AIBU to wonder why our fairly priced new-build house is not selling?

And 5 years old is hardly "New Build".

The housing market here (south coast) is very slow, partly the economic climate and partly the war I think.

My neighbour is trying to sell his house and is feeling the effects - our houses were valued last year at £600-700K and similar properties nearby were selling easily at that time. He put his on the market at the end of the year (I know, not the best time) and as he was keen (desperate) to sell put it on at 500. Some viewings but no offers. He reduced it to 450 and has just had an offer of 400, which is 50 less than he paid in 2021. It seems to be a similar story across the board in this area at this sort of level and upwards. Smaller properties not so much, they seem to be holding their value and selling more easily. I’ve been watching with interest as I’ve been thinking of selling and downsizing, but if that’s the current market value I can’t afford to sell so am going to leave it and see what happens.

Not sure that’s helpful to you, but I don’t think it’s necessarily anything to do with your particular house, it’s a more widespread issue at play.

Is it in the middle of nowhere where you have to drive to facilities? How much is within walking distance on a footpath?

Yes; pricing is tricky and there's is psychology to it too. If you initially price low it may be seen negatively: why is it so cheap - there must be something wrong with it? Then if it doesn't sell and you reduce it again, some potential buyers may be even more suspicious and at that point completely put off. If it hangs around the property websites unsold for several months, with or without further reductions, many (most?) buyers will write it off and eventually you may have no realistic prospect of selling.

Pricing high initially, up to a certain point, gives you the option to potentially reduce it for a serious / favoured buyer; and the reduction is psychologically positive for the potential buyer, promoting a sense of satisfaction and of something gained. But settling on the right point for a high initial asking price is a fine judgement so not without risk of getting it wrong and thereby lengthening the time taken to get a sale.

If you need a fifth bedroom @Housesellinghelp can you convert the downstairs playroom into one? Much cheaper than moving!

If you paid 595 for it brand new in 2019 you aren't going to get 675 for it now - since then prices have risen but then fallen back again, and with a new build you pay a significant premium for being the first owners and everything being 'brand new'.

People looking at it now are looking at a kitchen and bathrooms that are all 6-7 years old, carpets etc that are 6-7 years old. The shiny new gloss goes off new builds quickly as they often aren't built to the best standards these days.

Its very very very unlikely that you underpaid in 2019... House builders will always tell you you're getting a bargain or a special price but you can be sure if they could have sold it for any more they would have done.

We sold a second hand new build 4 beds, 4 baths + loo (don’t ask!) few years ago. We never used 2 of the bathrooms (to save on cleaning).
it was definitely a marmite house - most walked away but those who liked it - Loved it! So there was a cash buyer who paid a decent amount and took the house off our hands in 5 weeks! We did sell it chain free, empty and freshly painted - no work needed.

yours will sell but will take time & price reduction. Else you need to wait for the world to stabilise.

Not many people are buying right now, and your property type is a bit niche. A lot of people don’t want a ‘new’ home. I wouldn’t buy anything that new as there hasn’t been enough time for all potential build defects to show.
A new build estate in greenbelt is just not everyone’s cup of tea, they’re usually a drive from the nearest shop if you run out of milk, without the charm of living in a proper old village/countryside. The village where I grew up had a train station. The new build they’re putting in on a farm a little distance away has no amenities, and is realistically too far to get anywhere without a car.
I think your right buyer just hasn’t spotted you yet.

I think young families thinking of upsizing are probably the most under pressure from COLC, rising mortgage rates, job security fear etc, not to mention what heating a bigger house next winter might look like!

And your house with schools, space, garden etc sounds like growing families are your target market.

I wouldnt buy a 'new build' that you have only lived in for 5 years

Lots of people are wary of new builds for various reasons

It's too expensive.
Don't need to see a link to know. House prices are the ultimate test of capitalism.

I would second this, he gave us some excellent advice when I asked a question on his live chat . He does 5 fact Friday every week on YouTube which gives you the current news on the housing market

I would recommend the podcast Moving Home with Charlie to anyone trying to sell at the moment- very useful for understanding the market and a few home truths about overvaluation in a buyers market.

