To find this strange on Location Location Location

[Arbesque]

Most estate agents I've dealt with suggest putting a house on at under the expected price to get buyers in the door and bidding.

On Location they always seem to get the house for under the asking price. Having to pay the advertised price is almost seen as a defeat.

Is my experience untypical?

It just depends on market I think and whether rising or falling. Estate agents adapt their strategies

I've always thought estate agents priced high then can always be lowered or accept under asking price

Has there been an episode of LLL filmed since the market went mad? Most are repeats/filmed 2019 or before, i think?

Never known EA’s to market lower than valuation.

Things may be slowing down now but it’s been a while since houses were sold below asking

I put my house on at £20k over what the estate agent valued it at...got the full asking price before it even went on the market. When I bought the house I am in now, I went lower than the asking price but it also hadn't gone properly on the market so they said no and I paid the full asking price (but they did leave some white goods, fridge freezer, two massive tvs, all curtains and blinds...)

That's not my experience op.

We've bought 4 times and sold 3 times. The house has always been on for more than the expected price and all houses sold for slightly less than they were on for. Offers under asking were a part of the game.

Having more buyers than available houses might change that, but what you describe about estate agent pricing is not my experience at all.

There was a series post covid but it was last year. I'm not sure if there have been any new ones in 2022 that aren't revisiting old episodes.

Hi

Maybe it's because I'm in Dublin. Huge housing shortage here and it seems to be generally accepted that you'll pay more than the asking price for a house.

Very common in Scotland. Homes are generally marketed under the HR valuation with the expectation of a significant amount over. In parts of Edinburgh this can be in excess of 25% over. No idea why we do it this way!

I often shout at the TV during LLL when they suggest putting in a stupidly low offer. If you want the house just pay the asking price (or close to it) and stop faffing around. It really annoys me, trying to get one over on the seller. If you think the house is worth £400k and you want it, pay it. If you don't think it's worth that, don't buy it.

The house I live in was on at £290K and we offered £280 and got it for £282. But on LLL they'd suggest going in at something silly like £240K.

To be fair, they don't always. I think they know when you really are going to have to pay close to the asking price, and/or the buyers really really want it, so won't play silly games.

@KentuckyDerbyandJoan they are absolutely doing this at the moment. We sold our house recently and some of the agents we considered recommended doing this to pull people in and create a bidding war essentially. I know from our experience of looking as well this is the case. I’ve heard of agents saying “put it on at 480 with the aim of achieving 525”. It’s extremely annoying when you’re looking to buy.

@gatehouseoffleet To be on LLL you need to be chain free. This is obviously a benefit that some sellers might be willing to take a lower offer for - this may be why? I don’t know. Maybe people also like the idea of selling their house on LLL!

I think there’s something for being on the show that does it - chain free, the kudos of it, I dunno.

We’re now waiting to enchange. Sold (flat) for 7% over asking, London. Sold (BTL house) for 3% under asking, Medway town (and had an asking price offer but not a “proceedable” one, as agents like to say). Buying house in in London for 5% under asking, but it is truly the ugliest house going and wouldn’t be most people’s cup of tea.

Anecdata at its finest

I also know that in my local area the agents clearly have different pricing strategies from the full-tilt Foxtons to eh, whevs, the difference in commission isn’t worth much, crack on.

This made me laugh.

I was going to post that different markets have different behaviours at different times, but you are literally in a different country!

Yeah was going to say that’s not usual at all in England. Most people expect to offer under the asking price and usually cite being a cash buyer, no chain etc as reasons why their offer should be accepted. Even if the full price is accepted often they will then find something in the survey to justify trying to reduce their offer. At the moment with the market the way it is, that’s probably not so likely, but when I bought my house 15 years ago I knocked 10% off the asking price and it was accepted.

In London my experience pre covid was houses always priced a bit over & selling under. I know some mid pandemic that sold for 100k under.