Newly listed house, "offers in the region of" - how low can a bid go?

[puffyisgood]

The list price seems to be a very long way above anything that's been achieved for similar stuff in the area. List price is £400k, I'd generally . And by the way it's in relatively poor condition, e.g. many decades old/unexceptional quality kitchen & bathrooms etc.

I might say that recent transactions might value it at about £275k-£325k, maybe even £350k [it's unusual enough a place for more precision to be difficult]...

I was thinking about a £300k bid, would something like that [25% below list] be offensive?

Cash buyer, no chain.

It depends on the seller. A house on our street is on sale for £90,000 over the estimated market value and that guide price is offers over! They’ve had lots of viewings but it hasn’t gone to STC as they seem unwilling to sell it for what’s it worth. It’s now been on the market for 14 months yet others on our estate that are realistically priced have sold quickly.

Personally I'd find 25% below to be a silly offer that would put me off taking any further offers from the potential buyer seriously. I'd be worried that they'd offer higher to get the property and then start messing around as the sale went through.

That's easy to say as someone who would list at a reasonable price. Like PP said some people do list far too high.

Is there a chance if it's in not great condition a lot of the value could be in the land? I've seen some properties sell for more than they look because they would make easy building plots for someone with enough cash.

I think offering 100k off, especially if it’s new to the market is just going to be a fairly reliable way to piss off the vendor and make them wary of considering any other offers from you

Normally people know they are overpriced. Most people are not that deluded.

They are chancing that some crazy person will come along and pay. Maybe they are right.

But the only way they will find out is to leave it on the market and see the response. So if they have just put it on the idea that they will drop quickly, rather than see what the market will deliver is unlikely.

I would go and see it, then maybe tell the agent in feedback that you really like it but it is well overpriced. If they ask you to come up with a price I would not say, but I would say significantly less than it is marketed for, but you do like it.

The agent will know it is overpriced and then it would become their job to beat down the seller if they want their commission. At least they know there is a potential buyer out there for the house - at the right and more reasonable(?) price if they can persuade the seller to reduce.

Will this work ? Dunno. But it is what I would do.

Thanks, these are some useful tips.

As I understand it this is something like selling off a first or second home or pre-care home or suchlike, so it may well be that the vendor is planning to hang on in the hope of getting top, top dollar, being in no rush to sell at all.

I appreciate the suggestion that going as low as 25% below asking could undermine credibility in future negotiations. That might well be right. I suppose it might also foster a kind of resentment that might make the vendor feel justified in pulling out/otherwise messing the buyer about further down the line.

For context, the same agent listed a similar but bigger and better house [4 bed/c 1200 squ foot vs 3 bed/as far as i can make out under 1000 squ foot, also better condition and better garden] in the same neighbourhood for the same price at about the same time.

Have you asked the estate agent about the price? I've found they're quite good at offering hints about buyers who are totally unreasonable about the price. I would just ask the agent outright why is it more expensive than an apparently better house they have on? They may say something like 'the vendor feels they need circa 400k for their next purchase', which would give you the idea that they aren't going to be rational about the value of their house.

I agree.
I wouldn't bother to put in an offer if the listed price is as unrealistic as you suggest.
You could call/ email the agent and ask why it has been priced at this level when comparables are being marketed so much lower. You could ask if there is any purpose in you viewing or not. It would at least give them some feedback and show that there may be interested parties but at a much lower price.

Personally, I'd leave it a good 2-3 weeks before even phoning the agent.

They've listed it at the stupidest time of year possible, overpriced, they'll be lucky if they even get inquiries, let alone viewings.