Cheeky offer

[cloudatlaschapter2]

Our house is on the market, prices competitively and fairly. Just had an offer £20k below asking.

Estate agent declined on our behalf as they already know our lower limit.

Is this the norm??

I think it's pretty common at the moment as there's so much uncertainty. I think buyers think people are desperate to sell and offer accordingly. I'd put it out of your mind and focus on the more serious offers

Depends on what percentage that is of the asking price. £20k off £950k and £20k off £120k are very different. Former not at all cheeky. Latter, could be (depending on whether house is reasonably priced)

House on for £262,500.

Sadly no other offers for us to consider at the moment. Only been on for a week so early days I guess.

Your question is impossible to answer. If your house is valued spot on (unlikely), then it is a bit cheeky. If your house is overvalued by a deranged estate agent (quite common as they're desperate to get more business), then 20k below the asking price is extremely generous.

We just had an offer accepted on a house £25,000 under asking price.
That worked out about 7% less than they were asking.
We accepted an offer on our house which was £7,000 under asking price, but worked out at 2% under asking price.

Weve just offered 25k under asking, justified by the house being a complete and utter mess and needing over that amount spending on it. Also, in the last 12 months 2 similar properties selling in better condition for 10k less than the vendors current asking price.

We offered 170k below asking, we accepted 90k below asking. Depends

That's not a cheeky offer.

Surely you didn't put it on for the minimum you would accept?

I've bought and sold four houses in the past seven years- my opening offer was always around ten percent or less below the asking price. Similar offers received when selling.

No, we didn't. We had 3 agents value, we put on with the lowest valuation as it was closest to what similar properties had sold for in the last 6 weeks. We would be willing to negotiate of course, but I was surprised by it nonetheless.

So only about 7% below asking. Not even remotely cheeky. EA had no right to outright refuse it, they should have said it was lower than you were likely to accept but that they would put it to you to decide. This is your opportunity to then negotiate them up to at least your minimum. I would be asking the EA to go back and see if this person can go higher, especially if they are in a position to move ahead.

We opened with 300 for our place advertised at 335. Settled on 320.

They may well be hoping to actually pay somewhere around 252 to 255.

See if they come back with a higher offer.

What's your absolute lower limit?

Just sold for 5% over asking price after a lots of asking and over offers. Really depends where you are and how your local market is at the moment.
At your asking price 20k under doesn’t sound cheeky. I’d think they would have factored in coming up a bit (if your estate agent had kept negotiation open). Bet they would come up another 5 or so.
Good luck op.

If I loved your house, but my max budget was 15- 20k under your price I probably would... although I'd think it was unlikely you would accept I'd think it was worth a try...

They are testing the water. Try not to take any offers personally, or let them undermine your confidence in your property. Say a polite no but communicate that you are open to negotiation.

Remember too that you get the most interest in the early weeks of sale when you are new to the market. There will be a backlog of buyers who've been looking for a while. After that, the number of viewings will drop.

As above. Interest dries up after the first week or so
I think in this market 20k under that asking price is acceptable.
We accepted 8% below and the offer we made was about 12% below and was accepted. You have to negotiate harder on your inward purchase. Depends how keen you are to sell
Also I don’t think an EA should decline an offer on your behalf they should always let you make that decision.

We have just had an offer accepted at 285k, asking was 309k. The 309 was ambitious for the area and house, but the 285 was a bit cheeky. Family needed to move though and after initial refusal they came back a week later to accept. I think in the current climate buyers are trying to go a bit under in case prices to drop a bit

Thanks for the replies. Plenty of food for thought. Appreciate the various examples, very helpful.

Perhaps not that cheeky at all then.

I agree with you OP. If you've put it on for a fair price (lowest valuation, equivalent to sold prices), know your local market etc, £20k below is cheeky. Unfortunately, the UK system doesn't legislate for how you've approached the sale, and people just assume you've asked top dollar and will accept something lower.

When we last sold, we did exactly what you did and gave EA authority to reject anything more than 5% under asking but asked them to explain to buyers we'd priced realistically etc etc, weren't looking to play games etc. We were going into rented so no chain.

Got asking price after a couple of weeks and sale went through very smoothly. Stick to your guns. If they do the research, they'll come back with a better offer.