House on the market for 2 weeks only 1 enquiry...

[cricketqueen]

Our house has been on the market for 2 weeks and we have only had 1 enquiry which hasn't progressed to a viewing yet. Should I be worried? It's a nice decent sized 2 bed terrace, it's on the market for £115,000, a house on the same street sold a few months ago for 107,000 but it didn't have a kitchen extension like we have. There is a house on the street in front up for sale for 110,000 but it's smaller than ours. How long should I leave it before chasing the agents etc.

[cricketqueen]

This is the 1st hoise ive aold so i have no clue what im doing

[pigletpie29]

The market is crashing. A few years ago we had three offers through an open day within two days. This time on the same flat we've had three viewings in ten days and no offers. Despite what's been said it doesn't look like selling prices have gone up in the last few years where we are (se London)and in fact looks like we'll sell for around the same (our purchase fell through at last minute last time and we didn't want to re-market straight away.) our estate agent said things will sell but the market's so tight you have to get he price point exactly right, even 5k too expensive won't get viewings...

[cricketqueen]

Should I leave it another couple of weeks and then change the price? Or call my agent sooner to discuss? My dh is very laid back and just wants to see how it goes but I suffer from anxiety so it's all stressing me out.

[Note3]

I guess it depends how keen/desperate you are to sell. If you fancy a change but are quite ok staying out for the next 5-10 yrs then go with the 'see how it goes- strategy.

However if you have outgrown the house or need to move asap for whatever reason then I'd consider making sure you've priced it to sell as there are indications that the market is slowing.

We are in the process of buying a house and part of me wonders if we should pull out and see if we can grab a bargain but firstly there's no guarantee the market will actually crash (and by how much who knows) but also we are buying a house that will suit our family needs for the next 10-15 yrs at least so if we get 'stuck' there it won't matter. In the past (during the last recession) we got stuck in a house too expensive and too small that we didn't intend to stay in for long and it was awful.

[PippaFawcett]

This is all because of Brexit. People aren't moving unless they have to because no one knows WTF is going to happen. It is a fucking mess. Houses in my area which would have gone to bidding wars pre referendum are languishing on the market for months. If you need to move price it low enough and it will sell, otherwise sit tight.

[drummergirl34]

I think dropping the price so soon will make you look desperate and is opening the doors for buyers to put in a cheeky low offer and be more hard-line about negotiating an offer.

[G1ggleloop]

The market locally to me (London suburbs) is dire. The same houses languishing on the market for months, hardly anything new coming on. We had ours up for a few months around Easter and we had some interest but couldn't find anything we wanted to move to so we're staying out for now.

[FormerlyFrikadela01]

We reduced last month the having been on for 3 months. We've had a smattering of viewings. One offer that pulled out after she found something cheaper. It's slow out there but we need to sell because the house is just too small otherwise we'd stay put.

We've had an offer this morning for£70,000 and that's his final offer. Asking price is £87,950, we have room for maneuver but not so much we'd still owe on the mortgage.

[drummergirl34]

To be fair, some houses are horrifically overpriced. E.g. I've been looking at a house that in 2011 was sold for £32k. Five years later it was first listed for sale at £79k and reduced by about 6% every 3 weeks or so. It's now sitting at just above 63k.

So the vendors think within five years, it's more than doubled in price. I'd price it at 40k tops. Some houses have lost value in the last year but some sellers just don't want to accept their house hasn't increased in value by x thousands per year for as long as they've had it.

[FormerlyFrikadela01]

This is true drummergirl34

However my DP bought this house in 2008 at the height of the market for £110k. We actually put it up with the agent who gave it the lowest valuation because it was the most realistic.

[PeekAboo2]

Yes the market is crashing behind the scenes but you wouldn't know it looking at asking prices. Nothing is selling and delusional sellers asking ever higher prices. This charade has to end soon.

