Guide price and in excess of

[Grunnah]

Could SKS please explain the difference between 'guide price' and 'in excess of'?

[tridentmorph]

Sure,

"Guide price" is very commonly used in auctions and it is an indication of what the property is expected to reach, this can often be set quite low however to encourage interest before the auction and it shouldn't a surprise to see it go over this figure in the auction room. If use on a private property (open market sale) then basically the seller or agent is looking for an offer around this figure, usually less but hoping the owner is generally hoping for more.

"In Excess Of" means that the owner has given instructions to the selling agent that they will only consider offers over this amount. However as an estate agent is under a legal obligation to pass offers on to the seller (unless an agreement has already been formally made and signed that they don't have to under a certain level - rare as more work for agent) whether higher or lower that the "in excess of" figure, and I have seen sellers take offers below this when they have too.

[Grunnah]

Many thanks, tridentmorph. I haven't been able to get back before as I had computer problems!

[brian]

"Offers over" is a common pricing method in Scotland - and this amount changes considerably under different market conditions, ie, 5%-20% over.

However, under existing conditions, it's worth considering making an offer *below* the offers over price.

A patient seller may easily reject such a lower offer, but there are many people looking to sell faster - and at present, in the areas I'm monitoring, sales are practically at a standstill.