Should we make a higher offer

[Venu]

My husband and I are looking to buy a new build in a development near Brighton. We currently own a house in London that we plan to keep for work purposes and if our grown up children need to come to London.

We are cash buyers and have a budget of £350,000 to spend. We have looked in the countryside for some time and found nothing we both liked. We finally found a fantastic new build that met all our requirements and we loved but it has a range of £350,000 to £400,000. My husband put an offer in for £345,000 with a view to going up to £350,000 or even £355,000 at a push. Our offer was rejected and the agent asked my husband if he would offer more and he said no. We were told there was another offer that came in that was slightly higher than ours (not a cash buyer) and that was rejected.

They have only put the house on the market and had 12 viewings on the first weekend of viewings. I don't want to interfere with my husband's negotiations, but I feel he should've said, we would consider discussing a higher offer possibly in the future depending on what it was. I don't think the owners or agents will bother with us if we say no to going further or even the possibility of discussing an increase. My husband said to the agent he is keen for them to keep in touch with us, but don't we need to be more direct? It is such a popular development and I love the house. I just haven't been in this position before, whereas my husband has bought and sold a few houses in the past.

It sounds like you’re keen. Has the development been fully built? How many plots sold ? 12 viewings sounds like a lot but so much can go wrong in between viewing & getting finance approved so you’re in a very good position. What do comparable non new builds go for in the similar postcode ?

Thanks for your response Alicewinn. The house is built already and has been for 7 years. An identical house went for £350,000 a year ago so they have the bottom range correct. I did an evaluation on Zoopla and Rightmove and they valued it at £400,000. I think it is a fair evaluation. The agents have a good reputation too as I looked at reviews. We are keen, but so are many others. I want to show we are interested so maybe I will suggest my husband puts in another offer in a few days? Like I said, he is financing this and don't want to interfere and muddy the waters but don't want to miss out!

I'm confused. You said it's a new build and then it's 7 years old? Are you buying from a developer or from a homeowner?

If you've said you won't go higher with an offer then there's no reason for the agent to bother with you. If you like the house you need to go higher if the owner has refused a lower offer. Does your husband think they'll come back and accept his low offer when they've already refused it? Because they won't

I don’t quite understand why your husband didn’t offer 350k when the 345k offer was rejected.

I do think most people would start negotiations at 350k so the offer was low enough that someone else could easily offer higher. It’s obviously a nice property competitively priced to have already attracted offers not just from you but from someone else also.

I think your husband should go back to the EA and say that on reflection you can stretch to 350k if that will secure the house and remind them you are cash buyers.