OIEO or Guide Price?

[dramallama14]

Our house has been on the market for 12 weeks at £600k. It’s had over 30 viewings. We’ve had 2 people solidly interested but not proceedable. We have found a house so want to give it one final go before we give up.

The LOWEST we could accept is £585k. Would you do guide price £575-600k or OIEO £585k?

I think there’s no point playing around with £575 as we couldn’t ever accept it. I also think people see that lower number as a goer.

EA is adamant 575k-600k guide price is the best option.

I agree with you. I would take 575 - 600k to mean 575k or why mention the lower figure. I don't see the point of the price range.

OIEO is slightly poncey, pretentious and somewhat unattractive imho.

Just put the price and go from there.

Just my 2p.

I think OIEO 585K would be better. However, I think you would be lucky if it sold with such a tiny, non price cut if it hasn't after 12 weeks at 600k. It's worth a try if you have found a house that you really like, I guess. Have you actually made an offer on this house without having sold yours? That wasn't very sensible if so.

If you’re offering a price reduction, then 25k would be reasonable from 600k. Its been a long time at the higher price, so a small reduction probably won’t make any difference.

If you really can’t go below 575k, you might have to rethink. Prospective buyers don’t care what price you need, they’re only bothered about what they might offer.

The fact that you’ve had a lot of viewings, but few offers that weren’t able to proceed suggests that it’s of interest, but no one wants to pay the price.

We were at a slightly higher price originally to test the market, then we reduced. 2 of the offers are at £600k but they hadn’t sold, I think they expected they would though because 1 is now trying to make their flat a BTL to be able to but seems very nervous financially, so I’m dismissing it.

I’m confident that we’d sell at £575k quickly, I just can’t accept it. The market is bad here right now - houses are taking a lot longer to shift. However, a year earlier, a house similar to ours in style and size, but in need of refurbishment completely, sold for £610k in its first weekend. It’s frustrating.

I think there is something being missed - we cannot accept below £585k. It’s irrelevant whether we do or don’t sell at this price because we couldn’t move with anything less, so it’s pointless. We either get that price or above, or we stay put another year.

My question is on how to frame that minimum requirement.

Yes, it is frustrating, but that was then and, in many areas, very little is moving, so annoying though it is, you have to disregard the one that sold last year.

Is there any possibility of one or both of the offers becoming proceedable?

I think you can’t really price in a way that guarantees people will offer what you need just on paper. You could go Offers Over 585k and tell the agents to be really clear with potential papers that you won’t accept anything under (although like many people I personally tend to ignore Offers Over)?

In this market if I see £575 to £600k I’m only ever going to offer the lower price point. Why would I offer the higher one when it’s stated that £575 is acceptable?

I only think this ridiculous estate agent speak comes into play when it’s a buoyant market with potential bidding between interested buyers. This market isn’t that scenario.

£575-600k is ridiculous as any buyer would only offer £575k. I ignore offers over, so just put it on at £585k and tell the EA to tell viewers that there is no negotiation on price. Realistically, with all those viewings and no serious offers, you are not going to get £600k for your house and you’ll be lucky to get £585k in current conditions. Can’t you negotiate the price with your onward purchase so then it may even out?

With a slow market if you put guide price and the lowest is less than you can accept people will be offering nearer that end. It's a waste of everyone's time. I also don't like offers in excess, just have a guide price of a set figure and people will offer what they think around that... But if your price is £585k and you won't take lower I guess it has to be OIEO. I think in this market and if price drops people will expect to be able to offer less.

Fixed price £585k

Yes they can definitely become proceedable when they sell their flats, but having looked at the listing myself, I don’t see this happening anytime quickly.

@Fretfulmum @friendlycat i completely agree with you but the EA is making me feel like I’m wrong.

onward purchase won’t go lower - they simply don’t care if that means they have no buyer (we’re only ones interested)

@dramallama14
Can you not continue to look for another onward purchase? It's entirely up to you, of course, but I would be very unwilling to overpay in this market. What is your potential seller's position? Is it a second home or they are they just ambivalent about moving?

I think a range is silly. I’m not going to offer £600k if it’s on at 575-600. And if you won’t accept 575, why put it at that range?

We’ve been keeping our eye out for over a year and this property prompted us to go on. The sellers are moving near their kids/gcs and need to downsize. No mortgage, wealthy, so no real harm in staying

Your price is just an invitation to negotiate. If your home is only worth £550K to me then that is all I will offer regardless of the sticker price. If it's worth £650K then I offer that instead.

If and when you sell your home, you can submit a reasonable offer via their agent, especially given that they have had no other interest. Who knows what will happen in the future. Their health may change for the worse, their family may increase pressure on them to move. Or perhaps they may realise that the market is falling and decide that it is sensible to take a decent offer now. In the meantime, you can keep looking.The higher end of the market is falling the most so it would seem wise for you to negotiate hard and not overpay.

Guide price makes many people think auction so automatically discount it and EVERYONE will go for the lower option, especially in a buyers market.

Offers in excess means nothing, people will offer asking or more often than not less regardless.

People don't really care about these labels and they mean nothing and just muddy up the adverts.

Truth is its highly unlikely you will sell, £15k drop in your price range is nothing but if you are going to do it just list it at £585k with no selling terminology you will have the same risk of low offers or no interest either way.

People don't like things like OIEO but I think they are silly.

At the end of the day, you are telegraphing the minimum price you are willing to sell at, while keeping the door open for someone to offer more.

At the end of the day anyone with any common sense will offer what a house is worth to them.

Additional detail like OIEO informs me whether what I am willing to pay and what you need is consistent and informs me whether it is worth making an offer.

Finding houses that fit, in the right area at the right price is hard. If you are going to start turning them down because they are marketed as guide price then you are making your task as a buyer that much harder.

I thin OIEO is pointless. If a house says OIEO of £500,000 I would never offer more at first, and would certainly offer under at the moment.
I think it is worth making an offer even if you think it will be rejected. We did that on the house we are buying at the moment and were amazed when they accepted it. Even the estate agent said he thought it was too low when we put in our offer!