House on market since beginning of year, what to offer?

[sagaLoren]

I'd be really grateful to hear from some of you property gurus on here. I've found a property I really like which was added to Rightmove at the beginning of January. The information I got from the estate agent was:

"We've not had many viewings to be honest"
"They've already moved into a new place so they're not in a rush. They want to get the asking price...although maybe they could be persuaded".

The property market is really hot where I am so the fact they've not had many viewings is interesting. I think it's because it's an expensive 2 bed (big rooms, lots of light) and most people are looking for minimum 3 bed for that price.

The property is listed for £565k and I think part of the reason for that asking price is because they paid too much when they bought it (4 years ago) and are trying to make good on their investment.

How should I approach this? Is it a very bad idea to try and low ball them? Or are there tactics I can employ to make them come around to it?

They bought it for £505k and haven't done too much to it as far as I can tell.

I really love the place which is why I'm keen to make an offer. It ticks all of the boxes for us, I just don't want to pay over the odds and regret it later down the line. I'm also concerned that the lack of interest might make it hard for us to sell one day.

What concerned me was seeing another property has sold for £575k nearby which has 4 bedrooms. The rooms are smaller (and there's only one bathroom) which means the floor space is not that much more than the one we're looking at. However, I think most people are looking for family houses though which is why that one sold so quickly.

Our plan is to keep it for a good amount of time (we're not planning on having children) so I can see us living there for 10 years plus. However, I also want to factor in that you never know what the future holds so there's a chance we would need to move/upgrade sooner than that.

Sounds too high, even if you offered the asking price it will likely be down valued at the survey stage.

What is the right tactic when making an offer? Should I explain why we're offering below asking (e.g. sold prices of other properties in the area) or should I just give the figure and see what they come back with?

Also would it be strategic for us to say that there is another property we're interested in as well? So we don't sound too keen? This is technically true as our current landlords have offered to sell us our flat and we have been considering it.

I'd offer £520k, saying you've been looking around snd believe in comparison to other houses that it what its worth. Let them know you are not ignorant if how the values are arrived at and that you are informed of price paid and sold proces in the area. Play it cool. I don't believe the agent saying they are not in a hurry - I bet they are! Who wants the expense of an empty property? Though why he said there haven't been many viewings is rather revealing - they can not be very good agents!
Decide now what the max amount you are willing to pay for it is so you have some room to negotiate. Have your finances in order and present evidence you are proceedable (deposit in bank, mortgage in principle), make your offer and see what comes back. Then when they counter at £550 (for example), make them wait a day before coming back with your 'best and final'. Then tough it out. The agent will do his best to get more, but there hasn't been any other interest so you should be successful. Dont be seduced by the 'if you could just go £5k more' patter - stick to what you'd be happy to pay.

God the typos!

They are sitting tight till they get their price or near to it. Money in the bank is useless as interest rates are so low so there's nothing to be gained by them in dropping the price. Thats my take on the situation. Make an offer by all means.

Ok thanks everyone for the advice. Fortunately the estate agent knows that we are not in a big rush to buy a house so I think we'll put in an offer around the £520 or £530 mark and then see what happens. I will be a bit sad if it doesn't happen but my rational brain is telling me that house prices are already inflated in the area and we don't want to saddle ourselves with a place that we then struggle to sell.

I think 520 will be too low for them, that's only 15K increase on what they paid 4yrs ago and they must have done some improvements. They may think that if you start so low then you'll try to negotiate again down the line even if you agree to increase now.
As you say, the size is similar to the house sold for 575 but with smaller rooms - so I think 540-545 would be reasonable.