To feel bloody miserable that my house probably won’t sell?

[Yesaigust]

I paid 520 for my house in 2022. Had it valued at 540. When I bought it I wasn’t in a great place mentally and think I probably paid over the odds for it a little as it was all done up etc. Anyway, it’s been on the market a week at 550 (in the hope of getting 540) and no enquiries. I’m desperate to move but need the 540 to break even with moving costs after buying in 2022.

I feel stressed. I’m a lone parent too and feel like everything is getting on top of me now and I’m also trapped somewhere I really don’t want to be. Just having a moan really but wondered also if anyone had any advice.

seriously a week?

YABU - it's only been a week FFS. I'm not entirely sure, but average time for a house to go from on the market to sold must be nearer 6 months. The agent just wants your house listed and the commission that will come with selling it.

Also this is a crap time of year to try and sell a house. Most people have got their decorations up and spending all their money elsewhere, not thinking about moving.

End of June is the most popular time of year to move apparently - I only say this as we did it one time and couldn't get a removal company for love nor money! They all told us it was always their busiest time of year. About 12 weeks conveyancing time would suggest early-mid April as buying season.

Might be worth checking average house price inflation. I just checked with nationwide and I'm the greater London area prices have dropped nearly 3 percent since 2022 so you might not be able to get as much as you want depending on the area. If you got an estate agent valuation they might be inflating the price trying their luck.

@TakeMe2Insanity well, 9 days today!

If it's valued at 540, advertise it at 540 instead of 550. It won't pass a bank valuation if it's overpriced. Don't play games, put the actual price up and see what happens. Also, have you actually calculated stamp duty due on current amounts? There's currently a threshold change or something going on, you might need less than you think! Or maybe you already know this and that's why you're trying to sell right now?

Thanks for the posts, it’s so lonely on my own with dc and it’s helped to talk it through on here x

The agent will tell you anything to get you to list with them.
We had an agent tell us the reason we should list with him was that he wouldn't let us accept an offer that was above the value of the house as all that happens in those situations is the bank comes back and says it's not worth that and you have to reduce the price. In the next breath he gave us 3 examples of houses he had sold on our estate 2 of which had their price reduced part way through the sale because the mortgage companies disagreed with the valuations

We sold in 2022 and it was a crazy time for buying awful bidding wars jumping prices up ridiculously. I'd also take it off the market and put it back on the market in January. The date on Rightmove will always be 2024. If there were two identical houses one listed on the 31st December and the other 1st January the December one will feel like it's been on the market soooo much longer because it was put on last year even though there's just a day difference.

Is there much interest in the other house?

@PrincessAnne4Eva sadly it’s going up in April! And I won’t have had it go through by then even if it sold tomorrow

OP, u are being unduly pessimistic. The house has only been on for a week and pre Xmas is the worst time for people looking.
Please try not to get stressed out, you have enough going on.
Please try and get into a more relaxed state of mind

I think this is a terrible time of year to list - people aren't thinking house viewing now.

I'd also advise you work out the lowest price you can sell for - and move on to next property with.

For our first property which went down in price after 2008 crash - we had savings to cover move and other expenses and needed to get our initial deposit back out - we actually ended up better off due to new mortgage rates post move - so knew the price we had to get above which was below what we paid as we'd paid mortgage down over the years though also done a lot of expensive basic work - we had to let that go as it were.

If you need/want to sell it for 540 I would price it as 'offers in excess of 540' rather than asking 550 in the hope that you'll get 540.

550 may well be more than some buyers are looking at and the house may be over priced and putting people off.

But as others have said, it has only been a week and just before Christmas is not a good time for selling houses, despite what your agent says.

Take it off until after the new year, if you can. As pp said, you don't want it being listed for several weeks because that can also put buyers off and they then start expecting a price drop.

OP thinks she overpaid 2 year ago.

Oh, no. That's not much good then.

People might view over Christmas holidays... but it's not Christmas holidays yet!

I love a good rightmove swat, but this time of year so many other things are happening even I am not checking what's being added. I can imagine it's the same for most people.

I'd either take it down and re-list closer to the holidays if that is your strategy, or in January when it picks up again.

If it was valued at 540 and you bought it 520, you've not over paid. Christmas isn't the right time to list a house for sale and it's only been on the market a week. All properties sell one way or another, try not to worry too much

Are you pressurising yourself too much, trying to sell in time to buy the property you like? Maybe accept that this may not work out but there will be another house you love in future.
Now is a difficult time to sell and perhaps your house like mine is at its best in warmer weather.

You won't get viewings now - people are too swamped with Christmas prep, but having it on the market now is good. Prime time for viewings is in the lazy days between Christmas and New Year so make sure your home is spick-and-span in lifestyle-magazine levels of presentation from Boxing Day. It wouldn't hurt to drop the price to £540 on 26th December to try to pique some interest, if your estate agents can make that happen on a bank holiday.

OP, it will be fine. But houses don’t sell over Christmas. Heck most solicitors don’t work over Christmas. And agents are pushy…they just want the sale. Go at your own pace.

Quite, and it’s December, when nobody is thinking about buying a house.

Wasn't 2021/2022 when property prices peaked and it has only gone down since? I'm surprised they think it's worth more now than then if it also was freshly done up 2 years ago and it's not anymore. I mean you might find a buyer for that price but it feels very unlikely. It's also very easy to find what you paid for it 2 years ago.

Edited as I thought it had been bought for 220, not 520.

I’m desperate to move but need the 540 to break even with moving costs after buying in 2022.

Unfortunately, that's not how selling houses works. Property (regardless of what a valuation says) is only worth whatever someone else is prepared to pay. The market doesn't always allow you to break even, let alone make a profit. Moving costs (including stamp duty and legal fees) are one of the reasons that you generally can't expect to breakeven over short timescales. Unless the local market is particularly buoyant you may have to take a hit when you're moving again after only two years.

A week at one of the wise times of the year to sell!

You can look at this another way…people who are dead serious about moving will be serious about buying over the Xmas period. I sold a flat at Xmas at a good price. My lawyer tried to talk me out of it.

I know it's very stressful OP, but I think your expectations are way too high.

We have been trying to sell a house since the summer, and have just delisted it until spring. Things are so unsure at the moment, in economic terms, a lot of people are putting off big decisions like this until things shake down a bit more.

They do, views shoot up, but they’re passively browsing while drinking or whatever. Offers and sales decline massively. Viewings don’t tend to happen; either.

Your agent has been pretty misleading there.