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Original poster

Property for sale 'offers over'

68 replies

anotherperson1 · 23/02/2022 22:08

When they say that and have a price,
Realistically what is the actual price?

It used to be that you'd knock 10% off the asking price but it seems nothing goes below these days?

If a property was up for offers over 220k what should you be offering?

OP posts:
TheLovleyChebbyMcGee · 24/02/2022 09:20

Its changeable in Scotland. We got an offer 10k over the asking, but exactly at what the home report said accepted last week. Definitely not 10-20%, more like 3%. We really wanted it and the owner seemed a bit tricky. She openly said she was in no rush to sell and had turned down some cheeky offers, so we didn't want to play games with her.

But the property had been for sale for ages. Part of me wishes we'd gone in at less, but we've paid a fair price with no faffing around !

balalake · 24/02/2022 09:27

Surely it depends on the property?

I wish we had the Scottish approach to house buying and selling in England. Not perfect but better than the spivs charter we have

LimeSupper · 24/02/2022 09:35

We sold our house as “offers over 400k” last year. That was the minimum amount we’d have accepted for it and we didn’t want any other offers. We did have offers under 400k (including one at 399, I mean… why??) which were rejected obviously. We also had a lot of offers over that amount. In the end we sold to a young couple who offered 410k and seemed to be genuine. I didn’t trust some of the very high offers we had as I’d heard stories of people changing their offers following the survey. Following a good survey, the couple tried to lower their offer by 6k to pay for changes to decoration they’d like to make Haaaa! We said they could continue at agreed price or it was going back on the market that same day. We sold it at 410k to that couple.

We’ll be moving again from here next year and I wouldn’t hesitate to use “offer over” again as I think it makes it clear whatever’s expecting. Can’t be bothered with time wasters who turn up to view a few times and then offer 10k less than the price of the house. Just jog on and view something cheaper!!

Woahthehorsey · 24/02/2022 09:44

Near us a tiny 2 bed house was offers over £250k, went for £300k.

QuirkyTurtle · 24/02/2022 09:56

I bought my house in the summer of 2020 for £510k. The asking price was £500k. But the owners were in a hurry to sell at the time and I think the market is even more crazy now, so I can totally believe offers of 25% - 50% over asking price.

Shit situation for buyers at the moment.

CecilyP · 24/02/2022 09:58

Maybe depends where you are OP. In Scotland it often means 10-20% over the asking price, particularly if there's interest amd if going to closing date.

When I was househunting in Scotland, a good few years ago before the homebuyers report was introduced, I found a huge variation. There were houses that went for the exact offers over price, to those that went nearly 50% over. I don't think it is either ignorant or impolite to think it is a stupid system. It means that buyers have to guess what the correct offer would be which is quite hard for those who don't own a crystal ball. If it goes to a closing date, which it often does, it is equivalent to a closed bids situation, so the successful bidder can pay way more than next closest.

AuntieMarys · 24/02/2022 10:00

House in our road had offers over £465,000....47 viewings. Sold for £510,000.
Mad.
In catchment for good primary/secondary schools

2DogsOnMySofa · 24/02/2022 10:01

House I just bought was 'offers over £240', I offered £245 which was accepted

BettyBag · 24/02/2022 10:02

We just sold ours and was told "offers over" means that's the price. Sure enough we got offered the asking on the first viewing.

We haven't put an offer in for one ourselves yet though.

MorningStarling · 24/02/2022 10:04

@scottishnames

To anyone - like a previous poster - who says 'offers over' is 'stupid', it has been the widespread system in Scotland for a long time. Please don't be ignorant/impolite. Other posters have explained how the Scottish home buyers report (compulsory, paid for by the vendor) includes a valuation. Houses are frequently marketed for 'offers over' that value; as other posters have said, usually 10 or 20% - and in places like Edinburgh, often a lot more. But 'offers over' as a way of pricing has existed in Scotland long before the modern home report system was introduced. If there is a lot of interest in a property, a closing date for offers will be set and advertised. The seller can then choose which to accept.
That doesn't make much sense from the buyer's perspective.

If the vendor has obtained a valuation of what the house is worth, why would a buyer want to bid 10 or 20% more than what the house is worth?

If in places like Edinburgh they get sold for a lot more than what they are worth, surely that means the valuation is wrong in the first place?

CecilyP · 24/02/2022 10:08

Having said that, DS more recently bought an 'offers over' house in the East Midlands and offered 4% over the asking price. They also go another offer for exactly the same.

PollenIsland · 24/02/2022 10:10

We sold our house last summer, marketing it at 'offers over X' on our estate agent's advice. 'X' was the minimum we were prepared to accept, under which we wouldn't have sold, and his advice was that, because of the price point we were at, and because we were in a hurry, it was best to go with 'offers over' because it would get more viewings on Rightmove and more footfall. It got a lot of viewings immediately two completely full days, after which we stopped them and sold for £30 k above the 'offers over' price from one of those viewings.

user1471457354 · 24/02/2022 10:14

I'm in Scotland and was recently interested in a property which was listed for 200,000 but the home report was valued at 230,000 but sold for 280,000 Shock

SallyLovesCheese · 24/02/2022 10:15

OIEO and OIRO are a bit frustrating in my eyes! We saw a house that had OIRO £335k-£350k. We put in for £335k. It was refused as the sellers wanted £350k, apparently. So why not put it on for the higher price only?!

