Please give your opinions on why we have not had any viewings on our flat? Listing included

[househelp2025]

Hi there,

We are trying to sell our flat and have not had a single viewing. I know that this is typically either due to the price a property is listed at or something to do with the way it has been marketed.

I would be enormously grateful for any feedback on the listing and what (if anything) might deter you from booking a viewing?

It is a long lease - just shy of 999 years, and has a designated parking space in a private secure car park under the flat.

Is it the photos? Is the price too high? Something else?

Thanks in advance!

Flat listing

It's far too expensive.

I wouldn't buy a flat with an open plan kitchen and living room. I also don't like beds under windows although from the room dimensions it looks like they're big enough to be turned at 90 degrees to the window.
There doesn't seem to be much cupboard space and the outlook is a bit bleak.
I'm guessing that management /factoring fees are quite high if there's a concierge and gym.
The price seems inline with others in the area but I think "offers over" might put people off. A price of £325 seems more realistic.

This one for example is on for 350 and looks just brighter and bigger. Balcony is pictured a lot better as well.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/161027432

It’s presented really well. The bedrooms look tiny though.

It looks very small and cramped for that price, and looks like it’s in a horrible location. It looks like it’s in some kind of shopping complex/business district?

Do the bathrooms both not have windows?

Yes, I too wondered if it looked a little gloomy. The flat is actually really quite bright (floor to celling windows in both bedrooms and the living room), but the weather was very gloomy that day and so I do not the pictures have come out all that well.

I live in a 2-bedroom flat but in Inner London so can't comment on the price and location, but would say:

1. Bedrooms with the bed up against the window, because there's nowhere else it would fit, say this room is really too small for a double bed, and that puts people off
2. The outlook from the balcony isn't very enticing
3. Most importantly, IMO, there are an enormous number of 2-bedroom flats for sale all over London and the South East, so you have competition

It looks fine for what it is, you can't dress up the outside but it's near the station. The service charge is problematic as it's so high, but that's fairly common with flats. How long has it actually been on for? Where are the estate agents marketing it? Is anything else selling at those prices?

If you look at OurProperty.co.uk, the sold prices on your development are variable from £250k to £345k in the last 2 years, which suggests you might just be asking for a bit too much. Can you drop down a bit and try "offers over" to see what you can get?

No, no windows in either of the bathrooms. I did not expect this to be such a concern to be honest, but I was wrong as a few posters have mentioned this. Thank you for the tip - we will give this some thought.

4. Also everything looks very small, especially the living area.

5. There are plenty of houses available in the CM1 area which are quite nice and I'd prefer to buy a house over a flat as would a lot of other people.

You could have done with lots of green plants, big ones on the balcony. Some to screen the windows as views aren’t great.

I personally don’t like sleeping with my head to a window. Is there room to place the bed sideways?

The outlook is very claustrophobic. Not keen on kitchen part of the lounge and dining room. And rooms are very narrow. I'd rather have an older style flat. It's quite expensive for a small flat. And flats seem harder to sell at the moment.

It's the lack of ventilation, it puts a lot of people off because it can cause issues they'd rather not deal with.

I know where your flat is located and there are definitely bigger flats in the area for around £300,000.
A few of them have better views then yours and as well as being larger room wise they also have larger outside balconies.
If I was looking for something like that and there were others cheaper and bigger that appeared in the search then I would view them and not yours. Sorry💐

Have a think about the price. Good luck.

I don't know what the market is in that area, so can't say if it's overpriced, but neither of the bathrooms has a window, which would be a hard no for a lot of people, although you can't change that.
The bed being under a window partially blocks it, and looks a bit awkward, like the room must be too small to have it against the wall, and the balcony overlooks a car park. Maybe switch the balcony photo to one that doesn't show so much car park, and temporarily move the furniture around and do another photo of the bedroom?

I would suggest adding some more greenery. Perhaps a palm in the lounge and a plant or two on the balcony. Some flowers on the table or a bowl of fruit and a plant next to the bed. That is just aesthetically. Also under the assumption they take more photos.

