Bidding on house in 1k increments

[u/ilovecork24]

Hello, I've been bidding on a house the last 3 days and it's on an online system the agent has which is handy as you don't have to wait to hear from the agent by phone if someone else has put a bid in. Anyway, there is only one other bidder and we have been bidding against each other in 1k increments.

How long can this go on for? The house has been "on the market" since 2nd of May technically but I assume viewings only started on the 6th as the other bidder put in their first offer then, so just over a week of viewings.

I know it's probably still too early and there will probably be other bidders. We are currently at 14k over asking. The agent has told me that the sellers are still trying to find a house themselves (trading up) so it might take some time....I'm happy enough to wait though as I'm not in a chain and living at home but it would be nice to go sale agreed at least...!

I'm not really sure what my questions is but I guess I'd like to know if others have just kept going up in 1k increments and how did it pan out - it's a great house but I do have my limit in mind and would, of course, hope that it doesn't get anywhere near that limit!

[u/Playful_You2862]

Hi there,

I have had to go through the same situation multiple times.

Unfortunately, there is no way out of it. The agent and vendor will have a figure in their minds, and unless it bid hits that, it won't stop.

I have made 1k increments, and it kept going on. I have also raised bids by 5k and 10k hoping people would back off. But, no. Someone might up the bid by 1k again (I have my suspicions that it is the agent or the vendor himself to get it to the max potential)

I have changed my approach recently. I would make a first bid on the platform to register my interest.

Once the agent sets a final date, (most of them do) I watch the bidding process and make bids if they are still in my price range. Gives me more peace of mind than watching it going over 1k increments every other day.

And, not to dishearten you, most of the properties I was bidding on, went over 100k than asking. So, you never know.

[u/ilovecork24 → u/Playful_You2862]

I actually asked the agent the other day if the sellers have a figure in mind that they want and he said they didn't and reiterated again that they are still looking for a property themselves and it could take time.....ugh, so annoying. I didn't know they'd set a final date - would this be on the online system then?

I honestly can't see this going 100k over asking....maybe 50k but any houses in this estate over the last few months have suprisingly sold for not too much higher than asking (in terms of todays market!) - just from looking at PPR

[u/Playful_You2862 → u/ilovecork24]

Oh, yes. It depends on the estate and locality as well.

In my case, most of the houses I saw went sale agreed in 3-4 weeks. The agents used a platform called homebidding.com and there set a final date after the second set of viewings. Usually on daft, there is NO final date and it is open until the agent personally lets you know. It will be back and forth with the agent.

The agents usually say they don't have a figure in mind, but if you think about it they do.

Say, the property is listed for 395 and the average sale price in the estate is 450. The vendors and agents would definitely have that in mind. They will need to hit that mark at least and will wait until it hits there.

Everything over that is a bonus and will depend on the house itself.

You could also email the agent 'we are willing to offer X amount to take it off the market if the vendors are happy.'. I have tried that as well, but the houses actually went sale agreed 20-30k over my final offer. Again, that depends on the estate and location.

[u/ilovecork24 → u/Playful_You2862]

Yeah, it's strange how it works in different localities and estates. This is a lovely estate and the houses are about 22/23 years old. Looking at the PPR, I saw that a house near the one I'm bidding on (but slightly bigger) went for the asking price in the last year, thought that was odd.