Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Property/DIY

Join our Property forum for renovation, DIY, and house selling advice.

Original poster

Offers 10% above asking price

41 replies

ad3a · 04/07/2023 10:23

Sorry for this but needed to vent... how is normal that on the very first day a house starts viewings, the agency calls us telling that on the first viewing they received an offer 10% above the asking price?

The market here is hot, but, this just sounds crazy to me. Sorry for the rant.

OP posts:
Twiglets1 · 04/07/2023 10:27

I don't get what you are ranting about?

It's unusual certainly but what is your beef?

wutheringkites · 04/07/2023 10:28

Less usual now than it was in 2021 but not unheard of either.

A decent family home in a desirable area is still likely to sell well (as long as it's not massively priced from the start).

Original poster
ad3a · 04/07/2023 10:29

Twiglets1 · 04/07/2023 10:27

I don't get what you are ranting about?

It's unusual certainly but what is your beef?

What's the point in putting 10% more over the asking price when you're the first viewer of a property which just started viewings today?

OP posts:
wutheringkites · 04/07/2023 10:29

Are you the seller or a buyer?

wutheringkites · 04/07/2023 10:30

What's the point in putting 10% more over the asking price when you're the first viewer of a property which just started viewings today?

I'd assume that they want to buy the house.

Original poster
ad3a · 04/07/2023 10:30

wutheringkites · 04/07/2023 10:29

Are you the seller or a buyer?

buyer (very theoretically)

OP posts:
aSofaNearYou · 04/07/2023 10:32

What's the point in putting 10% more over the asking price when you're the first viewer of a property which just started viewings today?

Surely the point is obvious? Because they know it's competitive and want to get the house.

We put an offer in on the first day of viewings and it was about that much over the asking price. They had multiple offers, and we weren't the only one's to go that high.

wutheringkites · 04/07/2023 10:35

At least you know what the other offer is, it means you can decide it it's worth that to you or if you want to move on.

Also worth keeping in mind that the seller might not take the highest offer - they may not be able to show they have the funds or might not have a buyer for an existing property.

We didn't offer the highest on our house but we had the most solid offer and could move at the sellers pace.

Tessasanderson · 04/07/2023 10:38

Perhaps the seller was confident of it selling and wanted it sold quickly so they priced it very aggressively/cheaply. The buyer could be either very confident in their pricing or have a housing situation that means 10% more might be worth it to secure a quick purchase.

We dont ever know other peoples situations but we have no right to say if someone is right or wrong. Its an agreement between the two of them. You obviously dont think 10% over the asking is worth it. They did.

Peony654 · 04/07/2023 10:43

They must really want the house. Seems mad to me, especially at the moment. I’d be proceeding with a bit of caution

Youcancallmeirrelevant · 04/07/2023 10:44

Because they want the house...and want you to take it off the market

C4tastrophe · 04/07/2023 10:48

What is the area? That may explain things.

instantpotnoodle · 04/07/2023 10:51

It happens. Probably a lot less now than 6-12 months ago. But that’s the property market. For those people it’s worth that to them. If it’s not worth it to you, you walk. If it is, you offer the same or more.

GasPanic · 04/07/2023 10:52

Maybe they really really want it.

Maybe it was underpriced.

Maybe they underpriced it deliberately to try to generate interest.

Properties are worth what people are willing to pay for them. If you don't want to pay that, ignore it and move on.

wutheringkites · 04/07/2023 10:53

buyer (very theoretically)

What is a very theoretical house buyer?

CatsOnTheChair · 04/07/2023 10:59

We did this (15 months ago).
We knew it was the house we wanted, and didn't want to piss about in a bidding war. There had been 2 or 3 similar houses in the previous few years - I'd been watching since we knew we were moving back to the UK several years previously.
We went 8% over, for it to come off the market immediatly. We got it - and the valuation came in at our offer price.

PosiePerkinPootleFlump · 04/07/2023 11:01

They really want the house and aren't constrained on money.
If it is one of a street of 200 identical terraces, I'd be surprised. But if it is a more individual property then I can see that someone might be willing to pay 'over the odds' because it is worth it to them

Sycasmores · 04/07/2023 11:01

We've done this for a house that we really wanted and it worked. If it's a desirable house and the buyer expects a bidding war then it can save everyone a lot of hassle!

SwayingInTime · 04/07/2023 11:03

We did this on the premise that all viewings were cancelled, did the job!

cocksstrideintheevening · 04/07/2023 11:04

So do you think the estate agent is playing to get you to offer higher?

DibbleDooDah · 04/07/2023 11:04

We did it as it was the perfect house in one of only three villages we wanted to live in. Still didn’t stop it going to best and final though. We upped our offer by just £4 and got it as the vendor preferred it was going to a family and not a developer.

RudsyFarmer · 04/07/2023 11:06

It’s a ploy. They do t want it to go to sealed or final bids where they might end up paying more, so they come straight in with 10% over hoping it will be accepted and off the market.

aSofaNearYou · 04/07/2023 11:09

PosiePerkinPootleFlump · 04/07/2023 11:01

They really want the house and aren't constrained on money.
If it is one of a street of 200 identical terraces, I'd be surprised. But if it is a more individual property then I can see that someone might be willing to pay 'over the odds' because it is worth it to them

We did it on a house that was one of many on our dream estate - they don't come up that often and when they do are out of our price bracket, this one was only affordable because it needed updating.

pendleflyer · 04/07/2023 11:21

sounds odd to me, but then I'm conservative/daft - on both my houses paid asking or very close to asking and in truth felt a bit daft later. I once viewed a house where the owner suggested I might want to offer over the asking price. I scrubbed that one from the list.
Wondering if there is something slightly problematical about the bidder's situation - ie not saying they won't complete but maybe the selling process might get strung out for whatever reason and they want the seller to stick with them.
Do keep us informed OP on how this 10% over sale goes - would be interested.

AgentProvocateur · 04/07/2023 11:27

Quite normal in desirable areas.