Estate agents & pricing

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We are interested in a property which at the time had not been gone to market.

We wanted to put an offer in and the estate agent told us they'd had so much interest and several offers above the asking price.

They are now marketing the property.

Any thoughts on why the property is being marketed at below the offers they say they have?

Thanks

It could be that the initial asking price will create more interest and attract competitive offers to push the offers up.
Or they are just lying.

How does it compare to similar properties?

It's in a bubble where property doesn't often become available. It needs to be completely modernised (and not just personal taste- it hasn't been touched in 30years at least).

I have done my research looking at properties in this area and 1.5 years ago a similar property sold in the street, that didn't need work for 100k less. Saying that these are strange times.

I suspect the agent has had a lot of interest but maybe that interest has cooled which is why they are now publicly marketing it at the original price... or maybe the agents selling point with other sellers is we market it at X but always get above the selling price.

We just find it odd.

To optimise traffic from property websites by appearing in particular price bandings?

I don't understand - how did you and the other interested parties (if they really exist) know about the property if it wasn't on the market? And you said about the initial interest having cooled - how much time has passed?

The state agent told us @PowerslidePanda

We had called about another property. They told us this was coming to market and had just had pics done, but they had people ringing them about the property already. We were told it was X price (let's say £25), needed modernisation but we would need to move quickly (as so many people were interested already). We did an online viewing then arranged to view the property (pre tiers changing and lockdown).

When we viewed, the estate agent told us they already had an offer above the asking price (say £30) and we needed to offer £35 to secure the property.

We tried to put an offer in but the estate agent told us in light of all the interest (they had a viewing after us and apparently several lined up the next week) they were not accepting offers until a certain date.

Then the estate agent contacted us saying they were now putting the property online (so much interest, only fair to seller to get the best price etc etc) and they were going to market it, but would honour the final date they had told us about.

The property is now online. Marketed at the original asking price of £25.

I think they don't actually have the offers and maybe there had been a lot of interest/ with lockdown changing people can't view.

But I just wondered what other people's views were and if anyone had experience like this.

FYI: We've decided at the price they want it's too high for us but I'm still curious.

*prices obviously not real but trying to give you and idea

This is why I hate real estate. I made an offer for the asking price of a property, the response was disgust at "such a low offer". It was literally the price you asked for! Not my fault you are lying!

And it's pointless surely because you might get more people interested, but if those people can't afford it, how does that help?

Ah, I get it now, thanks.

My guess... They didn't really have an offer of (say £30) - that was a tactic to try and get you to offer more than you would have otherwise.

The "not accepting offers until a certain date" thing is to try and keep you onside, whilst trying to get someone else interested in the mean time and play you off against each other. They don't want to accept your offer until they know that nobody else is going to better it - but the risk is that you get fed up of being strung along and put an expiry date on your offer. So they're trying to keep you sweet until the initial interest from marketing it has died down.

They legally have to put any offer forwards, so in your shoes, I would make one (in writing, ideally) for the amount you're prepared to pay - regardless of what else they've said is on the table. And be clear that it's subject to the property being withdrawn from the market and that you need a decision by - it can be the timescale they've suggested if you think that's reasonable, or sooner if you think they're taking the piss.

You could offer, arrange a survey, and then renegotiate if it throws up problems?

I also hate real estate agents @FlyNow. They really should be regulated.

Thanks @PowerslidePanda I think you are spot on in your thoughts. They've had interest, thus trying to inflate the price and now trying to keep us onside whilst hoping for a better offer.

I also think the advert would say 'offers in excess of' the asking price if they had an actual offer or they were 100% certain it would go above the asking price. I could also be wrong here.

I get they want to get the best price for the seller.

Luckily for us, in the time they've been marketing we've been debating pros and cons and decided it is overpriced for what it is.

Because it's either total lies or they have had offers but nobody is in a position to proceed.

