Buying a house - How much to offer!

The point is, it is still happening! People think "imagine having bought in the boom! I feel so sorry for them". But people are still paying way too much - just because it's half what it was, doesn't mean it won't be half again in 18 months. And if you pay 100K too much - that is nothing short of tragic for the average worker. I really can't believe that at least one subscriber thinks it's fine to pay too much once you're not going to sell untill 2020. I wonder is that subscriber an EA by any chance!
 
The house is worth what someone is willing to pay for it. If the house is on the market at 500k and you are only willing to pay 250k, you cant complain if someone gets it for 400k. Nor can they complain if the value drops in 12 months time. Everyone knows the market is allover the place. Things are uncertain. Maybe you are not ready to buy? Or just put in a low offer and keep increasing it if it gets refused?
 
The point is, it is still happening! People think "imagine having bought in the boom! I feel so sorry for them". But people are still paying way too much - just because it's half what it was, doesn't mean it won't be half again in 18 months. And if you pay 100K too much - that is nothing short of tragic for the average worker. I really can't believe that at least one subscriber thinks it's fine to pay too much once you're not going to sell untill 2020. I wonder is that subscriber an EA by any chance!

An EA would probably say that in 18 months the house might well be worth more than it is now, but we won't know if your shot in the dark is any more accurate than that.
 
The point is, it is still happening! People think "imagine having bought in the boom! I feel so sorry for them". But people are still paying way too much - just because it's half what it was, doesn't mean it won't be half again in 18 months. And if you pay 100K too much - that is nothing short of tragic for the average worker. I really can't believe that at least one subscriber thinks it's fine to pay too much once you're not going to sell untill 2020. I wonder is that subscriber an EA by any chance!

What in comes down to is that you are trying to predict the bottom of the market so as to make the maximum profit when selling. This is very difficult. Not everyone buys a property in order to make a profit when selling it, may sound naive to you but its true. A lot of people have families and are trying to make a home for their families. They are not thinking about what the value of the house will be when they sell it as they may not have ever any intention of selling it. Its obviously great if the value of your property is increasing but in reality it doesnt matter as that increase means nothing unless it was purely an investment property.

As a previous poster said, a house is worth what somone is willing to pay for it. If you purchase a house and can't live with the fact that the house may drop in value then purchasing may not be for you. You should probably stay away from buying shares as well.
 
"A house is worth what you are willing to pay for it". That kind of thinking is exactly what had people people in South Dublin paying 500K for a 1 bed apartment (now worth 180K) and 750K for a 2 bed(now worth 250K). Talk to the unfortunate people who are at their wits end trying to copy with a huge mortgage and praying that interest rates won''t rise. Tell them it was "worth it".

The people of Ireland must never again pay too much because that is what caused teh horror of negative equity in so many lives.

If you heard someone say "I paid 50K for a Ford Focus and it was worth it because I was willing to pay it" you'd suggest that they see a psychiatrist.
 
It depends on an individual's circumstances.

The "speculation" side of things is more significant for some people relative to others.

For someone buying their first home with a view to trading up in the short to medium term, a further decline in the market might be problematic. Of course, it might not be if negative equity isn't a problem as the house they'll be trading up to may have declined by a larger monetary amount.

For someone buying their family home where they see themselves longterm, they mightn't be as bothered by any further decline in the market.

I'd still be of the view that trying to call the bottom of the market is a mugs game.
 
"A house is worth what you are willing to pay for it". That kind of thinking is exactly what had people people in South Dublin paying 500K for a 1 bed apartment (now worth 180K) and 750K for a 2 bed(now worth 250K). Talk to the unfortunate people who are at their wits end trying to copy with a huge mortgage and praying that interest rates won''t rise. Tell them it was "worth it".

The people of Ireland must never again pay too much because that is what caused teh horror of negative equity in so many lives.

If you heard someone say "I paid 50K for a Ford Focus and it was worth it because I was willing to pay it" you'd suggest that they see a psychiatrist.

The quote was 'a house is worth what someone is willing to pay for it' - this will always hold true whether we are in a boom or as at the moment in a recession.
Quoting figures of people who are in huge negative equity doesn't prove your argument, all that shows is that prices were massively over-inflated which we are all aware of now.

