Defensive offer, or have house prices become so expensive?

No, every house has to be put on the internet if you want to maximize the selling price. But it’s very public and some people prefer to keep it discreet. (I know of a divorce case in my circle of acquaintances.)

On the portals, basically only what cannot be sold within a very short time remains. Here, you get flooded with inquiries if a house is online for only half a day. That’s why they go offline again immediately.

We had several interested parties for our house in our circle of acquaintances and decided not to sell it to acquaintances.

They almost see it as a given that they get the approval if they like the house and that there is still room to negotiate the price. And if they don’t like it or the price doesn’t fit? Then you are allowed to continue looking for buyers.

We therefore applied the “equal rights for all” principle. We listed our top well-maintained house online and sent the link to the advertisement to acquaintances. And now guess how many contacted us after they saw our market-appropriate price expectation ;)

In rural areas, it is also worthwhile to contact the local savings bank. Many properties (for example, those where inheritance communities do not want to bother or older people who do not want to deal with the sale) are handled through their agents.

In rural areas, it is also worth contacting the local savings bank. Many properties (for example, those where inheritance communities do not want to bother or from older people who don’t want to endure the sale) go through their brokers.

Exactly. And these savings bank brokers post absolutely lousy listings online, mostly with completely inadequate information but hugely overpriced and with the maximum commission (2 * 3.57%). When I once responded to such a listing, I immediately asked if they sometimes had off-market properties. Answer: "No, we put everything online."

Scout-ID 13null73eins76eins is such an example. An ancient house from 1947, reasonably renovated many decades ago, but for €8600/m². It has been hanging there for months.

Well, Düsseldorf is now also not a cheap area.
In Eller, the standard land values are already around or above €1000, with market prices certainly significantly higher.
That means it's basically a demolition site, but something nice can definitely be built on 457m².

But it's true, there are simply an incredible number of bad real estate agents. The only bright spot I've ever come across was actually employed at the Sparkasse. Overall, it's just a catastrophic industry.

Well, Düsseldorf is not exactly cheap either. In Eller, the standard land values are already around or above €1000, with market prices surely significantly higher. That means this is basically a demolition site; something nice can certainly be built on 457m².

Not quite. The standard land value is only €790/m², so for the plot around €360k, minus demolition costs €330k. Actually, further deductions would have to be made, since a (clearly visible) high-voltage line runs just 100 m past the property and the surrounding multi-story apartment buildings look directly into the garden. But be that as it may: the demanded, tight doubling compared to the standard land value minus demolition costs is even too much for the building speculators. The long presence on Immoscout shows what’s going on. I often experience this excessive overpricing with bank listings.

Some people just have patience. We also looked at a house - even twice - that had been listed for almost half a year. 1300 sqm plot, garage + carport, huge basement, nice upper floor, fully basemented. But unfortunately a bungalow from 1970 that was clumsily extended in the 90s. Accordingly, the ground floor is too dark and awkwardly laid out, with rather wildly patched electrical wiring. With 230 sqm living space, it’s too big for 3 people, but dividing it into 2 apartments doesn’t really make sense since the lower part is too dark. Winter service for almost 60 m of sidewalk. Overall moderately maintained and much to renovate. For that, almost €500,000 in Immendingen-Hattingen was too much. The highlight of the whole story was that the seller - who listed it as well maintained - even exceeded my renovation estimate with his estimate of €200,000... But eventually it was gone. Surely a retiree from Stuttgart who has the necessary cash or someone who massively underestimated the renovation found it...

And if you’re a professional, the long listing time doesn’t bother you much either.