Are people offering under asking price at the moment?

[Roastedcherries]

Just that really. We are chain free, have deposit ready to go so in a good buying position and the next place we buy will be our forever home so negative equity is not really a factor in my thinking. However I've noticed my local market very much slowing down (it was crazy a year ago, places going at 90 grand over asking) and places which I think are overpriced are hanging around for weeks if not months - this time last year places were marked as SSTC within 24 hours of going on rightmove. So I don't particularly want to offer at full asking in what I believe to be a falling market and just wondered what others experiences were as I don't want to piss off vendors unnecessarily. Say for instance something was priced at 675k and we went in at 650k, is that considered cheeky?

We put ours on about 2 weeks after the market went mad last summer. Everything was selling in a day or two and now ours has been on since June 🤦🏼‍♀️ we accepted a below asking offer last year but they then pulled out and we rejected a below offer asking a week ago but it was quite below. I would offer under, especially at those numbers. It's picking up again so I would offer sooner rather than later

perhaps making it clear it's not necessarily a final offer

This would be the most pointless, self defeating thing you could possibly do!

Just make an offer based on what you think the house is worth to you. 3-4% under is not a low offer, not by any means. I've offered up to 10% less before.

There is an area I've been following on rightmove for over a year now. A year ago, anything vaguely decent was SSTC within less than a week - and properties were obviously getting offers way over the guide price. Now, perfectly nice looking properties are sitting on the market for weeks and months without shifting.

In the current climate, I would always therefore offer under (unless you are in an area that is bucking the general trend). The only question is by how much, and that would depend on the exact property.

'I would offer under, especially at those numbers. It's picking up again so I would offer sooner rather than later'
What is it that makes you think the market may be picking up particularly as you have just received a very low offer (presumably no others) and have been on since June 22?

The market really isn't picking up and is widely expected to fall more.

I'm definitely no expert but certainly round here there's more movement and properties are coming on the market when there's been nothing for months. We had viewings in October and then absolutely nothing until a few weeks ago. It's anecdotal obviously but round here there seems to have been a change (rural Northumberland)

I suspect there will be more properties coming on in Spring as this tends to be the best time to sell traditionally. This would potentially be better for buyers than sellers though if supply increases.
I think what you are describing may be the lull in the run up to Christmas and then people feeling motivated to look again once back at work/ kids back to school in January.
We will have to see what happens but I can't see anything suddenly taking off in the housing market!

Personal take, based on my limited experience renovating old buildings/houses as a bit of a hobby/obsession, so not an expert but most of the time I am either buying or selling something on the side. The market is down 15-20% on 9 months ago. Plenty of properties stuck for 3-4 months in price range and area I am interested in. That means its a good time to buy really great property that might not otherwise linger on the market. If you are worried about further falls and do not need to buy then wait for clarity on where interest rates settle in the Summer.

@Dorisbonson
I think you are right with that, especially anything that was put on pre the liz truss budget and hasnt reduced. Those properties were probably put on 5-10% above the previous peak price as that is what most agents seem to do to test the market. So 15-20% off that type of property would only be around 10% off the peak price, which seems to be april/may 2022.
Thoses sellers are the most deluded/unreasonable and would probably be a waste of time even trying to negotiate
And if more properties come on in the spring it will be good fpr buyers, not sellers and if anything will push prices down more

More properties coming on to the market is good for buyers though, not necessarily sellers.

And viewings increasing in Spring is fairly normal but that won't necessarily translate into offers or sale prices increasing.

''@Watermelonsugar1

Same scenario. Not even a counter offer, and the house has been on sale for over 3 months in a village where they usually (even in this current market) sell in days.''

Indeed.

I am chain free as well having sold my property in December and in rental and only need a tiny mortgage for which I have an agreement in principle.

The sellers have no even found a place to buy yet, so there is an extra risk for me that the transaction would take forever on their side.

So I am going to leave my current offer on the table as being my final one and look for a seller who appreciate my position and who will be chain free/at least have identify somewhere they want to offer on.

I think that like always, it depends on the price.
Anything priced correctly here sells. Vendors that are still thinking their property is worth the same as it was a year ago and are finding they're stuck on the market for a long time.
Also, properties requiring work aren't shifting either which I think is down to the ever rising cost of building work and material.

We've agreed a purchase 7% under asking price without even being on the market, the house was overpriced and had been on the market since September. Madness.
We had an open day on our property yesterday, priced accordingly and 2 people offered asking price or over whilst still in the house, we're expecting more offers tomorrow, to go to best and final on Tuesday.

'Those sellers are the most deluded/unreasonable and would probably be a waste of time even trying to negotiate'

Lots of delusional pricing in my area followed by tiny reductions, sitting on the market for ages and then sometimes removing and re-marketing with a different agent at the same price. One seller very near me has been on RM since March 22, two small reductions and is now marketing with a different agent at an increased price. Totally deluded. In another road, there are several large, expensive houses on the market. One on since last Spring, probably 50% overpriced initially, reduced 10% in Autumn and is still on RM months later and with a second agent added too. Another house on the same road (fully modernised as opposed to totally dated too) sold quickly when marketed at a sensible price (just over 1/3 off initial asking price of other house). So, if you do market at a realistic price like this and @NewYearNewMNName it is possible to sell quickly but not if you cling to 2021 price plus 10/20% dream.