They wanted to sell quickly as they were getting divorced and we had no chain. But they refused us so we bought something just up the road for £3k more than our offer that had a bigger garden. After about 6 months I saw the original house had sold and checked the price on Rightmove - it had gone for £325k. So a slow sale and lower price.

It makes things easier for me if people just put the price they want straight up! Or, in the case of Scotland apparently, you can just mentally add 10% on top of any advertised house price. You know where you are then.

CecilyP · 24/02/2022 10:17

I'm in Scotland and was recently interested in a property which was listed for 200,000 but the home report was valued at 230,000 but sold for 280,000

If the home report was £230,000, why put it on for 200,000. In any case, why was the home report so inaccurate?

Indiana2021 · 24/02/2022 10:18

20TheLovleyChebbyMcGee

Its changeable in Scotland. We got an offer 10k over the asking, but exactly at what the home report said accepted last week. Definitely not 10-20%, more like 3%. We really wanted it and the owner seemed a bit tricky. She openly said she was in no rush to sell and had turned down some cheeky offers, so we didn't want to play games with her.

But the property had been for sale for ages. Part of me wishes we'd gone in at less, but we've paid a fair price with no faffing around !

Can I ask roughly where you are Chebby?

In Glasgow and surrounding burbs 3% would be the exception and not the rule I think, although as you mentioned the house had been on for ages so maybe it reflects that (and location?) rather than the current fast moving market I'm thinking of.
As an avid property and sold price watcher Blush, 10-20% is definitely the curreny norm in this meck of the woods, and even higher than that at times when school catchment comes into play.

LimeSupper · 24/02/2022 10:19

Slightly off topic but surely “offer in the region of” is much more frustrating!! What does that mean? Surely just by listing your house as £X you are asking for offers in the region of £X ?

CecilyP · 24/02/2022 10:21

It makes things easier for me if people just put the price they want straight up! Or, in the case of Scotland apparently, you can just mentally add 10% on top of any advertised house price.

You really don't! There would be no guarantee that you would actually get the house or that you wouldn't be paying way over the odds. The only way to guess would be to see what similar houses have sold for.

AgathaMystery · 24/02/2022 10:22

A neighbours house has gone on at ‘offers over’ £380k & has sold for £445k - seems mental to me!

Woahthehorsey · 24/02/2022 10:23

@SallyLovesCheese

OIEO and OIRO are a bit frustrating in my eyes! We saw a house that had OIRO £335k-£350k. We put in for £335k. It was refused as the sellers wanted £350k, apparently. So why not put it on for the higher price only?!

They wanted to sell quickly as they were getting divorced and we had no chain. But they refused us so we bought something just up the road for £3k more than our offer that had a bigger garden. After about 6 months I saw the original house had sold and checked the price on Rightmove - it had gone for £325k. So a slow sale and lower price.

It makes things easier for me if people just put the price they want straight up! Or, in the case of Scotland apparently, you can just mentally add 10% on top of any advertised house price. You know where you are then.

We just put ours on at X price, no OIEO or OIRO yet still got many offers over and 1 offer under (and 1 asking) both lower offers were miffed we refused them but once we knew it was popular, we weren't going to accept a low offer. We sold for £11k above asking in the end (7%)
CecilyP · 24/02/2022 10:24

Slightly off topic but surely “offer in the region of” is much more frustrating!! What does that mean? Surely just by listing your house as £X you are asking for offers in the region of £X?

It is! OIRO, is quite a relatively new thing in England but I suppose it counterbalances offers over which is also a relatively recent thing.

GnomeOrMistAndIceGuy · 24/02/2022 10:26

I've just bought a house on for "offers over £250k," with an offer of £250k on the dot. Glad I didn't offer any more as the bank downvalued it to £240k and we ended up meeting in the middle.

MauveMavis · 24/02/2022 10:27

Popular Edinburgh suburb. Good school catchment.

Put on at just under home valuation report price.

sold for 15% over offers over price at pretty much exactly what my property obsessed sibling had guessed to be the price it would sell at. We didn't accept the highest offer though as the highest bidder put lots of conditions in that were going to be tricky to meet and the lure of an extra 3K wasn't worth it.

If you are moving to Scotland and don't know the system be guided by your solicitor (they offer for you).

FitAt50 · 24/02/2022 10:28

We are looking to buy in west end of Glasgow in the summer and I have been tracking the market (I'm a nerd that way). Average 2 bed flat is going for 15% above home valuation. I have seen one go as at 24% above a massive £70k.

ClaudiaWankleman · 24/02/2022 10:31

To anyone - like a previous poster - who says 'offers over' is 'stupid', it has been the widespread system in Scotland for a long time. Please don't be ignorant/impolite.

It's hardly impolite to describe the system for selling houses as stupid. It's not a personal remark. Get over yourself. There are some things in Scotland which are stupid and this may or may not be one of them.