Is it being a CF to have an asking price lots more above price you paid when you've not upgraded anything?

[FingersXrossed]

Just wondering really. We're house hunting and have found a house that looks nice but is at the top end of our budget. Upon looking at previous sales info this house is selling for over 12% more than the seller purchased it for 3 years ago. Nothing appears to have been done apart from a bit of decorating (new wallpaper etc).

Is this normal or are they taking the piss? Similar homes in the same street have sold for a variety of prices although one sold last year for a third of this asking price! Same type of house and looks nice too so I'm not sure what to think!

[Inching]

Well, if you're offering the asking price or close to it, OP, and you think there's probably enough interest in the house for someone else to outbid you, then surely you can see how the market operates?

[FingersXrossed]

We've seen the house now. The boiler was already there when they moved in and nothing else has been done. We're actually thinking of offering on it although it's the top of our budget (and I suspect someone else will offer more). It's in a small village, not a trendy area or anything.

[Porridgeoat]

What about unseen work? Electrics, boiler, windows, heating system?

[GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER]

It will depend so much on the local market/demand in the area, but IMO some people do absolutely take the piss, fondly imagining that their house is somehow special and worth X% more than similar in the area.

They will usually find out pretty quickly whether their price was over optimistic, after zero or some very ‘cheeky’ aka realistic offers.

[ThanksItHasPockets]

This was us. We bought our first house in a nice part of a scruffy area of SE London in 2010. While we were there the TfL overground opened, putting the area on the tube map for the first time and the whole area became very trendy. We did absolutely nothing to the house beyond some decorating and basic maintenance but we sold it in 2015 at a 75% increase in value. It was ridiculous and we will never see anything like it again, I imagine. I suppose people see examples like that and expect a similar appreciation.

[StatisticallyChallenged]

What pp said about anomalies is correct-the last sale price on our house is significantly lower than its value as it was purchased from a relative. This could also happen with buying from a landlord, buying out a previous partner...the one you mention which sold at third of the price is unlikely to be a normal sale

[heycorona]

Our neighbour bought their house 5 years ago for £178k. They recently sold it for £230k. They didn't do any work on the house.

Property price generally go up, plus if it's a desirable area people will pay what they need to to get the house (school catchment etc).

[BrowncoatWaffles]

Definitely just the nature of the housing market. We bought our current house six years ago and have just sold it for 45% more than we paid having done nothing much (new boiler and some windows but no show stopping kitchen or bathroom or anything). We just happened to buy when the market here was lower. The guy we bought from owned the house for 10 years before us and he only made £2,500 on the sale.

It's the unfair thing about the housing market.

[babyguffingtonstrikesagain]

That's just the nature of the housing market!

[TheyThoughtItWasAllOver]

Just seen you mentioned recent sold prices in your OP. Beware of extreme anomalies. Occasionally this is family members selling to each other or other unusual circumstances.

[TheyThoughtItWasAllOver]

It depends on the area. Some areas see rises in the local market that don't match the overall housing market.
It could be that the sellers paid a good amount under asking price when they bought - and perhaps expect to take an offer up to 10% under asking.
Sometimes it's the estate agents trying to push the prices up by pushing up the listing prices.
If you look at the most recent sold prices for nearby properties, you should get a good idea if they're being ambitious.

[FingersXrossed]

Lots of varied replies there, thanks everyone. I haven't bought somewhere for over 10 years and this was my first time selling so I'm pretty inexperienced at all this so was curious as to what the consensus was.

My DB sold a house some years ago. It was brand new when he got it and around 4 years old. He'd done around 20k of upgrades and didn't make any money on it. I think the market was a bit quieter then though. And I lost money on my own place. It's interesting to see what happens with this kind of thing. I'm curious to see what houses we've viewed eventually go for.

