Only 3 viewers in 1st week [sadface]

[mumblechum1]

I keep reading that houses are being snapped up so maybe my expectations were too high.

So it went on the market on 7th June. The agents have taken 3 people round, the first wanted to do too much work (extending kitchen) for it to be affordable, the second is new to the area and wants to explore a bit more first, the second didn't respond to the agent's voicemail asking for feedback.

So yesterday we dropped the price by £100k and according to Zoopla the number of page views is still dropping.

Am I being too impatient or should I be panicking? We can afford to drop another £75k but no more.

[mumblechum1]

Hmm, stuck with them for 12 weeks, otherwise I would be changing :-(

[mumblechum1]

the £100k is only about 7% btw.

[voiceofgodot]

OP - I don't know whereabouts you are, but I'm in a part of London which has been utterly bonkers in terms of frenetic and frenzied buying over the past 18 months. Prices have gone up by over 50% in two years. Houses were being put on the market, agents offering an hour's 'open house' viewing two weeks later, and being deluged by 50 buyers all desperately outbidding each other for the property.

However...

I am in the process of putting our house on the market. All the agents I have spoken to have said that the market is cooling down noticeably. Agents are starting to revert back to traditional methods of offering viewings when it suits the buyer rather than in a one off slot which clearly suits the vendor. I've been told prices aren't dropping but there are far fewer people phoning to register interest, and that although houses are still going under offer, it's taking a bit longer.

I've been told to try a price and leave it there for 4 weeks - if no luck then reconsider. My research tells me that the new mortgage regulations are having a massive knock-on effect on the housing market and has really slowed things down. The agents are telling me that people are no longer panicked about having to buy the first thing they see, because more properties are coming on the market and they can afford to shop around a bit more.

Talk to your agent and see what they say. Are they surprised there has been such little interest thus far?

[voiceofgodot]

Do you think it was overpriced then? It's very soon to have dropped the price! Are you in a real hurry?

[HamAndPlaques]

Things have slowed dramatically in our area of SE London.

[mumblechum1]

Thanks VoG, I don't think it was massively overpriced, similar properties in the village are priced at anything from £1.7 to £1.2 and we were towards the bottom of that spectrum as it is in need of an exterior facelift but nice inside.

We do want to just get shifted now, don't want to have it sitting getting stale for months on end. The Agent hasn't got back to me since last week, he reduced the price on the basis of a message I left yesterday but hasn't spoken to me in person. I emailed him today to ask him to contact all 3 of the viewers to let them know it's been reduced but he hasn't responded.

[donteatthehedgehogs]

7th June isn't very long, even in a busy market. Do you live in a commuter town or somewhere with a high turnover of property?

[jeee]

For those of us with normal lower valued houses it's actually difficult to imagine that there can be problems having a property worth as much as yours.

But if I was commenting on a house worth, for example, £125K, I'd suggest that if you're not getting the viewers that you would expect it's probable that the house is overpriced. Yes, you need to ask estate agents what you can expect, but you also need to be realistic about the value of your house..... I know pretty much what the selling price of my house would be, and would ignore any estate agent who gave me a totally OTT valuation.

[voiceofgodot]

Ham - we're in SE London too... Peckham.

mumble - I think there's a big difference between 'months on end' and 10 days, which is all it's been on for. From what you say however, your agent sounds unresponsive and you do not seem happy. Have you signed a contract to say they will be your sole agent for the first 12 weeks? I'd have stern words if I were you - I can see that from your point of view, if you have a shit agent for the first 12 weeks, who does not maximise the chance of a sale, then you run the risk of looking stale by the time you get to a decent agent. I've not heard of having to sign such contracts where we are - seems to be more of a bunfight for the business

[voiceofgodot]

jeee - our house is a similar ridiculous value, but as someone said to me recently, all the price represents is a 'housing voucher' really, unless you want to cash in your chips and move to a cheaper part of the country. I can't believe how much our house has increased in value by, it has tripled in 9 years, but as I don't want to leave London and in fact am downsizing due to divorce, I'm no better off!

[PatriciaHolm]

Tbh, if I saw a house had been reduced £100k in 10 days, I would assume that you were Completely desperate to sell, or there was something very wrong with it. Three viewers in a week is fine, surely? If it's fairly priced according to the area and what has already sold, then take a deeper look at how the agent is marketing it first. How are the photos? Is it online, with a floor plan? Is it in relevant local press?

[ShoeWhore]

I'm not sure where you are OP but the impression I get is that the much reported feeding frenzy has been quite localised. And that it has all cooled off considerably now.

I think it's very early to drop the price and I'm surprised that your agent did it without discussing it with you.

[justabigdisco]

Hang on, you've dropped the price by 100k in 10 days?
We've just sold after 7 months, 30 viewers, 3 offers (first buyers pulled out, 2nd offer was too low, agreed sale with 3rd).
Think you need to relax a bit!

[jeee]

Yes, logically I can see that voiceofgodot - but it's such an eye-watering value that it's actually difficult to understand that people who own an asset that's worth that much have the same problems as the rest of us. Which I guess says more about me than the OP......

mumble, I really wasn't trying to be rude about the value of your house. Sorry if it came over that way.

[HamAndPlaques]

godot, we're just around the corner - Camberwell / East Dulwich borders. House is on with an ED agent and they tell us that things are really slow atm.

[donteatthehedgehogs]

DH's job has a hand in the London property market. I think people are just being a bit more careful now the gold rush is slowing down and taking longer to make decisions rather than panicking and rushing in.

[voiceofgodot]

Ham we must be really close - I'm on the Camberwell borders :)

[mumblechum1]

no worries jeee, it's a very ordinary house, just an extraordinarily expensive part of the country. We are very bog standard people with a bog standard lifestyle

[iseenodust]

I think you are being impatient. There are fewer buyers at that price level. We have been on the market since Easter and have only had one offer (not in your price bracket but higher end for round here). The estate agent says it's not our house/price it's shortage of buyers so don't drop price unless in hurry.

I went to look at one in our area that needed lots of work and so was on at 250k and they had three cash offers ready to go on the first weekend. It's just a more nuanced market at the moment.

[specialsubject]

guessing you had the 'first week on the market' timewasters here. I wouldn't worry.

but I also think that dropping the price by 7% in a week gives the wrong signals. (the 'absolute' value is not relevant). Remember that everyone with propertybee can see what you've done and will wonder why.

give it at least a few weeks. Lots of doubt and uncertainty in this game, I'm afraid!

[AgaPanthers]

This one? www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/33394106

I wouldn't assume things are flying off the market in that price bracket TBH in that area.

Why did you reduce it so quickly?

This is the only comparator I can find, a little bigger, a lot of land, but no garden as such? www.zoopla.co.uk/property-history/the-flint-barn/parmoor/frieth/henley-on-thames/rg9-6nh/28649646

That sold last year £60k off asking, it just comes down to someone having that much money to spend, I think it will take time though and you need patience, there's no train station so I do think your potential market is quite small.

[AgaPanthers]

It does look very nice btw.

[mumblechum1]

Good detective work there Aga! I just felt that £1,175 was a bit on the high side, and that the current asking price is a bit more reasonable. I'm aware also that Stamp Duty is an issue over £1m.

Another house which went on the week before was sold 10 days later so I guess I'm comparing ours to that, rather than the ones higher up the market which have been sitting there for months.

Just hope we get some viewings this week, keeping it this clean and tidy is exhausting!

[jeee]

Er.... that's not an ordinary house, mumble, it's stunning.