What Does Offers In Excess Of (OIEO) Mean?

If you’ve spent any time looking into the housing market, you’ll have seen a fair few acronyms and initialisms flying around. OIEO is one of the most common, but it’s often misinterpreted or misunderstood.

That’s why we’re here to set the story straight so you can sell your house in the right way at the right price—if you’re worried about putting buyers off or your house taking ages to sell, this is the guide for you.

Table of Contents

• What does OIEO mean?

• When and why to ask for OIEO

• Can buyers offer under OIEO?

• Alternative ways to sell your house quickly

• Frequently asked questions

What does OIEO mean?

In property, OIEO stands for ‘offers in excess of’ and can be applied to a house for sale when the seller wants to get more money than the stated price from a prospective buyer.

If you are the seller of a house, attaching OIEO to its listing provides a clear indication to buyers that you are unwilling to enter negotiations with them. It deters people from submitting offers under what would ordinarily be your asking price, as it strongly suggests you’ll only accept offers above the price at which it’s listed.

‘Offers over’ versus ‘offers in excess of’

You might have seen some houses with OIEO on the listings, but others asking for ‘offers over’ elsewhere. The good news is it’s not another term you need to get your head around to sell your house—they both mean the same thing.

When and why to ask for OIEO

If you’re thinking of selling, here are some of the main reasons why you might add OIEO to your house listing:

1. You have a definite figure in mind to fund an onward purchase

2. You want to offset estate agent and legal fees

3. You don’t want to entertain the idea of tedious negotiations

4. You want to encourage a bidding war between prospective buyers

5. You want to advertise under the market value to attract interest

6. You haven’t been able to agree on a price with estate agents

Every house sale is different as there are many factors that contribute to how much your house is worth at any one time. The reasons outlined above are amongst the most common in the UK, but there’s no one-size-fits-all solution for selling a house—even on the same street, OIEO might work for one house, but not the one next door, so you should always keep on top of your research and change tack as and when the market changes.

Consider both what you want and what you need for the house before you decide on a price at which to advertise it. Higher sale prices on the open market will mean higher fees, of course, so your OIEO price will need to be higher from the get-go.

For many people, the crux of it comes down to speed vs value—is it more important to sell quickly for a lower price or wait it out for a higher price?

Can buyers offer under OIEO?

Yes, there are no legal restrictions on making bids on a house when the seller asks for OIEO on the listing—this term is no more than a guide to let buyers know what your wishes are as a seller.

Buyers can offer what they want for your property, but, if you use OIEO, they should do so with the understanding that they’ll probably fall at the first housing hurdle. Cheeky offers still happen even if you say they’re not welcome with OIEO, so it’s important to be prepared to encounter many different types of buyers when it comes to selling your house.

Alternative ways to sell your house quickly

Of course, you don’t have to put your house on the open market at all—there are other ways to sell it to less demanding buyers.

One way to do this is to sell it via a professional auction service. It’s quite a common way to sell a property quickly without all the admin that comes with enlisting estate agents and organising viewings on the open market. It does come with its risks in terms of final sale price, but OIEO can still be used to encourage competition amongst bidders.

Read more: How to sell a house at auction

You also have the option to sell your house to cash buyers like The Property Buying Company. This way, you can avoid all the hassle of negotiations (or telling people you don’t want to negotiate) and all the unnecessary costs involved with estate agents.

Here’s a breakdown of your selling options so you can weigh them up for yourself:

Frequently Asked Questions