You would think that a finished house coming on at 30 odd percent off woyld have reiggered a reaction from the deluded seller... i assume it didnt and they will just wait it out. Which incidentally i think will probably take to the end of the decade to see 2022 peak prices again

Triggered

It seems like the market is slowing down but our personal experience has been different.

We put our house on the market last month at the higher end of the valuations we had (expecting to negotiate down) and it went to best and finals. Sold for 11k over asking.

Our dream house came up for sale the same week (what are the chances?!) and that also went to best and finals. We offered 23k over asking and were outbid.

Wouldn't say either house is particularly remarkable or special.

My area is the same.
We had offers over asking (price in the middle of the valuation spread) and houses seem to go to under offer online withing 10 days or so.

I do wonder if it's doing ok because all these houses going quickly are insulated tbh. The one which wasn't and was proced above as well sat there like a plum (because of course it was overpriced) for months

I don't know if they noticed or not. The house is clearly owned by an older person/ couple so they may not be surveying the market as much as a typical buyer might and perhaps they delude themselves that their house is much better. I suspect a lot of people like this just assume that the market will rise to meet whatever price they fancy as it has in the past. Personally, I'm not convinced we will ever have huge, above inflation price rises again. I wonder if we will get some new 'Help to Buy' on budget day but I think these pump the market incentives are less politically popular than they were when they are cutting spending on other far more vital things.

That's interesting @sageandrosemary. Can I ask which area you are in?

In my immediate area and I mean two streets and a cul de sac immediate, theres been 4 houses go up for sale since December and all have been bought at asking price or slightly above.

Theres no slow down here. I will admit they were all reasonably priced in the first place which may make a difference.

I think these pump the market incentives are less politically popular than they were when they are cutting spending on other far more vital things.

That's been the case for the last decade though. Austerity for public services while the home owning classes get assistance to buy assets.

It's abhorrent, but for some reason a lot of people in the country vote for that stuff. People are deluded enough to think that house prices = wealth/prosperity.

@rainingsnoring
''The house is clearly owned by an older person/ couple so they may not be surveying the market as much as a typical buyer might and perhaps they delude themselves that their house is much better. I suspect a lot of people like this just assume that the market will rise to meet whatever price they fancy as it has in the past.''

I agree with this. I saw two houses in really nice locations that I was keen on but that needed a lot of work (one not updated for 30 years with an ancient back boiler and the other with really bad 80s decor and poor DIY) both owned by elderly people who want/need to move because of declining health and mobility.

Both are refusing to reduce their prices to a reasonable level and to accept that their homes need work and that their botched DYI has not magically added £20,000 to the house.

One changed agent rather than reduce the price and the house is still not shifting after 3 months with a new agency. The others want an asking price that is completely over the average sale price for their street for the past few months.

I think people have got so used to ever raising house prices and don't want to accept that the market is down at the moment and also that the raising cost of material/workmanship means that to refurbish a house as become much more expensive.

No seller is ever deluded. There is no law that requires them to agree with what some house price index says their house is worth. They are owners, and the only number that matters is what that house is worth to them.

If that number is higher than your offer, they won't sell it to you. That's their prerogative. And even if it's higher than any other bidder in their right mind would offer ... that's still their prerogative (and no different to the day they bought it). If you want to acquire a property, you need to be prepared to outbid every other bidder, AND the seller's minimum price.

Getting huffy about 'delusional' sellers is pointless and prevents any meaningful learning from taking place ... that lesson being, you can't afford that house at that time and should concentrate your search elsewhere.

"No seller is ever deluded..."

With the omitted qualifier "...unless the actually want to sell their house".

My house is "worth" about £250k according to previous sales in the area of comparables. I could list it at £1000k. But the possibility of getting that price is infinitesimally small. Clearly I would be deluded if I expect to make a transaction at that price - although there is a very very tiny probability that some idiot would turn up willing to do it.

The only thing I agree with is that getting angry about deluded sellers is pointless. Just ignore them. They aren't making transactions. They aren't making the market. By ignoring them you give them the necessary market feedback.

Some people are always going to list at stupid prices in the hope that some idiot will turn up and give them a lottery win. Just ignore them.

''@Mark19735 · Today 10:12
No seller is ever deluded. There is no law that requires them to agree with what some house price index says their house is worth. They are owners, and the only number that matters is what that house is worth to them.''

Well, no.

What matters as well, if they really want to sell their house, is what someone is prepared to pay for it in the current market.

You could decide that your house is worth £800,000 but if the average price in your street/area in the current market for similar properties is £300,000, no one is going to give you the price you expect because it is completely unrealistic.

The outcome is that you will be stuck with your house.

It is a business transaction like any other. If you don't price what you have to sell correctly (which usually involve analysing the market and looking at your competitors), people won't buy it.

Whether it is a house, a car or a tin of beans the same principles apply.

Sorry to be a pedant, but there are two distinct scenarios that you are conflating.

1. Seller definitely wants to sell, to anybody, at the best price they can achieve.
2. Seller wants to sell, but only if somebody is prepared to meet/beat their minimum price.

These are two very different circumstances. It is quite rare for a seller to be in the first situation. Far more frequently a seller will need the proceeds from the sale to fund the next stage in their life, and there will be a minimum amount needed to make it worthwhile.

It's really not like selling tins of beans.