I think people have an idea that a house has an intrinsic "worth" that never falls in £ terms. It doesn't. If there's no demand for it no one will buy it until the price is reduced to a point where demand is higher.

A good example of this is retirement flats. In my area there are loads of these and they can be half the price of a near identical unrestricted property. The reason is that demand for those flats is much lower than supply.

The same is happening with bigger houses. They are too expensive for younger buyers, older boomers are starting to die so too many of them are coming on the market. Prices rose around covid and people are struggling to accept that with low demand and high interest rates, they won't be able to sell for that now. But there are few forced sellers so people are stubbornly sitting on the market for months/years. There are several houses where I live that have been on for over a year.

Rightmove also doesn't always put all the sold prices on. Its owned by estate agents, they don't want you seeing how much the market has fallen. We got our house for 200k under asking but they have never put that sold price on.

Mortgage rates will be a big part. We’re looking at refinancing for an extension and the mortgage rate uplift means we won’t think about it for another year. People will be getting nervous about committing. Job market is also terrible

The only thing I can say is we have been looking for a house, now found one thank goodness. Had to drop 20k on ours and it was immaculate , not a new build but old Victorian terrace with nothing needing doing , everything was new including roof, kitchen landscaped garden etc . We put it up for estate agent valuation , in fact we said 5 k less as we wanted to sell . Anyway we quickly ruled out new builds, too tiny , no character , and a big no no for us was having to pay a monthly charge for living on a soulless estate . Not for one minute saying that’s what yours is but we looked at about 5 newish builds and didn’t like any of them . Ended up with a fully renovated 4 bed bungalow, roof conversion and big extension for the same money as a small 3 bed new build, the 3rd bedroom could only be used as an office . We are older though and I’m sure a young couple would love a new place as not so much to maintain

Or advice to carry out a full refurb and internal reconfiguration 😂

OP, the only people buying and selling at the moment are those who absolutely have to, given the war and economic uncertainty. The group of potential buyers is therefore much smaller. If you have to sell, there will be a price it will sell at so in that sense the problem is the price. If you don't have to sell now you might be better to wait, but it may be that you are waiting for some time. FWIW I wouldn't expect a new build to have increased in value in the current market. House prices in real terms are down in many areas, and new builds in particular.

How the house is presented makes a difference at the margins but it's unlikely to be the major factor here, unless there is something you haven't said.

Are there any service charges? aka fleecehold.

I imagine your potential buyers will either see the current market as an opportunity to leap frog into a non-estate home that would have previously been out of their reach or be too nervous about the additional costs and difficulty of upsizing from a flat or small house in Birmingham to a larger family house. Is there any reason you can’t wait it out?

The mortgage rates have gone through the roof thanks to Trump OP.

On your price house most would need a mortgage. People are watching and waiting.

its a house she is selling that presumably will be on rightmove and posted for the public to see on the estate agents website. If she is really wanting to sell she will post the link anywhere. I did this with my house when I was selling it. Its not just us being nosy, its a public forum.

Always makes me laugh when new builds have as many bathrooms as bedrooms,when the bedrooms are TINY 😩

You don’t need a listing to know why a house is not selling in the current market.

You’re just desperate for a nosey.

Exactly. The whole thread is pretty pointless with no listing.

@Housesellinghelp You have created a brand new username for this thread, so there's no reason to not post the listing. It can't be linked to previous threads of yours. Just show us the house. It will be easier to give proper, helpful responses.

One of the valuing agents told us that not many people like three storey ( is that your house @Housesellinghelp ?)

Mine is and it has suited us giving privacy to adult DC.
We're on a very high mortgage rate due to not meeting the multiples anymore due to illness. No one will remortgage us so I'm taking the first offer and being ruthless with our final house.

We got caught in 2008 and it looks like we will again! It's very stressful and the statement from the chancellor re taxing houses over £500k hasn't helped. Like your area three beds are are selling and new developments where they pay the stamp duty. Same price as mine but 25% smaller!

This is MN where people with very little understanding of maths and statistics love to throw around big numbers as facts.

She probably means 20% fewer people are looking to buy at the moment. Or that homes are valued at 20% higher than what most are willing to offer. An 80% reduction is economically impossible.