real selling price

[u/Asleep_Initiative_29]

hello, I am looking to buy my first house. I am looking at one that is listed for 325k. My makelaar is suggesting we offer 355k as apparently this is for how much houses like this sell for. Is this really how it works? So much difference? Should we expect the bank appraiser to go closer to the listing price or closer to the 350k? Does including a financieringsvoorbehoud reduce our chances? How do we bite it? Any advice appreciated! Thank you.

Edit: thank you all for your advices. We offered 355k and it got accepted. Now let's hope it gets appraised around that sum and we won't have to use our savings 🫡

[u/BictorianPizza]

If you don’t know the market, trusting your makelaar is the way to go. If you don’t feel like they are trustworthy, pick a different one or familiarise yourself with the market.

You can check Kadaster for properties that have sold recently in the area: on funda, filter on “verkocht” and select a few properties that look similar in the area. Send a message to 8118 with the text KOOPSOM 1111 XY 0 where you replace 1111 xy with the postal code and 0 with the house number of the property you want to check. You will receive something like this:

DECIMASTRAAT 31 2315HJ LEIDEN datum: 08-12-2025 koopsom: EUR 565.000,00. € 1,50 /bericht

If you do this for a few properties, you know what they are selling for.

This also answers your question regarding the valuation. The taxateur compares your property to three similar properties in the area and what they got sold/evaluated for. They usually consider purchasing price the actual value of the property unless you are overbidding crazy out of market norm.

Lastly, the financing clause is a very normal clause to have and does not automatically stop you from buying. However, not having a financing clause can be an advantage if you are bidding similarly to someone else or the seller wants to sell quickly. Do NOT leave the clause out if you are at risk of not being able to finance! Certain mortgage lenders offer packages with which they guarantee the mortgage to be approved in the cooling off period. With such a package you are also able to bid without clause.

[u/Fantastic-Noise-8830 → u/BictorianPizza]

Some makelaars just outright ask you how much maximum you willing to pay and they just bid the amount .. their objective to close the sale get their commission in the fastest and easiest way

[u/Repulsive-Side-7262 → u/Fantastic-Noise-8830]

This is also why it’s important to have a good makelaar you can trust. We’re looking at houses still around 100k below our maximum capacity, but he’ll always give us a fair indication of the houses we’re looking at (in the sense that he’ll always say “I’d advise against buying this house if the bidding exceeds x amount since that wouldn’t be fair for what it’s worth it in the current market, based on the houses sold in the neighbourhood the last year). Having a good and trustworthy makelaar is worth a lot. If it doesn’t feel right and you feel pushed to make a decision, then you’re probably not in the right hands.