I'd be wary of trying to price too low to create a bidding war in this market.
In a bull market like we had in 2020-2022 people were buying everything with cheap credit so that tactic would work well.
I believe the majority of the market have over extended themselves with cheap rates and now don't have the buffer to borrow more (and banks are lending much less now) and so moving up the ladder to the good/top-end middle tier houses is much harder. There are a handful of people downsizing but these tend to be older people who have very paticular needs and wants which makes their search more difficult anyway.
I did see someone say that the guide price is just that and there to spark interest, but I wouldn't be too pleased to go and offer a 'guide price' of £425K for the agent to say sorry, owners want more like £500K.
I think your point is valid regarding cheap credit did exist however I think I can give a good rebuttal to what you’ve laid out.
Firstly, all that matters is achieving the best price and market conditions are factored into the price be it credit crunches, money gluts or housing supply gluts.
It doesn’t matter what a seller thinks their house is worth or what they need to achieve to make a sale valuable. That’s just an ask.
Will the market support that price?
Bidding wars on correctly priced properties are still happening right this second.
If someone wants to achieve a price of £500k and agents suggests list at £425k and the only offers are just over - well we have found our price from buyers interested enough to view it and give their best offer.
If it’s listed at figure x and getting NO viewings after a few weeks/months Then it is priced too high.
It may then turn out the case that you can’t achieve the price you need to move orrr dreamed of.
This is how some people end up being reluctant landlords for what it’s worth.
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As an aside some recent examples from last 3 weeks in a humdrum northern town
A friend of mine liquidated 3 of 4 houses recently and started price them all low to generate interest after listing only one that got nothing
House 1 (listed for 150k for 6 months)
3 bed semi
Achieved £138k (listed in jan sold in July)
Sold within 4 days of listing
House 2 valued at £115k
3 bed semi that needed decorating in two reception rooms
Listed for £93,000
Sold for £123,000
Cash buyer highest mortgaged offer was £127k
6 final offers made on this - sold within 2 days of listing.
House 3 valued at £150k
Listed at £135k
3 bed semi needed updating through out
Sold for £155k
House 4 valued at £265k
3 bed semi (massive layout) needed work throughout poor condition.
Listed at £269k (in February)
Reduced 3 times
Sold for £242k first time to mortgage buyers and it fell through
Now on the auction block - good luck to him eh
, it's only been on the market for 10 days!!