[cricketqueen]

We want to move closer to my husband's job and also closer to better schools. We are in north Wales and all the local schools are Welsh mainstream whereas we want a bilingual school. My dd is 2 1/2 so we have a bit of time to play with realistically. We bought 6 years ago for 91,000 but we have updated hence the price increase. I think my problem is that I'm impatient. We can't really afford to sell for less than 100,000 due to the area we are moving to been more expensive so we need all the money we can get.

[PeekAboo2]

My comments relate to London only. Three months isn't very long.

[Squishedstrawberry4]

What valuations were you given by the various estate agents?

The housing market is static price wise in my area. Nothing coming on and buyers still looking

[namechangedtoday15]

I think it depends where you are. Prices holding here but 1 enquiry in 2 weeks isn't good. What feedback have you had from the agent?

[PeekAboo2]

"Three months" Sorry ! Two weeks is no time at all!

[cricketqueen]

All 3 valuations were the same and we got told that the market was buoyant. The agents haven't given us any feedback as of yet, just that they will get in touch with us as soon as someone contacts them. In the last week there seems to have been quite a few house been put on the market in the area.

[wowfudge]

There have been school holidays which we found meant fewer people were around when we were selling. But no viewings usually means a house is overpriced. Give it another week, have a chat with the agent and then review things. You would expect a couple of viewings in the first week for a new listing in an average market I think.

[drummergirl34]

Doing updates doesn't necessarily add value and the next buyer may be thinking about ripping them out. I've seen a 3 bed converted to a 2 bed with the bathroom being put upstairs, and the kitchen put where the bathroom was. So you have a grotty tiny kitchen with a very small window, and a 3.2m x 2.8m bathroom. That house was "updated" but would cost thousands to put right.

Those people who think they can buy a house at auction, put in the cheapest kitchen and bathroom (go look at the cheapest sets of homebase and you'll see them everywhere), put down the cheapest floorboards / linoleum and then add £20k+ to the value after having it for 6 months are in a dream world.

Cricketqueen - go on a few viewings yourself to check out the competition. just don't mention you're selling.

[Viviennemary]

I think some people are waiting to see what happens with Brexit before buying. I don't think you should drop the price yet. Make sure the estate agents photos show your house to its best advantage.

[drummergirl34]

cricketqueen - go to the pricing tool on zoopla - although not great, it uses some magical stats to give you an indication of price. You say you can't afford to sell it for less than 100k because the area you're moving too is expensive - why should the buyer care or take that into consideration? You're asking the buyer to buy part of your next house! To be blunt - it's your problem, not your buyer's!

I don't know about north wales, but south isn't doing too well. With the mines closed down, no work opportunities, large-scale unemployment etc prices have dropped. I would assume it would be at least similar in the north?

[cricketqueen]

We have looked at Zoopla and it says between 107000 and 110000. I know we can't expect the buyer to care I'm just stating what our situation is. North Wales is completely different from south not nearly as bad in terms of unemployment etc. Mining wasn't as big of a business around here.
We are going to go and speak to the agent this week and see what they are doing.

[BubblesBuddy]

I think the problem you have is that buyers won't pay extra for your updates. In a buoyant market they would but that isn't now. You may need to come down a bit. Round me a 2 bed is nearer £300,000 plus! The standard estate houses are selling but the more expensive ones stick a bit if they do not have bags of character.

Brexit will go on for another two years at least and we are maxing out on credit cards again! Our growth is slowing to one of the lowest rates in Europe, prices are going up, our exports have not grown with the weak £ and it is all self inflicted! Welcome to the real world of Brexit! Put your hard hat on! It's going to be bumpy!

[wowfudge]

I don't agree with some of the opinions stated on this thread but I will say that Zoopla is a lousy indicator of price because valuations can be manipulated by home owners. The actual sale prices are the important thing. I would go head to head with the other house priced at £110k. Viewers will view both and think they are getting more for their money with yours. Do you know the one priced at £107k has actually sold for that much?

[Squishedstrawberry4]

Zoopla is only a rough indicator if your house hasn't changed internally/externally since you bought it. However you've done work and zoopla has no knowledge of that.

What did the other estate agents value it at?