The sellers might be insisting on marketing it so it's put in front of all the potential buyers who may be interested & the maximum price achieved - I certainly would; infact, unless you were hugely desperate to sell ASAP I don't know why anyone would accept an offer before actually advertising/testing the market. That's a recipe for being paid less than it's actually worth.

Regards to everything the agent said about multiple offers pre-marketing, i'd work on the assumption that it was all lies & go from there.

I also hate real estate agents @FlyNow. They really should be regulated

There is plenty of legislation that covers estate agents in the UK, it is really that it is rather ineffectively applied. Primarily the Estate Agents Act of 1979, and the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading regulations, 2008.

It is also quite likely that there is an awkward vendor involved somewhere.

It seems highly unlikely that despite having offers that are acceptable to the vendor the agents are continuing to market the property simply to give themselves something to do.

We have no issue with the property going to market. If we were the seller we would want the best price too. @FurierTransform my curiosity lies in the pricing

They want a quick sale as the mother is frail with onset dementia. Her son is caring for her until they can return to where he lives up north.

I don't think the agents are trying to give themselves something to do, but I do think and obviously could be wrong, they are trying to drum up the price - which again their job is to get the best price for the vendor.

My question throughout is I wonder why the estate agent told us they had offers over and above the asking price, yet when it went online it was marketed at the asking price

(Sorry for several responses mobile app and cold fingers)

On a seperate note, has it been empty for 30yrs, or just no modernisation in that time?

There are VAT excemptions from councils when you need to buy things to make repairs/amjory works to get it livable again. If the property was empty 10+yrs, you pay 0% VAT. If its empty over 2yrs, its 5% VAT you pay. The council come to inspect and check their records in terms of council tax and how long its be empty for. Worth looking into, if its been an empty home.

I wouldn’t say I’d never trust any of them, but IMO large pinches of salt may often be needed.

I have known an EA go through the motions of having a property on the open market, viewings and all, at a reasonable price, while all along it was intended for a mate or relatives at a much lower price. (It belonged to someone at the EA, which they did state in the blurb, as required by law.)
I know this because my offer of a little below asking was turned down straight away for what seemed a very weird reason, but which I had no choice but to accept at the time.

I only found out about 3 months later, once it appeared on nethouseprices, that it had sold for way below my offer - I’m talking around £180k, as against my £220k.

Since it had been a rental, owned for some years while prices were rising fast, quite apart from anything else this would have avoided much of a capital gains tax bill.

I’m much more cynical now about anything an EA may tell me.

I hear you @GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER

I've had my own experiences with EAs when I buying my first house many many moons ago. So many untruths like it was a freehold (it wasn't) and long lease (i'd have to extend ASAP) I withdrew on that property. The next offer the EA told me it was chain free... until we chased to exchange and then learnt we were in a chain and the 'vendor was confused by what a chain meant' 🤣

They might be regulated per say but judging by the responses had on this thread alone people think the EAs aren't being honest 🤷🏼‍♀️

I know people who live in a property hot spot in Leicester ( all outstanding schools, great public transport and motorway links, big 4 bed + houses). It’s a mostly Indian area (mainly professionals from or of Gujarati origin) and so really popular with young Gujarati origin families who might live with or need to be close to family. The property market is so competitive (driven by cash buyers) that houses with 4+ beds or driveways can have 30+ offers and sell within days. So over there ‘asking price’ works like an unofficial oieo and a lot of houses go way over (particularly the larger ones).

Only you know if your area is actually a hotspot. There are often clues - from houses already being sold the day they go on rightmove (it takes 7-14 days for properties to list), to viewings only being restricted to cash buyers or those with properties to sell, or (in London) being asked to make a closed bid with best offers before a viewing.

Thanks @GrumpyHoonMain (love your username) that is actually very helpful to know

EA is merely doing their job, unless they lying it is different matter.
all above are hypothesis , could be true or false.
therefore, remove any emotions from the transaction and offer ONLY what you think it worth and stick to it.

if you lose it, move on, you are only need to get lucky once.