What does Offers over really mean?

[UnilateralDecisions]

I took it to mean We’d like this really, but might accept less. But now I’m wondering if I’m mistaken.

No. It means what it says. They will consider offers over £X

In Scotland it means 'offers over" literally. Depending on where you are can be 20% over but usually guided by the home report price

In Scotland good properties in good areas go for a % over the Home report value, at a closing date this could be in excess of 15/20%

No. Means offers must be the advertised price or higher. Lower offers not considered at all

I should have said that I’m in England; I appreciate that the property market is very different in lots of ways in Scotland.

I was just reading some threads on here with a split re what people thought about this.

It means they want offers over x. However, in reality, people still offer under. Completely pointless in my view.

Just offer what you’re willing to pay. They can accept or not.

Offer whatever you want, especially if it's been on a while. They can only say no but they may accept offers below.

My current property asked for offers over. I offered under and they accepted. I think it depends on many things, how desperate are they to sell, how long has it been on the market etc.

Vendor thinks they know how much it's worth and thats the minimum they'd take. Fine if they don't have to sell, but if they do have to sell then it's meaningless because they would have to take the best they can get.

Ha well it means nothing really. I used to buy and sell quite a lot and in a hot market yes they may well get offers over or even encourage a bidding war. But the market is soft now and I would not hesitate at all offering under. Legally the agent must put ALL offers to the client. You don’t know their position. They may well be happy to accept!

The seller might want offers over a certain amount but it doesn't mean they will get them. Lots of people offer lower and are successful (including me in the past), especially as the market for many properties is falling. Just offer what you are willing to pay.

In a strong market. In our area many go on or under asking.

Sometimes they are deliberately marketed well below home report to attract interest.

If you are in Scotland speak to a local solicitor. The north east for example is very different to Edinburgh (although there are pockets of difference within this).

We once made a decent offer on a house - just under asking price as the survey showed up some work that needed doing. The guy wouldn't accept it.

He finally sold it 2 years later for a whole ONE POUND over the asking price.

Obviously it means that the seller wants AT LEAST the asking price but in a competitive market, it is up to you to decide what you are willing to pay.
Of course there will always be those offering under and I have to wonder if they are serious buyers?

Last time we sold was in 2022 (the mad times!) and on our (excellent) EA's advice, went for B&F.
Had a full week of viewings (EA would stay all day showing multiple potential buyers around) and every potential buyer was aware of the strong interest the house was generating (house was nothing super special but the plot was very desirable).
At the end of the week, everybody had 3-days to submit their offers and although most were considerably over the asking price, there were half a dozen well under and I always wondered what they hoped to gain as it was clearly evident that it was going to sell for more (and it did).
Wasn't just the price, everyone had to be sold and ready to proceed just to get through the door so there was little in it from that point of view.

Maybe where you live. Where I come from, even although places are still being advertised as such, they're certainly not. Friend is a solicitor there.

It usually means "Due to our financial circumstances we can't afford to move if we don't get X"
In many cases it doesn't mean is that the house is worth the price imo. It tends to mean we either need to max out for our move and a lower offer means we stay put. Or we have decided whatever the real value we are not willing to take less than what we have decided we might be able to get for it...
It's still worth offering what it's worth to you as a buyer because eventually some sellers of "offers over" capitulate. But you shouldn't expect that to happen and should just make your best offer and move on if they dont engage in a negotiation.

"Of course there will always be those offering under and I have to wonder if they are serious buyers?"

I think it depends upon the market at the time and that may be correct in a hot market. In any market you get chancers both selling and buying. In today's 2026 market I think buyers are now tending to view "offers over" as not serious sellers. It swings both ways.

No it doesn’t. They might be trying their luck and trying to get more, but many offers over £X houses do end selling for less than £X.

You just have to ignore the wording, offer what you think it’s worth, and see what they say.

It means nothing. Ignore it and only offer what the property is worth to you and no more.

A year or so ago my husband and I offered 407.5k on an 'offers over 415k' house that had been sitting on the market for months with only one (sub-400k) offer. The sellers weren't happy with anything less than 410k and then wanted to mark their house as 'under offer' (ie not sold) to try to create a bidding war! We refused and they came off the market, are now back at offers over 415k with a different estate agent, still unsold...

As you say, 2022 was 'mad' in many areas.
Since then, the property market has cooled markedly in most areas and fallen in many.
Instead of asking yourself whether buyers are serious, perhaps you should be asking whether some sellers are serious, judging by all the reductions in price on Rightmove!

Lots of unrealistic sellers like this.
I had a RM alert for a house that was on the market for a couple of years until maybe 6-12 months ago. Totally over valued so never sold. They have just remarketed it at..... the same price. Crazy!

Our house was advertised at offers over £300k, we bought for £270k. Seller was desperate, house was a complete state so there were no other offers.

To me, offers over suggests an unrealistic seller who thinks they (rather than the market) can determine the value of their house.

I think it’s a stupid concept and doesn’t achieve anything at all. Offer what you want.