Bathrooms with no windows are not a problem in themselves - I know people in multi-million £ flats that have internal bathrooms! It's no big deal

We are trying to sell our flat in South London and also struggling (have had a couple of viewings though) so I emphasise with you. Did you buy this new? Obviously new builds depreciate over time but add in a falling market and it's just an explosive drop. I feel like it's really hard to sell flats at the moment and ultimately it will be the price. We are marketing ours at almost 100 grand less than what we bought it for!
I think your photos are fine, maybe take out the one that shows the view of the car park as that would put me off but yeah, I think it's your price.

It looks like a lovely little flat but seems so expensive! I don’t know your area at all though and what prices are like. But we’ve just bought a three bed house with a large garden in a nice/sought out suburb in Manchester for £308,000. But I know that’s irrelevant as what you get for your money varies so much from place to place. Sounds like your flat has great transport links, and you’ve done it up nicely. I know none of what I’m saying is helpful!
Good luck, I hope the right person comes won’t for it soon!

I don’t think the staging is great - it’s not got either the cool vibe or a cosy one - the main room first photo is not enticing. Giving bland and corporate ‘I live to work’ vibes.

but mostly must be the price because can’t see any major decorating issues if I was looking for that kind of flat.

More generally - your furnishings are the yellow and gray that was popular five years or so ago. I think there is a lot you can do to make it look lighter and brighter. As others have said - greenery on the balcony and take the picture not showing the car park it overlooks. Take photos on a sunny day.
get rid of the yellow and use another accent colour.

but basically the price, yes.

I think it will be very difficult to sell.

almost £200 a month service charge is going to put a lot of people off as service charges only go up, not down.

so for over £300,000 you’re getting…

• a room in the sky
• a hefty service charge which can go up dramatically at any time
• No garden
• permanently eating your tea on your knee
• dark, no proper ventilated bathrooms
• a view overlooking a car park

what made you buy it op?

I sold a similar-ish flat a few years ago. The EA had a brilliant photographer who really made my drab flat look amazing. She took pictures from the outside looking up at the flat and omitted the balcony view of the carpark - that is the first thing I would do in your case. She also made the pictures very bright so the dark, windowless bathroom didn’t look as bad.

I wrote a personalised property description and really emphasised the amazing transport links, great bars I liked, and independent shops nearby as the target audience was young buyers. I threw in some stuff about the Outstanding schools just in case as the area is popular with parents. So maybe put a bit of time into the description so that you are selling a potential lifestyle and not just a property. On that note, dress the table up a bit so people can envisage sitting at it. Obvs it’s very small but you can put a few bits on it and just zoom in on the table.

Most importantly, it was priced appropriately. Looks like you’ll have to reduce it. My flat was close to central London but I knew that with all its inherent flaws I would not get top dollar for it so went with an EA who priced it realistically. In the end I had over a dozen viewings the day it went live and sold within 2 days a bit over asking.

Okay brace yourself, I have no idea on the price and can only comment on the appearance and the staging or lack therof.

Your have to make it aspirational, excite the first time buyers and make them feel like this will be their little nest before they inevitably move and sell in 5 years after getting married etc

The kitchen is very bland, inject some colour for goodness sake, could you replace the cupboard doors, they are so uninspiring and I would want to make the quickest meal in there and go into another room rather than linger.

Stop with the grey, it is so dated and bland. Blue or natural muted greens are much more welcoming. Layer textures and introduce colour - a throw at the end of the bed, good quality curtains which suggest luxury not just they work as they block the light out.

Get a bigger table or at least 4 chairs, current set up screams too small to have friends round and entertain.

The bathrooms are a good size however, here comes bland again, where is the colour, all the energy has been bleached out and it is like the kitchen not somewhere I would want to linger in.

look online for inspiration, trawl marketplace for unusual items to stage it and when done get the agent to retake the photographs and relaunch.