[mklanch]

i can understand a rise after 5 years or so....thats completely expected. but i have noticed alot of properties lately that were brought 1-2 years ago and the price jump the owner's are expecting is ridiculous! in the last 2 years i don't feel the market has grown massively due to the brexit stuff and then the pandemic.

[mklanch]

there is a house we have had a message about. they brought it 1 year ago. have done nothing to it....zoopla estimate days £324k....they want £375k....they brought it for £310k.
i like the house but dont want to offend them by telling them i think they have overpriced it. my contact is direct with the owner.

[Emancipated]

Yeah this happens all the time. I made £100k on my first house simply by owning it for 8 years. Did nothing to it. Made £10k on my second house by simply owning it for 18 months.
House prices increase.l all the time.

[Trevorina]

I know someone trying to sell their home for over £120k more than they paid 4 years ago. In some respects that sum is to be expected since they're in the S/E but their house isn't selling when other identical layout properties, priced the same, are selling on their Street and surrounding streets. No idea at this stage what those properties have sold for but my theory as to why theirs hasn't sold is that potential buyers can see the old listing on Rightmove and see that all they have done in that time is redecorate two of the bedrooms whereas the other houses that have sold have all had new bathroom or kitchen or garden done up etc. I think that level of price increase for no effort does put some in people off. It's not though CF for the vendors however to ask for an increased sum.

[boredboredboredboredbored]

[BluFox]

I think they’re being a bit CF because as PP said if they are just sitting in the house it is ageing and deteriorating. That needs to be balanced against inflation. We saw one like this when we were viewing houses, they added 10% a year after they’d bought it and all they had done was decorate the lounge. They ended up selling it for less than they originally paid mostly due to the garden being left to become really overgrown and unmanageable. You could view it and offer what you think is right

[Matildatoldsuchdreadfullies]

@GreenBeeSW
It’s not a silly price if someone will pay it.

[GreenBeeSW]

I find this really annoying too, but no one wants to sell for what they bought and if someone will pay it then good luck to them. I do understand that house prices will rise regardless of work but it is irritating to see an inflated price tag when the house has done nothing but deteriorate for a few years.
We looked at a house recently that had been bought three years ago, and is now being marketed for 15% more. They have done nothing but poor decorating. The boiler is now at the end of its life, the fascias rotten, the wiring dangerous and the single glazed windows sat in rotting frames. We wouldnt consider offering over 20% of what they are asking, particularly as the identical house next door but in much better condition(double glazed, neutral deco, big kitchen) sold for 5I less than they're asking. But I am sure if they wait long enough someone will be willing to pay their silly price, because it's in a desirable catchment!

[nasiisthebest]

Does that mean that if the pandemic/brexit lowers the house prices you'll still feel happy to pay the previous price?

Do you intend to never make a profit from a house sale yourself, but sell it at the price you bought it for to make it more fair to the next buyers?

Most home improvements aren't actually "improvements" but just fixing old and broken stuff like an old outdated kitchen where the appliances work questionably. See it as regular upkeep.

[Saz12]

A lot of house price movement hasn’t got anything to do with wether there’s a new kitchen /bathroom/ different paint colour, etc. Of course we’re all encouraged to see our homes as “an investment” by retailers, estate agents, architects, designers, TV program etc, because that way we’ll spend more money on them and hold the self-proclaimed “experts” in higher regard.

[hammeringinmyhead]

Mine's a new build and has gone up 55k in 5 years. We haven't "done" anything to it but the town has got popular with schools scoring better at OFSTED, new cinema complex, new ring road, and people not wanting to pay for a shoebox in Bath.

[BlusteryShowers]

Ultimately it's worth what someone is willing to pay for it. It's not cheeky at all to sell anything for a profit if that's what the market reflects. People can do as much or as little as they like to their house. They're under no obligation whatsoever.

[KitKat1985]

What the house sold for 3 years ago is kind of irrelevant.

A better to guide to whether it is accurately priced is how it compares to similar houses on the market nearby.