Offer on a house based on price per square meter of “liveable” space?

[CoilHell]

The house we are considering has been put on the market at the same price as the neighbouring house sold for last year.

Both are in a similar state of decor, have the same number of bedrooms, and a similar layout. Both are approx 260sq m. However the house we are looking at has a garage and the size of the garage (25sq m) is included in the 260sq m. The neighbouring house has no garage but an extra 25sq m of living space in the form of an additional lounge. Both houses have large gated driveways.

I want to make the vendor an offer based on the fact this house has 10% less living space than its neighbour. I’m sure a garage is worth something, but surely not as much as living space? Or maybe it is?

What would be a fair offer?

That's not how house prices work. Offer what you want to pay. They will either accept it or not. The house is worth whatever someone will pay for it.

What is the difference in terms of percentage between the current price and what you want to offer? Are similar houses selling quickly?

Offer what you want, certainly 10% seems a reasonable place to start...

In my experience you don't need to give a reason for what you offer, and sometimes giving reasons can come across belligerent. As in, I know better than you for this reason etc.

Just offer what you're happy with, say you love the house, and tell them why you'll be a really good buyer.

You can offer whatever you think it's worth and really it just depends on the house market in your area. Houses around here are being snapped up snd constant bidding wars so you'd probably get no where with a low offer.

I agree that I am free to offer what I like, and the vendor is free to say no! Slight complication is we know the vendor through extended family so don’t want to be seen to be taking the piss!

I’d like to pay about 10% less based on the size of the liveable area. Take the point about being belligerent though.

The house has been on for around a month. Houses in the area don’t sell quickly. They are expensive and probably don’t have a huge market.

Generally, a family home is more saleable with a garage than not.

What it's worth is subjective and to some extent irrelevant. The price is the point you are willing to pay and the vendor is willing to accept. 'Fairness' doesn't really come into it.

By all means offer 10% less and mention that the indoor space is worth more to you than a garage, though it's possible that some buyers would value secure parking or the possibility of a workshop more than living space. Is the extra lounge in the other house actually a converted garage? If so it may not be as comfortable or well insulated as the rest of the house.

The garage is worth something though, even if you don’t think it’s worth ‘as much’ it would be incorrect to discount it completely. Either way I agree with others that the rationale really doesn’t matter, it’s worth what you, or someone else, will pay.

Thanks for the sense check. I agree with all points.

Just offer what you think it’s worth. As soon as you start giving reasons you get into a bit of a debate about personal priorities. You don’t think a garage is valuable, but to a car enthusiast it may be a dealbreaker-it’s impossible to quantify

It is how house prices work though isn’t it? Generally a house with less square footage will be worth less. The OP is offering what she thinks it’s worth, based on the reduced
square footage.

If you want a ‘calculation’ basis then it would be 10% less based on liveable space but then you’d have to factor in an uplift as it has a garage, which could (depending on multiple factors) add an extra 5% onto the price. In reality though, you offer what you think it’s worth to you, and if you don’t think a garage is worth it then you can discount it, and they decide whether they want to sell at that price

Garage value depends a lot on area as well. In cities where parking is tricky they can be hugely valuable, but given both have long gated driveways so plenty of off street parking, I'd say the garage probably doesn't add a great deal of value. Also consider the condition of garage - an old garage with an asbestos roof might be seen as a liability rather than an asset.

I'd also question if the extra living room is a converted integral garage? If so those are often gloomy, narrow rooms and in some ways I might be keener on a property with the integral garage where I could do my own good quality conversion than inheriting someone else's crappy conversion.

My OH was categorically not buying a house without a garage so as you say, to him, it’s a big plus and a dealbreaker.

The house with the extra living space rather than garage looks like it was built that way originally. If not, it certainly doesn’t look like a small gloomy garage room.

We don’t need a garage really so the extra living space would be more valuable to us.

I guess we can offer and see what happens …

My current home has no garage. We’ve found it hard with garden kit, car kit, bikes, camping gear etc. we want to get paddle boards and have nowhere to store them! Whenever we talk about moving a garage is the first thing on the list (ideally a double one because we would want to store the car and the crap). Everyone is different but a house with a garage would be worth more to me. And the one with extra living space would be a huge compromise, and would be ruled out.

Offer what’s appropriate but I don’t think the “reasoning” is necessary. I actually think it will just confuse matters.

Is it an internal garage which could be converted?

I would go slightly higher than 10% below as a garage is still worth more than no garage.

Of course, the other house sold could have had something which came up in the survey which meant it was loads cheaper or the sellers might have needed a quick sale and gone for a cheaper offer or might have had a bidding war and ended up selling for more than the valuation so it is all just second guessing the factors which led to that house price.