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

[Housesellinghelp]

We have a 5 year old ‘new build’ is a very mumsnet ‘naice’ area in the catchment area for some of the best state schools in the UK. A big 4 bed with four bathrooms, decorated very neutral and fairly high end - it’s definitely a nicer than usual new build. Garden isn’t overlooked, triple driveway, neighbours are staggered so not cramped. Three large doubles and a single bedroom (that could get in a double at a push).

We had our house valued by 3 separate agents. All valued the house between £675-£700k. We listed at £675 as we’d like a fairly fast sale. That was 8 weeks ago. 4 weeks ago we reduced to £649k as we’d had 8 viewings and no offers, and we’ve since had a further 2 viewings but that’s it.

I’ve looked at houses for sale in the area and also houses that have recently sold. We aren’t priced above what seems average. We had our house for sale a couple of years ago very briefly and received an offer for £690k but we changed our minds and pulled out of the sale.

The estate agents have no feedback for us either. They say nobody looks around and criticises anything. The only after viewing feedback we’ve had is that a couple of viewers wanted something a bit bigger/a 5 bed.

Any ideas as to why the house isn’t selling?!

Not much moving in the market currently OP.
We live in a hugely sought after area in our town, on the edge of the countryside, countryside views but you can easily bus or walk in to the town. Amazing schools. Our area is particularly popular with people who have lived in the town for years. Both ours and our 2 neighbours, all with slightly different size and style of houses haven’t had much interest.

Look at what has sold and for what within a half a mile of where you live.

I’ve heard recently of two state primaries, both in ‘nice’, fairly affluent areas of Greater London and Oxfordshire, where it’s considerably easier to get a place than it was a few years ago.

It doesn’t matter to any prospective buyer what price you need in order to fund your onward purchase. What matters to a buyer is getting as much of their wish list as possible at a price they can afford.

You have to decide whether you lower the price to sell and can’t then afford what you want, keep the price as it is and don’t attract potential buyers, or wait it out.

We've done the same. Your market is mostly families in long chains, it is not worth the stress right now with young children and the cost of everything else rising. I've known two families try to move in the last year, one took a year after the chain collapsed multiple times and the other decided to stay put after their mortgage offer expired.

Border with what?

Not in the UK but I’d say it’s the state of uncertainty in the world.
I sold my house last week and haven’t found anywhere to buy, so I’m fortunate that I can move back with my parents until I find somewhere.
I’ve been looking, but the market is low in supply and there’s literally nothing that interests me. I’m also a little hesitant with committing to purchasing at present as the interest rates are rising and there’s just so much uncertainty - I’d rather just put the house money in a high interest savings account and wait till things settle.

We’re moving as we now want a 5 bedroom house and also want to be in a different area.

There could be a few factors.

Firstly at 5 years old your new build isn't very old for you to be thinking about moving on. This may make potential buyers wary of bad neighbors or issues with the development.

Is there still building happening on or close to your estate? If so, if your area is like mine, those new build housing developer are offering allsorts of incentives to buy new (low interest mortgage, free appliances, high spec fittings for free, free shed bases/ garden taps ect).

Then there is the big one, The War and incoming recession. Getting a mortgage at the moment is incredibly difficult. Mortgage rates are going to go up. Add in COL and stricter lending and you suddenly have people who cannot afford the mortgage they thought they could. I also know a few friends who despite having supposedly "secure" jobs are at risk of redundancy or reduced hours. This is on top of already reduced hours.

My friend put an offer in on a property in beginning of March, offer accepted, everything processing. She got a call last week saying that despite having a mortgage in principle she now needed an extra £5k deposit in order to get her mortgage. Luckily her elderly nana and her mum and dad came to the rescue but finding £5k when every penny of savings and already borrowed some amounts from family is incredibly hard.

1700sq ft seems small for 4 beds plus 3/4 bathrooms. But agree that it’s mainly the current economic global position slowing everything down.

Right, so do you think the area has downsides, or is it just that you'd rather live somewhere more rural, for example?

Given you are upsizing, the price for which you sell isn’t the critical factor but the price to exchange your property for your next house. What type of area do you live in? Can secondary school pupils walk or use public transport to get to school independently? Do couple families all need two cars if they are not to be trapped on the estate? What’s the infrastructure and community like? Is it all owner occupiers or are families now relocating for work etc. and renting their properties?

Which is fine while you can. PiL haven't been able to visit us for 5 years and my mum is increasing struggling when she come to stay.
Also great for pop in visitors rather than them nosing about having to go upstairs.
When we move a downstairs loo will be a must have.

The mortgage rates and general economy.

And I don’t know if other people feel like this but a ‘second hand new build’ is out of warranty and may be starting be need maintenance.

I wouldn’t worry about posting a link, unless the photos are genuinely terrible or your house is an unliveable, badly planned mess, MN advice is usually many opinions about peripheral decor that really doesn’t affect serious house buyers who are interested in size and layout of rooms, overall style of house, stand of maintenance and updating and location. And price.

Does the living area match the amount of bedrooms and does it have a tiny garden as new builds tend to?

Maybe other houses are better value or the catchment is not that strict any more, if that was the main draw of the house for you? It's possibly a very small pool of buyers who could afford that price, like the new build style and need the catchment.
Rates have gone up etc, as others have said. What you got offered years ago doesn't matter now, maybe your potential buyer was desperate/overpaying?

Nothing is selling, currently. The world situation is to blame for some extent, as no one knows what’s coming.

We have an open plan kitchen/living area/diner. A lounge, a playroom, a downstairs loo and then a small office downstairs.

Which makes total sense, when you look at the drop in births. They started to tail off around the mid 2010s, ie the group who are now hitting secondary school. This graph only goes up to 2021, but they've stayed low since then. The biggest boom years recently were 2012-13 who are now all mid-secondary.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/281981/live-births-in-the-united-kingdom-uk/?srsltid=AfmBOopUYX1v-pglEcWYKgIvhK2zJUGnZxYrAyik1fD01V0W8C_3jes_

The landscape is quite different for parents of primary and in particular preschool aged children.

Isn’t that exactly what you’ve done on RightMove, Zoopla, Onthemarket etc. though?

Though TBH I do wonder how long this will now last, since I’ve even more recently heard of several small private prep schools in similar areas closing. A relative of dh has 4 young children to find new schools for by September - the school that’s closing was charging for only 2, though one was still in the nursery dept. and will still only be 3.

The market is rubbish for houses in my area over £500k. I have a 2000sq ft 5 bed on the market South East, gorgeous popular market town, 5 mins walk to the high street but quiet area. It's lovely. a few years ago would have been worth £650k + I expect. Now we cant sell at £550k. Just nobody looking.

Where I live all the secondary schools (bar one) are over subscribed, same with primary schools. The population has increased significantly, and families having more children is also a factor. However, we don't know if that is the case here.

How big is your lounge if you have an open plan kitchen/living/dining area? I lived in a new build like this and it drove me mad as I felt my lounge was too small as new builds tend to make a big open living space and sacrifice on the other downstairs rooms.

We eventually moved to a house with a huge lounge and a kitchen diner.

This. Plus people who want a new build would want a completely new build.