Your original question was how much of a reduction should one seek when putting in an offer and what it comes back to is 'what do you think its worth'. If you think its only worth half the asking price then bid that.
 
I have been thinking of buying in lucan - there's a huge amount of sale agreed in the area and i have been told by EA that properties are going for pretty much the asking price. I find this hard to believe but there is definitely some activity going on - maybe because it's in one of the more affordable areas? some houses have only been on the market for a week or two and are sale agreed already. are these people buying just mad? are prices really going to drop by another 50%?
 
how does that explain properties being snapped up? 2 properties that I have viewed are already sale agreed within 2 weeks.
 
I was looking at houses in 2006 and they cost €230k.. the cheapest half-decent houses in town.

Last year I decided to buy one. one was listed at €169k, another at €179k.
I made offers of €130k on both and it was accepted on the house for €169k.

Now the house which was selling for €179k is listed for €110k. Not a bad deal! i wonder how low they will go.
 
how does that explain properties being snapped up? 2 properties that I have viewed are already sale agreed within 2 weeks.
How do you know they are sale agreed? Are you just taking an EA word for it? It's easy to put up a notice saying Sale Agreed on a place that is not selling if you're trying to sell similar properties in that area.
 
The fact that a house is "Sale Agreed" means nothing since most "Sale Agreed's" fall through. If you look at the Property Pin site, you'll see houses that have been Sale Agreed 5 or 6 times and still aren't sold.

It's dog-eat-dog out there because a sale to an EA is like a glass of iced water when you're dying of thirst!

What some buyers are doing is giving a booking deposit (knowing that the EA must return it if the sale does not go through. They then stall and delay for months, then tell the EA that the bank have reduced the availlable loan by, say 50k - so the price has to drop. By that stage, the seller has become desperate and says to hell with it and sells at the new lower price just to get shut of it!

EA's aren't the only ones up to tricks!
 
The fact that a house is "Sale Agreed" means nothing since most "Sale Agreed's" fall through. If you look at the Property Pin site, you'll see houses that have been Sale Agreed 5 or 6 times and still aren't sold.

It's dog-eat-dog out there because a sale to an EA is like a glass of iced water when you're dying of thirst!

What some buyers are doing is giving a booking deposit (knowing that the EA must return it if the sale does not go through. They then stall and delay for months, then tell the EA that the bank have reduced the availlable loan by, say 50k - so the price has to drop. By that stage, the seller has become desperate and says to hell with it and sells at the new lower price just to get shut of it!

EA's aren't the only ones up to tricks!

A vendor will only want shut of a property if they afford to accept the purchase price. If I bought for 500k in 2006 and you offer 250k today I can't accept because I will then be homeless and still have a 200k debt in my name.
If you were to offer a lower than market price and a vendor was to accept it, the EA should make it conditional on signing contracts within 4 weeks of deposit payment. Because of 'tricks' or underhand tactics being used properties are generally left on the market until the contract is signed.
 
Is 4 weeks interval between Sale Agreed and signed contracts regarded as being as quick as it gets?
 
Is 4 weeks interval between Sale Agreed and signed contracts regarded as being as quick as it gets?

Purchasers solicitor has to look at contract and any grey areas have to be ironed out (contents included etc) and by the time both parties are happy with everything that is in writing then 3-4 weeks is a good time.
 
"A house is worth what you are willing to pay for it". That kind of thinking is exactly what had people people in South Dublin paying 500K for a 1 bed apartment (now worth 180K) and 750K for a 2 bed(now worth 250K). Talk to the unfortunate people who are at their wits end trying to copy with a huge mortgage and praying that interest rates won''t rise. Tell them it was "worth it".

Well then why did they pay it? It reminds me of when I get outbid on Ebay by someone who pays over the odds, they must have thought it was worth it at the time. I’ve been looking at buying a property in Dublin for nearly five years but couldn’t justify the cost. Interest rates are at the bottom of the cycle, praying they won’t rise ignores the reality that they must.
 
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