Why won't my house sell

[StopSearching]

My house has been on the market for nearly two years. Recently we took it off and remarketed with new agents. No viewings. We've been so patient for two years but it's getting me down now.

I just want to move on. Nothing wrong with where we live, it's a lovely little town but we have plans and this is all that stopping us. I've stopped looking for houses to buy as they are sold before we even get viewings.

Anyone else having similar problems? It's so frustrating.

The EA should change it to a 2 bath for a start.

The dark green hallway carpet is very dated and just makes it look old fashioned.

The finish on a lot of the paintwork is bad. It needs to look neat and crisp.

I know it shouldn't matter but all of the bedroom furniture is mismatched, just doesn't look right. Use light coloured bedding that has been ironed for all the bedrooms. Get some curtains up, it just makes it look unused.

Also no extractor in the Kitchen?

If I was buying it, I would want the kitchen knocked through to the dining room and the utility, to make one big room. It's just a lot of small rooms downstairs.

Why is there a chest of drawers in the conservatory?

Does the home office have power and heat? Could be a good selling point so make use of it.

I think its the price. Even with a significant reduction and lots of viewings I only had one offer.

Like you our kitchen was not a kitchen/diner which most people want. Our garden was small like you.

People would not view or offer significantly less because its pointless. You are competing with old and quaint and shiny and new.

I wouldn't refresh anything. I would drop the price to sell and go.

Good luck!

I would
1.replace the stair carpet.

1. Get smaller furniture for the living room. They’re massive and make the room look smaller.
2. Throws and cushions for all the beds. Have a different theme for all the rooms. I.e grey and pink, neutrals, yellow and white, blues
3. I personally would consider getting a builder in to knock through downstairs.
4. Paint brown and magnolia walls white or cotton.
5. Painted all woodwork eggshell white.
6. Decent planters in garden. Think lemon or olive trees by the front door.
7. Market with another estate agent

Random thoughts:
What is the large circle on the ground in the back garden OP?
And the shrub on the left is quite large - could it be chopped back to help make the garden look bigger?
Also - if you like plants, I always think that some nice plants in nice pots make a home look nicer. A tall palm, potted plants around the house etc.
There are no photos of the bathroom.
First picture should be the front of the house. Too many aerial photos and photos of the field. They should be at the end, if at all.
Maybe move the dresser in the conservatory out of sight?
Move the herbs to the kitchen?
The lack of proper en suite in the loft would put some people off.
As PP have said, it's really more of a 3-bed plus study.
Most people will want to knock through the kitchen and dining room - so they will mentally take that cost into account.

Not sure OP - your estate agents should be giving you specific advice and guidance about why it's not selling and what you could do to sell faster. Have you ever reduced the price? Try 325k or 330k? Good luck OP.

OP, it looks like a good space but I’d assume it was currently rented out to be honest. Very little personality or colour. My suggestions:

1. Get rid of the first two photos. It is unclear which house is yours and it looks like a lot of houses crammed onto a small bit of land.
2. Clean the driveway (Wet and Forget is really good)
3. Get two big planters outside the front door filled with Geraniums or tulips for the Spring/Summer
4. Get the photographer to come back when there isn’t a huge shadow cast over your house!
5. Get rid of photo 6, it is pointless
6. Put a coffee table in the middle of the sitting room and maybe consider moving the armchair that is two feet in front of the tele
7. Pop a fruit bowl on the table in the dining room loaded with colour
8. What do you use the conservatory for? It looks like it is currently used to store furniture. Would you consider moving the dining table in here and getting rid of the red sofa?
9. A nice rug on the floor in the master bedroom and some flowers on the sides (photos 14&15)
10. Could you put the blue chest next to the bed in photo 16? So it could act as a bedside table and make the room look bigger?
11. The mirrored bedroom (photo 17) is probably a good size room but it doesn’t look like you can walk around the bed. I would get rid of this bed and replace with a single so buyers can imagine it as a really nice sized kid’s room.
12. The office looks fine but drab.

I know you don’t want to spend money on it, but for every month you don’t sell it your next house is getting more expensive. If you can do the above and splash out on repainting the house inside I think you’d stand a much better chance of getting rid of it.

Good luck!

I know the area well and prices are pretty high there.

I do think it’s likely to be the fact that the gardens so small, if I was spending over £250,000 on a house I would want a reasonable sized garden. I like the fact it backs on to fields but is it likely that houses could be built there in the future?

People will only pay what they feel a property is worth so I’m guessing people think it’s over priced for what it is (small garden etc..).

Are you going to answer the questions about the massive damp stain in your living room? What's causing it and can't you fix it?

I have recently moved OP, I have looked at the link, personally I agree with other posters, the price is too high, as many have said lack of a sale is often due to price, could you reduce to an offers over say £325k to generate more interest and viewings, you could end up with a couple of buyers that bid the price up.

Also try to inject some accent colours to make the property look attractive, and some bright potted plants to add some kerb appeal.

I assume there isn’t a planning application on the fields at the rear?

The video walkthrough is really offputting, sorry OP. It's quite dated, particularly the ceilings and doors. There's nothing obviously wrong with the house that a bit of cosmetic work wouldn't fix but at that price people will be looking for a higher standard.

It's not a four bedroom. Sorry.

