How much to offer on a house (and how much below asking is reasonable)
There is no standard percentage to offer below the asking price. Any figure you have heard treats a home priced accurately and a home priced ambitiously the same way, which is exactly backwards. The useful question is not “how far below asking?” but “what does the evidence support?”, and that evidence is what similar homes nearby sold for and what the current competition is asking. Set your offer relative to that range, and the asking price becomes what it really is: the seller’s opening position.
Why anchoring on the asking price loses you money
If you decide your offer as a discount from the asking price, the seller sets your range. A home listed well above its comparables can absorb a confident-sounding discount and still be expensive; a fairly priced home can be lost over a discount that was never realistic. Sellers and agents know buyers think in percentages off asking, and pricing high to be negotiated down is the oldest trick in the book precisely because it works.
Start from the evidence, not the asking price
- Find what similar homes actually sold for. Recent sales of the same property type, similar size, in the immediate area. Compare per square foot where you can, so size differences do not mislead you; our guide to price per square foot explains how.
- Look at the live competition. What are similar homes for sale nearby asking right now? Sold prices lag the market; asking prices show what your target is competing with for buyers this month. The gap between the two is covered in asking price vs sold price.
- Place the asking price in that range. If it is below most comparables it may already be keen; around the middle it is in line with its market; above most of them the seller is asking you to fund a premium. Perch’s price checker does this placement for you.
- Adjust for what data cannot see. Condition, a done loft, outside space, parking, lease length on a flat. These justify real premiums and discounts; name them explicitly in your own reckoning rather than feeling them vaguely.
When offering below asking makes sense
- The price sits above its comparables and you can say so specifically.
- The home has been on the market a while, has had a price cut, or has been relisted. The market has already pushed back once.
- Similar homes nearby are asking less, because the seller’s alternative to your offer is competing with them for the next buyer too.
- You bring certainty: chain-free, mortgage agreement in principle, flexible dates. Certainty is worth money to a seller and it is fair to price it into your offer.
When homes go for asking or over
A home priced at or under its comparables in an area with active buyers can go to best and final offers quickly. If the evidence says the price is fair and the agent reports real interest, chasing a discount is how you lose a home you wanted over a sum that will look small in ten years. The point of doing the comparison is not to always offer less; it is to know which game you are playing before you play it.
Making the offer credible
Put the reasoning in the offer. A number with evidence attached is harder to dismiss and gives the agent something concrete to relay: what sold nearby, what the competition asks, what the home would need spent on it. State your position (deposit, mortgage in principle, chain status, timing) at the same time. Then decide your walk-away number before the negotiation starts, because the worst decisions are made mid-negotiation by people who never set one.
See every price cut in your search, automatically
Offers get easier when you know the market. Perch watches every listing in your search daily, flags price cuts and new instructions, and places each home against its local sold and asking context. It is free, and currently in early access for London.
Common questions
How much below the asking price should I offer?
There is no standard percentage, and any rule of thumb you read is being applied to homes priced accurately and homes priced ambitiously alike. Build a range from similar recent sales and current asking prices nearby, then set your offer relative to that evidence, not relative to the asking price. Against a fairly priced home that may mean offering close to asking; against an ambitious one it may mean well below.
Is a low offer insulting?
An unexplained low offer can be read that way. A low offer with reasoning attached, such as what comparable homes sold for and what the current competition is asking, is a negotiating position. Agents pass on every offer they receive, and a documented offer gives the agent something concrete to discuss with the seller.
When should I offer the asking price or more?
When the evidence says the home is priced at or below its comparables and there are other interested buyers. In that situation the asking price is not a ceiling, and trying to win a discount can cost you the home. The data tells you whether you are in that situation before the agent does.
Does being chain-free or mortgage-ready change what I should offer?
It changes what your offer is worth to the seller rather than what the home is worth. A chain-free buyer with an agreement in principle and a flexible completion date can often succeed with a lower number than a buyer in a long chain, because certainty has value. State those advantages when you offer.
Should my first offer be my best offer?
Usually not, but it should be a serious one. A first offer far below any defensible number invites a refusal without a counter. Starting at the bottom of the range the evidence supports leaves room to move while still being a number the seller has to think about.
Related: is this house overpriced? and area market pages for sold and asking prices across a whole neighbourhood.