House offer calculator
Turn sold prices, time on market and works into an offer number.
A negotiation aid, not a valuation — the comparables carry the weight, so use genuinely similar homes sold recently nearby (right now this is anchored on the asking price alone, which is weak evidence). Your surveyor and solicitor are the professionals.
An offer is a number backed by evidence, and the evidence is mostly free. Start with sold prices — what similar homes nearby actually fetched, not what they were listed at — and adjust for what this one has or lacks. Layer on the market signals: how long it has been listed (a home fresh to market at a fair price rarely moves much; one sitting 10+ weeks or already reduced usually will), whether the asking price was set to invite offers or to flatter the seller, and how the local market is moving right now.
Then price the property’s specifics in pounds rather than adjectives. A survey-flagged roof, a 15-year-old boiler, a dated kitchen, a short lease, a flood-risk insurance premium — each converts to a number, and numbers travel: “the three comparable sales on this road averaged £287,000 and this one needs £15,000 of work” obliges the agent to carry something concrete back to the seller. “It feels overpriced” obliges nobody.
On average UK homes sell a few per cent below asking, but the average hides everything useful: correctly priced homes in demand sell at or above asking, while overpriced or long-listed stock goes 5–10% under. So anchor on the evidence, not on a formulaic discount — and decide your walk-away number before the first offer, because everything in the process afterwards (sunk survey fees, emotional attachment, agent pressure) is designed to move it. Your position matters too: chain-free buyers and those with agreements in principle can reasonably ask for more discount than they otherwise would, because certainty is worth money to sellers.
Common questions
How much below asking price should I offer?
There is no standard discount — evidence sets the number. UK homes sell on average a few per cent below asking, but a well-priced home in demand may need the full figure (or more), while one listed for 10+ weeks or already reduced can justify 5–10% below. Sold prices for comparable homes are the anchor; the asking price is just the seller’s opening position.
Will a low offer offend the seller?
A low offer with reasons is negotiation; a low offer without them is noise. Presenting evidence — comparable sold prices, quoted works from a survey, time on market — keeps a 10% under-asking offer in the conversation. Expect a counter; a rejected first offer that starts a dialogue has done its job.
What makes my offer stronger without offering more money?
Certainty. Chain-free (first-time buyer or sold-subject-to-contract), an agreement in principle in hand, deposit evidenced, a solicitor already instructed, flexibility on dates. Sellers routinely take a slightly lower offer from a proceedable buyer over a higher one from someone who hasn’t sold — your circumstances are part of the price.
Should I renegotiate after a bad survey?
If the survey reveals costed problems you couldn’t have seen — yes, it is normal and expected. Get contractor quotes, share the relevant survey pages, and ask for a reduction reflecting the genuine cost, not the shock. Renegotiating over things visible at the viewing, though, burns goodwill you may need later in the chain.
Numbers are half the story. Check the home itself.
One search pulls the official record on any address in England & Wales — value, flood risk, schools, noise and more, scored 0–100.