Making An Offer On A Property

Buying And Selling Houses.

Once you have found the perfect property, you need to decide how much to offer for it. Do you put in a high offer to secure the deal or make a low offer and risk losing your dream home? We are going to take a look at some of the best tactics when buying and selling houses, to ensure you get the perfect property at the best possible price.

Making Offers In 2022

Buying and selling houses is hard enough at the best of times, but during this global pandemic, the housing market has become even trickier to navigate. People are reviewing what they want from their homes and are on the hunt for more space and gardens. It has become a sellers market, where competition for properties is high.

What Is An Acceptable Offer On A Property?

Here are some things to think about when buying and selling houses.

•  Do Your Homework First

• Research the current local house prices and recent sold prices so you know how much similar houses are selling for. You can easily compare estate agents and their performance with our comparison tool. You can also compare estate agent fees and real time statistics.
• Keep a close eye on the property market and be aware how quickly people are buying and selling houses. If they are moving very slowly, and going below the asking price, then you are in a stronger position to put in a lower offer.

Instantly Compare Estate Agents, their fees, service and  performance with real time statistics and figures

•  How Long Has The Property Been On The Market?

If a property has only just been put up for sale, the owners will be unlikely to accept a significantly low offer. On the other hand, if it was listed several months ago, it may have been priced too high and the owners may be more likely to consider accepting an offer under the asking price as a result.

• How Much Interest Has There Been?

Assessing how much interest there has been in the property is another good way of assessing how open sellers will be to an offer. Sellers are more likely to hold out for the full asking price if there have been a lot of viewings. 

• What Is The Current Housing Market Like?

A sellers’ market, which saw during 2021, was characterised by demand exceeding supply, meaning those  selling a property generally had the upper hand. In such cases, you are less likely to have a low offer accepted. By contrast, in a buyer’s market, there are less buyers than there are properties, decreasing the competition for homes. 

If the market is hot, sellers may receive several offers for their property making them unlikely to accept one significantly below their asking price.

From HM Land Registry, Published 13 April 2022, we are told that in England, February data shows, on average, house prices rose by 0.9% since January 2022. The annual price rise of 10.7% takes the average property value to £295,888.

Pay attention to what is happening to house prices locally. If prices are currently seeing strong increases, sellers are more likely to sit tight if they don’t get an offer close to their asking price in the hope that their home is rising in value. If house prices are stagnant or falling, they are more likely to accept an offer. 

• What Do Similar Properties Sell For?

The best way to judge a fair price for a property is to see how much similar properties in the same area have sold for or are currently listed for. If the asking price is significantly higher than these, it gives you a good idea of what to offer.

• When Will A Lower Bid Be More Successful?

When negotiating for a house, keep in mind that the seller is also concerned about getting the price they want. Sometimes the circumstances can be in your favour, making it more likely the seller will accept a bid lower than the asking price. This is especially the case if:

• The property has been on the market for a long time, which suggests they are struggling to sell. Other people will think it is overpriced. 
• You are the only potential buyer and possibly the sellers only hope.
• The asking price was reduced since it was put on the market.
• The seller wants to sell quickly. This might be the case if they are looking to buy a specific house but are caught in a chain, or if they are following a job
• You are in a great position to complete quickly ie: have no chain.
• You have all your finances etc sorted. If you can show you can act quickly, you are a more certain buyer. The seller will be less interested in someone who will take a long time to raise the funds, and could pull out later. 

• Negotiating A Price

• As with all negotiations, start low. It can be a good idea to start around 5% to 10% lower than the asking price
• Sellers often take this into account though and put their house on the market to counter this.
• The agent will normally tell you of any bids that outdo yours, and give you a chance to offer a second or third bid.
• Only offer more than the asking price if you know the seller has already been offered that, or if you are really worried about not getting your once-in-a-lifetime dream home and you think there will be a lot of interest
• Don’t be influenced by other things included with the deal.  Even new or second hand white goods are usually worth very little and it’s often less hassle to sell them with the house than move them.

When buying and selling houses, make life easier for yourself and Compare estate agents and their performance with our comparison tool. You can also compare estate agent fees and real time statistics.