You can tell it's unloved and you don’t have any enthusiasm for it. So buyers wont either

@Escapetab

Also, this is a stupid tiny thing, but couldn't the agent paragraph the description in the ad?? It's such a text wall, there's some stuff in there that would draw my attention on a quick glance and maybe get me interested but it all gets lost. More of a pet peeve than anything I guess...

And the overuse of exclamation marks!!

To me it looks completely dead . A lot of brown and black. No character, no colour. The details go on and in about the sunsets. People aren’t interested in that, they want a home that feels inviting and comfortable. Plants, throws, rugs, colour and interest would help. The photos are terrible. The garden looks uninspiring. Tart it up and add some interest to it with colourful pots and bird feeders. Nice garden furniture. It’s tidy but just so bland. Sorry.

I think you need to pitch it at £320k based on all the above - why would someone pay more for your 20 year old house that looks cramped, needs work and has a big development behind it- when a new build is cheaper and looks nicer (and has mortgage schemes/incentives)

X-post. You need to re-do the ceiling if you want to sell the house for that kind of price. Why should prospective buyers have to pay to finish the job off?

I don't like the photos. If there was lots of choice I'd probably not bother with this one because it's just uninspiring. EA photos normally make houses look bigger, brighter, cleaner and lovelier than IRL, so when you see bad photos, you tend to think it's going to be really bad IRL, rather than just that the photos are poor. I know wide angle photos are a bit deceitful, but when every EA uses them it starts to look odd to see photos without that distortion, so these make it look smaller than the measurements, and also a bit dark. The aerial photos don't really add anything, and where are the bathrooms? If something is not photographed I assume it's going to be ugly and in need of expensive work.

I think if you were going to make changes to sell it, it could do with freshening up and neutralising a bit - too many dark pictures on the walls, clutter on the mantelpiece, that orange wall in the utility room, shiny patterned ceiling with old light fittings. Sorry to criticise your taste, but I think people often just see the house as it is and don't imagine it with their own stuff or painted differently.

It would look more welcoming with some greenery out front - a nice shrub in a pot under the window next to the front door, or a trough of plants under the main window, and the circle thing in the garden looks odd without something on it - bench or table and chairs.

If the 'garden office' is really an office it needs a photo, or people will assume it's just a shed. It might be somewhere that could be turned into a playroom or gym or den for older children, but people can't imagine those spaces if they aren't photographed.

I don't know about prices in that area, but I'd assume I'd be spending quite a lot on this - redecorating, possibly plastering, new fitted wardrobes, kitchen, light fittings, possibly replacing the invisible bathrooms and I'd also want to add another shower in a house that size. So I'd be thinking it's worth at least £40k less than a house the same size that didn't need any of those things.

Too many pictures of the outside, you only need one (of your actual house) then show the inside.
Can you make it look more homely? It looks tidy which is great but a few plants, soft furnishings would help.
For me the small garden would be an issue and I'd also expect 2 bathrooms in a 4 bed.
All the fields at the back could put people off as it's got potential for development.
Perfectly ok house but I'd definitely dress it up a bit and retake the pictures.

It just gives the impression of being very small. The kitchen isn't really a £350k house kitchen. Just too small. Bedrooms look cramped. I think the size of thd roons is the biggest problem. It's in very good condition.

@tonytiy

Has it been on the market the whole time for 2 yrs as that can also put buyers off as you think no point in offering anything under asking.

Yes it has. I think we need to take it off the market, knock the kitchen through, make minor repairs and dress the house.

OP if I bought that house, I would have to spend thousands renovating it to make it what I wanted. You have openly admitted you’ve not spent on it as you are saving to spend on your next place.

If you won’t spend, your buyer probably will have to. You priced it and the market is telling you what it’s worth to them. Either spend to improve it (plenty of suggestions up thread) or drop the price.

For me everything looks cramped the aerial photos should be last and first one should be the front of your house. Kitchen and bedrooms all look very small. I’d dress 4th room as a bedroom as it looks too small to be one right now.

Better pics
Some flowers and some warmth
Proper fence at bottom of the garden

The other one linked to that was under offer has a much better feel

Gosh, those video tours are very unforgiving aren't they?

What the hell is that big brick/concrete circle in the back garden? My mind immediate sprung to 'access shaft' for god knows what. Which would put me off even looking at your house.

It doesn't actually seem over priced at all when you look at how much other properties in that area are on for

@WhereYouLeftIt

What the hell is that big brick/concrete circle in the back garden? My mind immediate sprung to 'access shaft' for god knows what. Which would put me off even looking at your house.

I thought it was a built in trampoline but now I’m not sure!

I don't think there's anything massively 'wrong' - maybe a little dated and bland but that's decor and minor DIY stuff. The only thing that would bother me would be the miniscule gap between the houses but there's nothing to be done there!

I think what would help most would be staging it properly - people need to be able to see themselves living there. Make up the beds with gorgeous cushions and bedding and throws, nice bedside lamps, plants or flowers. Make it look like a show home - which isn't the same as 'no nicknacks'. Get the photos taken on a day with good light. Give the carpets a good clean, scrub the drive and add some shrubs or something. Make it look aspirational and something that buyers can picture being gorgeous, not homely - buyers may want their homes to feel homey and cosy to their own taste, but aspirational photos and appearance appeal to our sense of 'this house will make me the kind of person who has beautiful throw blankets and an immaculate home'.

I can't comment on price as I don't know the area at all but usually that's the biggest problem - so may be worth looking at that, too.