Low offer on an overpriced house?

[Enjoythelittlethings5]

I'm a ftb and I've been trying to get on the property ladder for the last 3 years. I had an offer accepted on a house back in 2020 but it all fell through after 3 months as we soon discovered the house was unmortgageable. Then came the madness of 2021-2022 with house prices rising/bidding wars etc. I was outbid on a house and shortly gave up afterwards and decided to have a break. Things have now settled, prices slowly coming down and properties don't seem to be selling as quickly as they use to, although some sellers still have (in my opinion) unrealistic expectations.

I've had my eye on a house for the last couple of months. It was first listed at the beginning of May for £179,950, then reduced to £169,950 at the end of July which doesn't seem to have made a difference as it's still up for sale. I've checked and the house was first sold in 2006 for 110k then again in 2016 for the same price (inherited??)

It's a 2 bed bungalow with a driveway and back garden. Granted it looks as though you could move straight in (carpets and walls/paint look to be in good condition). It's had a new kitchen and bathroom since 2016 but I can't see anything else that's changed. I have no idea how much something like that would cost but the kitchen is small. It's currently empty. Houseprices.io estimated worth is £156,000, but I'm not sure how accurate that is.

I'm buying alone but I have good sized deposit and I earn a decent salary for a single person, however I don't want to overpay as I'd like to have some savings left over for a rainy day. I'd be comfortable with offering £135,000-£140,000 but is that too low??? On the other hand, is that a low offer when the house is clearly overpriced? I don't want to piss the vendor off but I wouldn't be comfortable or feel it would be sensible paying any more than that.

Obviously I don't know the vendors circumstances and they can only say no, but I just feel like I'm being cheeky with that figure for some reason. I don't want to waste anyone's time, including my own if this is a ridiculous idea. It would be great to your thoughts.

@LindorDoubleChoc no idea on the size of the land, sorry. It doesn't say on the ad and I don't know where I'd find that info tbh.

Here is the link if that's helpful

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/133044083#/?channel=RES_BUY

It is a large garden to be fair but the 2 bed semi has a similar sized garden but they have an extension on theirs.

I think you can work it out from Google Earth. Meanwhile good luck in your house hunting. Where I live most FTBs buy a one bedroom ex council flat with no outside space for £300,000 plus. So it's great you live in such a cheap area of the country!

Zoopla's estimates is just based on sales data and average increases/decreases in your area. There is a time lag in sales prices being recorded on the land registry, so the data is always several mths out of date. So no, very recent economic factors will not have been factored into the Zoopla estimate.

It's a very blunt tool and also doesn’t factor in the condition of the property.

Just offer what you feel is right and see how it goes.

Bungalow do command a premium over a house with the same number of bedrooms or m2.

The fact it hadn’t been snapped up suggests an optimistic asking price but I think your suggested offer could possibly piss off the vendor so I’d only offer it if it really is your maximum. Then pissing the owner off is irrelevant.

Put the cheap offer in

They may refuse

They may accept

don't ask don't get

That makes no sense- it's effectively discounting the price for current conditions twice, as the online estimate will have taken that into account. BTW- bungalows usually fetch significantly more than houses of s similar sq footage.

Offer what you think it's worth to you.
Less and you may lose it because you tried to get it for less than even you think it's worth. More and you're being silly.

OP, the other property you are comparing it to, is it a house?

Because bungalows always cost more per sq ft. Usually to the tune of about 40%.

Which could mean this bungalow is actually a bargain by virtue of being a bungalow.

OMG thank you for introducing me to the site houseprices.io
never even heard of it!! so helpful

it's buyers who decide what the value of a house is, not the sellers.

just make your low ball offer after seeing it twice, explain that it's your maximum budget and you researched the area, and your willing to go to your max (don't tell them if you can afford any more), see what they say. let them know that the bank will do the same, check the area so it might be worth them just accepting your offer. if they say no, just tell them if they change their mind you're happy for them to contact you, leave it on a good note. no harm in trying.

Thing is at the end of the day if the buyers want more then they'll probably just be insulted and then even if they did lower it a bit they're less likely to accept your offer on principle. If they've already dropped it, and do so again, they won't take anything under asking because they would've dropped it to that if they were looking for a quick sale.

I guess it depends on how the local market is. It’s been a long time since I bought a property, and I’m in a different area of the country, but I remember the estate agent giving me a follow up call to ask for feedback. That would be a good time to state an amount you may go for. Don’t worry about offending the buyer, they can always just say no. I always assume that sellers put the property on high just in case someone comes along who loves it and will pay over the odds. But that it’s been on the market a while suggests that that’s not the case and that you’d be a in a good position to offer low.

Hi OP, definitely make the offer as you never know. As many have said, you don’t ask you don’t get.

Sellers are not being all that realistic these days. People are still trying to sell their houses as if the prices have kept going up since last year, but they just haven’t. Spoke to my EA and he blames the media 😂😂😂

You are a FTB, you’re in the best position you’ll ever be in buying a house so make the most of it!

make sure you let us know how you get on!