to think that if your house hasn't sold for more than 2 years it's probably over priced

[LaurieFairyCake]

I have a loose acquaintance who was moaning in a group at the weekend that her house hasn't sold. It's been on over 2 years and is probably a bit over priced.

Plenty of other properties sell in this small area but not that one. She has put the figures into Zoopla (?) and it says her house in excellent condition is worth £370k so she's had it on at 365 the whole time.

The trouble is that what she thinks is 'excellent' condition probably doesn't mean early 90's pine kitchen and plain square white tiled bathroom. The house is absolutely fine to me but its not 'done up' - to bring it up to schmancy kitchen and bathroom would probably cost someone 25k round here.

Everyone just nodded along but it's the price after 2 years isn't it?

i am looking to buy and going nuts with asking prices that are frankly pretty aspirational, even for tiny places or places that got the early 90s kitchen and bathroom.

i am also getting very sick of estate agent speak.

as far as i can tell:

"well proportioned" = small
"floorplan not yet available" = small
"in need of modernisation" = last cleaned in the 70s, needs full replaster and electrical refit.
and my favourite:
"situated in the well known BLAH BLAH conservation area" = some made up area no one but estate agents have ever heard of that doesn't actually exist.

ps i would have a grotty bathroom, rip it out and start again too.

Tell me about it microserf

Favourites round here are "like a tardis" - translation lots of poky rooms and random capitilisation of fairly standard stuff "The bathroom is beautiful with a WHITE 3 PIECE and a SHOWER"

The last place we rented was being sold so we had the pleasure of hearing the estate agent speak this shite on numerous occasions. "The thing I love about this kitchen is everything is too hand" i.e. it was so small you could reach everything without moving your feet!

Oh no! I've just spent a very diverting half hour on Zoopla looking up the house valuations of the houses of theinlaws people we know

Zoopla is fantastic. I love Globrix too. I checked out all of my neighbours especially the screaming lunatics next door a few people i know as well.

I saw one property where the agent told me about 10k would get it in mint condition. When confronted with some of the problems I saw, she admitted, it needed dampproofing and complete replastering, painting, new carpet, new boiler and not sure if all the original floorboards could be saved but tried to pass this off as "completely usual for a garden flat". My estimate? at least 50k, it was a fricking death trap with authentic 30s wiring, mould, moth damage and rising damp!

i'd cut that two year to six months. if someone doesn't really need to sell they can live in fantasy land indefinitely, but if they really want or need to sell, the price must catch up with reality ...

It's not buyer greed necessarily, either. People are no longer able to borrow at the levels they used to so can't actually pay unrealistic prices anymore.