What offer on an already reduced asking price?

[BelleBoyd]

What kind of offer would be taken seriously on an already reduced flat (London)?
Was on for 500 reduced after 6 weeks to 475. Been on total of 10 weeks. Don’t know if they have or have had offers.
I think tbh 475 is a good price for it but am worried if I go in on that they’ll haggle and also worried if I go below they’ll dismiss/not take me seriously.
Would like to get it as cheaply as possible as I had to accept 25-75 off mine last week which ending up being about 4% off asking.
Don't want to lose it though as there is hardly any properties to choose from and my sale going through now (fingers crossed)

You could offer £470k, then they'll likely counter with £475k which you could then accept as long as you're happy to pay that?

I don't think it'd be cheeky to offer less at all, I'd appreciate any offers on my sale atm!

I personally would offer less. The market for flats in London is not great at the moment (cladding and leasehold scandals, people wanting outside space or moving out of London all together as they can work remotely)

I have a friend who has tried to sell a well maintained flat in a nice part of London for almost 2 years now with no luck. She had 3 offers and each fell through.

I sold mine fairly quickly but it was a starter flat at a much lower price.

If the flat still has not had any offer 4 weeks after a reduction, this tells you it is still overpriced.

I would go £465,000 (especially if you are a good financial position and able to proceed quickly, for example not in a chain) and then they can negotiate for a little bit more if needed.

The market for flats in London has been poor and now house prices in general are falling. If the flat hasn't sold in 10 weeks and has been reduced, they haven't had interest and it was and still is over priced for the current market.
I don't see why the fact that it has been reduced should make you feel more awkward about offering a lower figure. It's been reduced because if was too high initially. If I was the seller, I would take you seriously if you offered something within 10% if I hadn't had any other offers.

The market for flats in London is weak at the moment. I agree with @singalongs that anything within 10% would be likely to be considered. I’d go in with an offer of £450k (10% off initial asking price). High enough not to be insulting but allows for negotiation.

Your best bet is to let the EA know that the upper limit of your budget is £475k (or whatever you think is right), and there is no way you can get anymore money, given you lost out on asking price on your property, but that all your finances are lined up and you are ready to proceed as soon as offer accepted.

I think I would go in at £462k. I honestly think you are in a stronger position than you realise. It’s not that easy to sell at the moment, especially flats.

I don't think it would be very helpful to tell the EA your max budget. They are trying to negotiate the best deal for the seller and will use that sort of information to their advantage.
I think offering £450 which is 5% off asking price (current asking price) is very reasonable in this market. The would be foolish to dismiss you out of hand unless they have multiple other offers which doesn't appear to be the case.

Of course pp can put a lower initial offer in, but should EA come back with a request for more than 475k, or whatever op is able/prepared to pay, letting EA know a firm upper limit usually gets EA to press for the offer to be accepted, if thete are no better ones, as EA wants their commission. They work first of all for their commission, so their aim is sale agree, and for those they work as much for, and in the interest of, the buyer as well as the seller.

In this market, and where prices look to be heading I would probably offer around 430 max.

Hard to know without exact location and property

Sure, she can tell the EA that she is only prepared a max of £455/460 or whatever but I wouldn't give them information about personal finances. It just gives them a green light to negotiate her up to £475.
It would be ridiculous for the seller and EA to try to negotiate more money than the current asking price in a falling market. That would suggest that they are very unrealistic. Bidding wars happened a lot in 2021, but not in most of the London flat market even then.

It would also make a difference of when they bought it and what they paid. If they paid 450 recently then they will probably be less likely to sell below. If they paid 250 10 years ago then they are usually more receptive

The flat is only 4/5 years old and they paid £485 for it so already the asking price is lower than that. Having said that new builds often have inflated original prices and then either don’t appreciate much or at least take longer.

Ah. That makes it trickier, it's not your problem they bought at the peak of the London flat market.

Do not do this. The EA works for the seller, not you.

PP are right that in the current market it is worth making a lower offer. If it hasn't sold in 10 wks, it's probably overpriced.

It's on for 475 now

You should bid what you think it's worth to you. It really is as simple as that..

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/122604236#/?channel=RES_BUY

Sorry to crash the thread but also buying a london flat (and selling one). how much would you bid for the above flat. it has been on the market since april 2022 and has been reduced twice (last reduced in november)...

Why does it matter how much I'd bid for it? My approach to valuation may be different to yours.

I don't care about school catchment, whereas the agent and seller presumably think this is a real draw and will entice people to pay a premium.
I think living in a ground floor flat with communal grounds would be hideous and a security risk. Others might not care.
The nearest tube line is the Northern, which is ghastly, and three quarters of a mile to the station is a long way to walk in the cold and wet. Doesn't appear to be any off-road parking, either. All big red flags for me.
Oh, and a three bed with only the one toilet? Big nope.
I could live with these, but wouldn't pay top dollar for a flat that was burdened with such shortcomings. I'd knock off £100k for the above.

I do care very much about the length of lease (not stated on the link) and any service charges (also not referred to). In the absence of any evidence to the contrary, I'd assume the lease is short and the charges are high, and would knock another £100k off my valuation as a minimum.

Frankly, I wouldn't even bother going to view it unless the agent told me the seller would accept under £400k ... for the money they are after there's much nicer parts of London, better connected with transport links, with flats that have better layouts.

That is all subjective tbh so you are right in that sense. I thought it would have to do with sale history than our personal likes/dislikes. E.g. I don't care about parking as I don't have one. I already live 0.7 miles from the same tube station so the distance doesn't bother me. My DH would not live in any part of London except North London (which does mean the Northern line).

The last known similar sized flat was sold at 622k in 2017 which i think wass the peak? My estimation is that this flat is worth 550k-580k, perhaps a little less now.

The lease is 990 years, sevice charges £1700 (around the same as my current flat).

www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices/n10-3ny.html

Ahh ... but that's my point. No house has an inherent, discoverable 'value' that is a characteristic of that house which persists between those instantaneous moments that a transaction concludes. Estate agents and bankers like to pretend they do, but really they don't.

Any given house only ever has a value to a person. The rationale and reasons for that valuation are characteristics of that person, not of that house. The flat you showed is probably better suited to someone who doesn't own a car, likes the northern line, and is interested in good local schools than it is to me.

There's ten million or so Londoners. There's bound to be plenty of people who think it worth more than I do, who have enough money to pay that amount, and who are interested in acquiring it. Those are the people who you would be bidding against ... fairly unlikely to be any of us on mumsnet - hence why our opinion really doesn't matter!

Offer them what you think it's worth. Not what they have priced it at.

This is terrible advice

@socialmedia23

I would say 600k is a good price for it already

@BelleBoyd Do you know why they are selling? If they are desperate, then you can use that to your advantage. Obviously they won’t tell you they are desperate, but someone divorcing, or needing to release equity or terminally ill etc. once you know why they are selling, then you can negotiate. TBF the whole industry is expecting a 10% fall this year and basing that on the original £500k, I don’t think you’d be unreasonable to off £450k. Just make sure you justify why ur offering that price. Even if your only reason is that it’s what you think it’s worth. If yours is the only offer, then that’s the correct price. Also, it’s been on too long. It’s stale. And it’s a buyer’s market right now.
good luck OP.

If you think the price is reasonable I would offer £460k- £465k.