The Rise of the Cheeky Offer (& Why You Shouldn't Be Offended)

Back in May, I received an offer on a property I'm selling. It came in exactly 18% below asking price, and it came with a message that was hard to misread: take it or leave it.

A decade ago, that offer would have felt like an insult. Today, it's simply how the market talks.

At the same time, I'm on the other side of exactly this dynamic with a client who's building a buy-to-let portfolio. Every offer we're putting in is structured the same way — firm, final, no room for a drawn-out back-and-forth. And it's working. We're winning properties precisely because sellers know there's no theatre involved: this is the number, here's why, take it or don't.

Two sides of the same coin, and it tells you something important about where the market actually is right now.

Why "cheeky" isn't cheeky anymore

I was reading a recent piece in The Times on exactly this shift, and the numbers back up what I'm seeing on the ground. In July 2026, roughly a third of offers in England and Wales came in at least 10% below asking, and nearly one in ten went in at 20% under guide price or more — all higher than the year before.

The definition of "cheeky" has moved. What used to mean anything more than 5% below asking is now closer to 10–15% as a starting point. Buyers aren't hesitating, and increasingly, they're not apologising for it either.

Estate agents are noticing the same pattern from the seller side. One agent I read about put it plainly: this is the longest, most stubborn slump he's seen in 35 years of selling — longer than 2008, longer than Brexit. It's the duration that's changing seller psychology, not just the discount itself.

Why sellers are starting to listen

A few things are driving this, and they line up with what I'm seeing across my own listings and negotiations:

Time on market softens resolve. A property that's been sitting for six months or more finds a seller far more open to a serious lowball than one that just launched. Motivation, more than anything else, is what makes a cheeky offer land.

Flats are the softest spot. Nearly a quarter of flats in England and Wales have sold at a loss since the start of 2026 — the same level seen during the 2010 financial crisis. High service charges, leasehold uncertainty, and cladding costs are doing real damage to buyer appetite, and that shows up directly in negotiating power.

Long-term owners have room to move. If someone bought years ago, they're likely sitting on enough equity that a discount barely dents the outcome. Downsizers with a big gap between what they paid and what the home is worth now have far more flexibility than someone who bought recently and needs every pound of the sale to fund their next purchase.

Certainty is currency. Sellers today want four things: price, speed, simplicity, and certainty. If your offer can genuinely deliver three of the four — a ready solicitor, a survey booked, no chain — you have real leverage to push on the fourth.

The right way to be cheeky

Here's where I'd push back gently on the word "cheeky" itself. A successful low offer isn't a shot in the dark — it's built on evidence. How long the property has actually been on the market, how many reductions it's already had, comparable sales nearby. Walk into a negotiation without that homework and you're not being bold, you're just guessing.

And it isn't appropriate everywhere. Prices have moved very differently street by street and postcode by postcode over the last decade — some areas are still up, some are down sharply. A 15% cheeky offer on a property that's already fairly priced, or in an area that's held its value, won't get you anywhere. It'll just cost you credibility with the agent next time round.

This is exactly the discipline I bring to my BTL client's bidding strategy: every offer is grounded in comparables, in how long the property has sat, in what we know about the seller's position. The "take it or leave it" framing works because it's backed by evidence, not because it's aggressive for its own sake.

What this means if you're selling

If you're a seller right now, my advice is the same one I gave the seller when that 18%-below offer landed on my desk: don't take it personally, and don't dismiss it out of hand either. Right now, a serious offer — even a low one — is a sign somebody genuinely wants your property. That's worth something in a market where a huge share of listings never sell at all.

The conversation is the opportunity. A well-reasoned lowball offer, delivered with the right tone rather than an ultimatum, can be the start of a negotiation rather than the end of one. The sellers who are doing well right now are the ones willing to have that conversation early, rather than holding out for a full-price buyer who, in this market, may simply not exist.

And if you're buying — know your numbers, know the seller's position as best you can, and don't be afraid to lead with your real number. The days of easing in gently with three escalating offers are largely over. One firm, well-evidenced offer, delivered with respect, is often more effective than a negotiation stretched out over months.

And if you need advice that's grounded in evidence rather than wishful thinking, you can reach out. Not only am I an independent agent, I'm also one who can be honest with you — about what your property is really worth, what a buyer's offer really means, and when it's worth taking.