First Offer Jitters: Should You Always Refuse The Earliest Bid?

If you feel you could lose thousands of pounds by accepting an offer too quickly, you’re not alone. At the same time, you probably want to find a buyer and move your life forward with as few delays as possible.

Nobody wants their home to sit on the market for months, and nobody wants a parade of viewings that come to nothing, but is it possible to sell too fast?

It's one of the many conundrums of estate agency, and it can be tricky to balance getting you a swift sale with giving you complete confidence that we're looking out for your interests.

Nonetheless, that's what we're here for, so let's explore the following questions that often come up:

• Should you sell to the first viewer?

• Is the first offer ever the highest?

• Do any buyers pay the full asking price?
  
• Does selling fast mean selling low?

• Is every home priced for negotiation?

Spoiler alert: there are no one-size-fits-all answers, and some can depend on your own plans and where you are in the moving process, so let's replace confusion with clarity to help you take your next step. 

SHOULD YOU SELL TO THE FIRST VIEWER? 

Across the UK, the average viewings-to-sale ratio hovers consistently around 15, so it effectively takes 14 misses before scoring a hit, which is consistent with the property market in the Wilton and Salisbury area.

However, what if your first viewer makes an offer? Is that a warning sign, or is it better to ask, “Why WOULDN'T they want to buy your home?” After all, that's the entire point of their visit.

• Imagine if we told buyers that the owner of a home would never sell to the first person to view - we'd find it extremely difficult to get anyone serious through the door.

• Instead, we'd need to make sure that your first viewer is entirely unsuitable with no intention of making an offer - a waste of time for you, them, and us.

• That would also mean breaking our promise to you that we’ll only arrange viewings with buyers who are relevant to your home and timescale.

In short, most homes don’t sell on the first viewing, but there’s no hard and fast rule. If the timing is right, the offer is good, and the buyer fits right in with your plans, you’ve already struck gold.

IS THE FIRST OFFER EVER THE HIGHEST?

On any given day, we Brits don't like bartering. We like to know what something costs with the price displayed prominently and clearly, with our haggling reserved for taxis and trinkets in far-off places.

The exception is buying and selling homes, where something else takes hold: we swap our polite British reserve for a bit of tactical sparring to see who blinks first.

• Buyers can spot a home that's correctly priced and one that's too high, so they’ll offer what they feel is the true value (or stay away until the price comes down).

• Generally speaking, most buyers don’t open with their highest bid, mainly because they’ve been programmed not to by friends, parents, and property advice shows.

• Typically, a buyer will make three offers before walking away, but everyone is different. A good agent should be able to discern whether they’ve reached their limit, or if they can be stretched.

So the very first offer is usually not the highest someone will go, but it really does depend on where they start, how your asking price is structured, and the skills of your agent when handling the initial bid.

DO ANY BUYERS PAY THE FULL ASKING PRICE?

While it’s true that everyone loves a bargain, not every buyer will automatically walk away from their dream home simply because they can't get a discount. It’s more nuanced than that.

• Some buyers either don't want to mess around or aren’t comfortable with negotiating. In both cases, they’ll usually come straight in with an offer at the asking price, or continue their search.

• It’s also true that some buyers, purely out of principle, won’t pay the full price for anything, and many have lost homes they really wanted by sticking to their guns.
  
• If you get more than one offer, your sale price could end up higher than you’d imagined: nothing gets a buyer to increase their offer like multiple bids and the fear of losing out.

In the end, most buyers simply want a home that offers them the future they dream of, and they’ll generally pay whatever it takes to get it, as long as the price makes sense.

DOES SELLING FAST MEAN SELLING LOW?

According to Rightmove, homes that sell within 30 days of hitting the market typically achieve 100% or more of their asking price. They’re also twice as likely to sell as homes that need a price reduction.

So, why does speed equal such a strong result?

• You’ll unquestionably get the most interest in your first month on the market when agents start contacting their list of buyers, and the property portals send out alerts.

• This means you have an early bubble of opportunity that needs to be maximised before enquiries and viewings start to dry up.

• That initial surge of activity generates competition and urgency, the two primary factors that motivate buyers to act fast and pay the most.

It all goes to show that sitting on the market for longer doesn’t lead to a higher price or make buyers think your home is more valuable. The figures and our experience say the exact opposite is true.

IS EVERY HOME PRICED FOR NEGOTIATION?

Think of your asking price as the primary tool that gets you viewings from the buyers you want to attract. Depending on the type of home you own, there are different ways to make this happen:

• In Scotland, the majority of homes are listed with an “Offers over” price. While it’s a rarity in England, that doesn't mean the strategy can’t work south of the border.

• Some prices are set to exploit the meeting point of two price search bands on the property portals, which could mean launching above, at, or below the expected sale price.

• Other prices include a built-in bargaining buffer. This could be down to how an agent has always worked, or perhaps because a home is unusual for its location, with a less predictable reaction.

So not all asking prices share the same strategy, which makes it essential to work with an agent who is open to all approaches to ensure you hit the market in the right way for the best result.

Do you have first offer jitters?

Selling your home is full of questions and uncertainty, but that doesn't mean you can't have a strategy or work to a plan, and your asking price is the starting point.

We'd love to talk to you about the right way to sell your home for the highest price, so call us on 01722 58059 or email us at info@piccoloproperty.co.uk for a chat about your move and how to make it happen.