it's worth and the reality is it's only worth what someone will pay.
I've seen a home I'd love to move to. It hasn't been renovated and still has the 1950s wallpaper and kitchen, and 70s bathrooms. The vendors inherited it and expect the price only about 200K less than it is worth if done up to a high spec and extended. The reality is it needs £500K+ spent on it to bring it to a decent standard.

They've allowed themselves to be swayed by the promise of more, based on renovated properties in the area.

It's been for sale for a long time and they've turned down offers at 15% lower which they told me were "cheeky". I don't know what they expect to happen now.