If you were selling a new build after just 4 years...

[PowerslidePanda]

...would you expect to make a profit? Or would you accept that you pay a premium for new build and the market may not have risen above that yet?

Basically, I've seen a house I like on Rightmove. Having watched the market closely, I think its value is my maximum budget. The asking price is about 8% above that. Ordinarily, I'd think those numbers were reasonable - except the amount I'd be offering for it (if I made an offer) is what the owners paid when they bought it 4 years ago. Trying to decide if it's worth a viewing or if I'd just be wasting my (and their) time.

check for similar house sales nearby? It also depends on what the market is like, if it's hot then they'll likely hold out for asking price or more, if it's on for 6 months then they may be more open to offers.

We accepted 10 grand less after three years as we had fallen in love with a different house and just wanted it sold and I hated the location.

it should still have a bit of a premium as will be under nhbc or similar warranty for another 6-8 years.

We’ve just sold ours. Sold it for pretty much what we paid for it 3 years ago so it’s ultimately a loss.we have had a major lifestyle change which meant we needed to move.

I think its value is my maximum budget

It’s funny that....how it’s exact value is your exact budget,,,,,

Op. Make your offer they can only say yes or no. Doesn’t matter why anyone else thinks. Either they are willing to accept less or they are not.

I sold my old new build after 4.5 years for a 45% profit.

@PowerslidePanda

IME the best thing to do in this situation is to ring the estate agent. Ask them whether they think it is worth you going to view as you have a budget of x less than the asking price, the answer they give will tell you whether the vendors are flexible and therefore whether it’s worth viewing the property.

I think it totally depends on their position (do they need to make a quick sale), what they have spent on the house and also whether they paid stamp duty (which will also be a loss if they bought at the price they sell for) and also whether the area/ amenities nearby have changed for the better/ worse. Personally I wouldn’t sell for a loss unless I had to and I don’t think a house is like a new car- i.e. devalued the minute you drive it. But as others have said it’s worth a try, but don’t be disappointed if they say no.

We sold our new build flat 5 years after buying and made 25% profit. It really depends on the area and how sought after the properties there are. They will have legal fees etc so can't see why they'd sell for what they paid but it then also depends how desperate they are to move. Maybe worth speaking to the agent and asking their situation and view depending on what they say.

Completely depends on the area

We sold our last one for around 7% more than we bought it for after living in it for 4.5 years

They will have put money into the house e.g flooring / curtains / garden / light fixtures which adds up so anything equal to or less than they paid will actually mean a loss (unless they can benefit by moving during the stamp duty window)

Yes we sold for nearly 50% increase after four years. We'd replaced a bathroom and done the garden but not spent a huge amount. It was just timing in the local market. Also we bought one of the last houses in the small development so there wasn't the option of a shiny new house available nearby.

@bookgirl1982

Yes we sold for nearly 50% increase after four years. We'd replaced a bathroom and done the garden but not spent a huge amount. It was just timing in the local market. Also we bought one of the last houses in the small development so there wasn't the option of a shiny new house available nearby.

Why did you replace a bathroom in a new build?

We live on a new build estate. Our model of house now sells for £50k/17% more than what we paid for it 3 years ago, some of the models have had an even bigger increase. I don't think there is a set formula, it will depend on the desirability of the estate, amenities, other local housing stock etc.

There's a lot more to it than the fact it's a new build to be honest. New builds in popular villages, near good schools or in otherwise desirable locations will tend to hold and increase in value. Smaller developments also tend to be more likely to sell for more than they were bought for. Who the developer was can also be a factor.

I've seen new builds sell for less than they were bought for and as above many have stories of selling theirs for more.

All you can do is offer OP.

Mine is 5 years old. I expect to make £150K profit but I brought it without floors (even if it was new build) and builder wanted it gone.

We sold after 4 years, and with the stamp duty holiday made back our purchase price, stamp duty back and all the extras we'd put in (garden landscaping, kitchen work, fitted closets). The initial offer we accepted would have added a nice profit on top, but that fell through and we to take the next offer going to hold the chain together.

My friends house was £370 k in June 15 , next door to it ( and identical ) has sold this autumn for 585 k and apparently they took one of the lower offers as the buyer was ready to go without a chain

Around here - a generally expensive area, they tend to get "stuck" at their original price for 5 to 10 years.
But you get so much more land etc in an older house.

Thanks all for the replies! I think speaking to the estate agent about it is the way to go.

To those asking about similar houses - there's only one other of the same design which has been on the market. It was put up 2 years ago at an asking price of £40K less than I'll be offering (so quite a bit less than the asking price of the one I'm looking at), and it lingered there for 7 months before being withdrawn without selling. However, the owners of that house seem to have negotiated a better price from the builders - if they'd sold at their asking price, that would have been a small profit. (Would it be too stalkerish to put a note through their door asking if they're still looking to move? )

It’s funny that....how it’s exact value is your exact budget,,,,,

It's a coincidence that my budget is the same price they paid 4 years ago. It's not a coincidence that its value is my budget If its value was less than my budget then I'd instead be looking at houses that cost more and offered more. If its value was greater then I wouldn't bother wasting my time (see comment in my OP). The only reason I mentioned my maximum is that it means I can't offer a few K over what the vendors paid to make them feel better about it.

@WitchesBritchesPumpkinPants

Because it had a very uncomfortable bath and no shower, and to fix these things we had to re-tile.

(Would it be too stalkerish to put a note through their door asking if they're still looking to move? grin)

I have a property developer friend who only buys in this way. They literally drive around areas of interest and proposition the owners of properties they're interested in....it seems to work as they're doing well for themselves!

There's also a "tempt me" feature on zoopla, have you checked to see if they've added a tempt me price?

Op the value is subjective. They think the value is higher, as does the agent, you think the value is your budget.

The point is many folks get confused on actual value versus what they can afford. They are very different things. You do appear unsure, as if you really thought this was its value you’d view and offer. But you’re on here asking and you want to speak to the agent, so you’re unsure of it’s value, you just know what you can afford

That’s the point I’m making,

It varies by area. Where we are the new builds have vastly improved the area, brought new facilities so has generally upped prices, some houses have increased by 20% in 3 years- no exaggeration (the schools are good here too).

I've lived in new builds in 3 completely different areas, never gone into negative equity (although not made huge profit either I accept it's less of an investment potentially) just look at a new build site, they are constantly upping prices, the same style house we bought just 4 weeks ago is on for £20k on an actually less desirable plot (I appreciate stamp duty holiday is probably playing a part in that).

You need to look at how the rest of the estate has done, some people do try their luck.

Just saw an advert that reminded me of this thread... Zoopla apparently did away with the "tempt me" feature that a PP mentioned a couple of years ago, because it was upsetting estate agents that people could bypass them and Zoopla didn't want to bite the hand that feeds them. But I've just seen an advert on TV for a new company called Boomin, which is basically the same thing. I think it's a great idea, so will be interesting to see if it takes off!

An update, for anyone who's interested... I did speak to the estate agent, who confirmed the buyers were holding out for asking price. And 6 months later, they still are! Like most places, the market around here is booming at the moment, so it's now the longest running listing in the area. Two identical houses in that neighbourhood have come and gone in the mean time - their asking price was 10K above what we were intending to offer, and they sold within days - it'll be interesting to see how much for, when land registry is updated. But by the time those came on, we'd already had an offer accepted on another house - which I'm now sat in, having completed a couple of weeks ago