OIEO.. should we definitely not offer below?

[MrBobLoblaw]

DP and I have seen a 2 bed flat online we both really like but it is on for OIEO £450k. We're viewing it tomorrow so we'll be able to ascertain for ourselves if we believe that is a fair valuation. But if we think it is worth more like £435k for example, is there any point in putting in an offer since the vendors want OIEO? Have you had an '
'OIEO' but accepted lower?

I've seen on zoopla that it was listed a year an a half ago for £485k so they've come down a fair chunk since then when it obviously didn't sell.

If it's worth 435 then why would you offer over 450... the seller may be deluded, offer what you think it's worth and if you dont get it walk away. I know a lot of people who have paid less than the oieo figure.
I wouldnt be overpaying for a flat in London at the moment

Sorry I don't know if my Op was clear.. we're viewing it tomorrow so will be able to work out what we think it's worth.

I wasn't sure whether offering below the OIEO price was seen as bad form/a waste of time?

Every sellers different tbh make the offer u think it's worth when you have seen it

I think if you like it after the viewing then you should put forward what you would pay for it. The worst they can say is no.
I'm house hunting right now. We offered on a house after doing our research on the area, previous sold prices etc. They rejected it as wanted more and that's their choice and completely understandable. We felt it wasn't worth what they were asking, were worried about overpaying especially as we are in the SE and prices are coming down which creates issues. Conversely we had a sale fall through where we offered over the OIEO, had it accepted for someone else to come along during the process and offer more. We could have matched but let them get on with it. Sometimes people are greedy.

I'd say it was worth an offer under the suggested amount. I've seen lots of houses recently that were OIEO £xxx and then a few weeks later price revised down by 50k. They might reject it at first but if no one offers what they expect the vendor might have to rethink what they're willing to accept.

Some buyers might take offence but that's a risk with any sale. AlexaLee's spot on IMO. Don't be afraid to offer below the figure. They may well end up accepting an offer below that price at some point, whether they are ready to do so now or not.

It depends if there is a rising, falling or stagnant market in the location of the flat. I'm guessing from the price that it's in the South East (or a very expensive area further north?) and prices in the SE and London are definitely falling. However, as they've already reduced the asking price by £50,000 effectively I wouldn't imagine they'll look at any cheeky offers with an open mind tbh.

Offer what it's worth to you. They are incontrol, they either say yes or no. It only takes a couple of mins to do it, so hardly a big waste of everyone's time.

Anecdotally my dd was looking most of last year... numerous properties were oieo 375... then 4 weeks later oieo 360... then a month later oieo 350 etc... so obviously the sellers would have taken 360 or 350 when it was on at oieo 375 .. just takes some owners time to realise what their house is worth.
Never seen an owner undervalue their house .. many many overvalue

Thanks everyone, happy to see that it wouldn't be really cheeky but maybe the EA can advise us as well.

Flat is in London and afaik it's an open day so we can hopefully gather how busy it is too. I think it is actually a fair price for the flat, having not seen it though of course. The flats in this block rarely come on the market and they're really spacious and architecturally unique. Similar flats have sold around that price. Zoopla estimates it a bit lower but I never think zoopla is that reliable.

And I should add that £450k is the very top of our budget so would be great if we could shave a bit of the asking price off..

The house we just bought was in for 325k originally and then they dropped to OIEO 300K

We got it for 290k

Always worth an offer!