Offering on an overpriced house

[RockAndAnOverpricedPlace]

How would you word it, being mindful of not insulting the seller but presenting yourself as a serious buyer.

We've found two properties that we like but both were bought in the height of covid/low interest rates/stamp duty holiday. Both have been reduced since listing but they are still circa 10% increase since last sold. Neither have been updated except for a change of paint in a couple of rooms.

We have had to take a hit on our own sale and it took a fair bit of reminding ourselves that it's the market and the price is dictated by what people are willing to buy but it doesn't seem to be translating up the property ladder for onwards purchases.

How can we word an offer that doesn't insult the seller?

Surely you just contact the EA with your offer. No explanation is necessary. It'll either be accepted or declined, which will depend on a number of factors.
How long they have been on the market, whether they already have other offers on the table, how motivated they are to sell ( some vendors haven't yet found their onward purchase and won't be in a hurry to accept an offer if they feel it is too low) . Others will be in a hurry because they've found the home they want and need to be in a position to proceed. Lots of variables.

I wouldn't just give your offer to the EA. You want to sell your offer to the EA so that they will recommend it to their client. You can do lots of things to help such as providing proof of funds, conveyancer ready to go and be instructed upon acceptance, timelines you can work to, etc. I'd add something like "I understand that my best offer is less than your client is hoping for and accept that it may be inadequate at this time."

Make it clear that this is your best offer. You wont be negotiating further.

Good luck!

Our offers which were under asking price came with some kind of explanation as to why, I assume the estate agent asked for it but I certainly wasn’t expecting it. But yeah you don’t have to. We did accept one anyway!

Neither have been updated except for a change of paint in a couple of rooms

how do you know, a lot of work and maintenance isn't the obvious pretty things you see.

We had new roof put on the extensions, a black roof replaced a black roof so it looks pretty much identical but it took care of the leak (which wasn't obvious in the previous listing photos). We also damp proofed to take care of the damp that also wasn't obvious until after we moved in. We redid the render to stop penetrating damp too. We replaced the subfloor of the extention as a link in the kitchen waste pipe rotted through the floor. We had a new consumer unit added and upped the electrical capacity of the house. We have fixed the leaking heating system which broke not long after moving in too. Non of it you would notice.

Honestly some of the most visual stuff we did was by far the cheapest diy stuff.

I would imagine the agent would have waxed lyrical about all of these invisible changes to make sure buyers are aware.
ive certainly always been told if there’s a new boiler, damp proof membrane or similar. often it’s also in the description.

How many other offers have they had?

Offered below asking but slightly above what the vendors bought it for. Offer was also above the last sold price on the street (April2026). It's been on the market 16 weeks with no offers. We are chain free (living with family) and have a 20% deposit.

Vendors rejected with a terse response via the estate agent. They are looking for offers only above the asking price.

Disappointed but not dismayed. We'd accepted some compromises when we offered and it wasn't a dream house (although I don't think we'll ever find that). We aren't prepared to pay asking price - it's overpriced as it is- but we are in a good position to offer on another property when it gets listed (or it least it feels like we should be). Back to the drawing board.

The Estate Agent might push for you still …as Xmas beckons maybe there will be a counter … hopefully the drawing board is busy in January

House buying sucks. We also got rejected after we put in an offer on an over priced house. Same estate and similar house sold for the price we offered on house number one. House two was completely renovated with beautiful gardens, new boiler, freshly decorated with bee floors and windows etc whilst house one had original 30 year old heating and hot water system, wooden windows that needed replacing and 2 of the 3 bathrooms were so old and not fit fit purpose (and looked grim). The whole place needed new floors too. But he still wanted offers over his price which was 20k more than the better house was on for (and sold immediately).

It’s still on now and we’ve lost our buyer and back on the market so maybe we’ll give him a nudge if we get another offer.

Responding to this reply because it missed entirely the point being made, although perhaps my OP was poorly worded.

The property is marketed above the ceiling for the road it's on. We could afford to pay asking and above but aren't prepared to. We've made an offer that is reflective of what other properties have sold for and what we deem it to be worth (plus a small percentage to bring it above what the seller paid for it, to show willing). The bottom line is that what we've offered is what we are prepared to pay for it.

The seller has rejected which is entirely their right. We aren't happy to pay over the odds for it in this market so we won't meet the seller's counter. We are ok with that, even if we do think it's a bit short sighted on the sellers behalf.

Yes you have done well not to go back and up your offer.
You really do not want to end up in negative equity as prices are dropping.

You just need to sit tight until the vendors slowly come to realise they are not likely to get what they want.

Depending where you are, house prices are falling and you really don't want to buy at a higher value than it's worth.

You can of course discuss the reasons for your offer with the EA and leave it to them to persuade the buyers to eat your hand off.

But they haven’t, hence the house is still on sale N months after listing.

Routine maintenance doesn’t increase the value of your house. It might make it easier / quicker to sell, and avoid people trying to knock you down after a survey.

Relax, they'll be back with their tails between their legs soon. Most sellers eventually return cap in hand.

yes, exactly. It would be a pretty shit estate agent that didn't highlight things like 'brand new roof' etc.

"Terse response" made me laugh, they sound like the type of seller that chases the market down and gets much less for their house than they could have.

We wrote a note saying that we’d looked at similar properties and the amount of work that needed doing to the house and could offer this amount with that taken into consideration. But it has been on the market for 2 years and we offered £70k below asking price (it was up for £550k) so a reduction of 14%.

On the market for two years means the seller is just completely out of touch with economic reality.

On the market for two years means the seller is just completely out of touch with economic reality.