House not selling (with listing)

[Housesale2]

Any thoughts welcome - awkward lay out? Decor? Anything else?

To pre-empt a couple of questions; it was originally listed at £400,000, and there is parking for two cars (one on the gravel, one on the right)

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/171873854#/?channel=RES_BUY

The outside doesn’t match the inside. The inside is well presented (other than the fireplace which looks like a headache to remove). Similar colours throughout, easy to decorate over if they’re not your preference. It looks modern.

Outside looks very dated. The brown windows with the red front door. It just doesn’t feel like you consider outside. So I’m looking at it and thinking it’s nice but needs new windows, possibly new front door as might be draughty and I need to get rid off that fireplace. It’s a lot of work for a house that otherwise looks done. It’s fine and if it was in a good location, I’d probably do those at some point but I’d be reluctant to take those on at the moment given the cost of everything.

The two kids rooms need tidying and some sort of proper storage system or get rid of stuff to make the rooms look larger. I don’t like the way the bedroom door opens outwards again implying it’s very small.

the double bed rammed in also does no favours and makes the room very small

my personal hate is the wooden
/upvc slat roofing in the conservatory. I would not even look at the house

the kitchen dinner isn’t really with the table up against the wall you may be better staging the conservatory as a dining/seating area. I would
move the pets to the office or outside

i also don’t like the fact the fridge is in the utility room. Can’t be bothered with walking to and from when cooking

the front needs tidying up and there is no kerb appeal of if I am honest
The back garden is there a patio? The pictures do it no justice
edited to add the fireplace does the room no justice

sorry

It has a lot going for it and the kitchen is nice. I don't think you've really shown the purpose of the snug though and the animal cage needs to be removed for photos and viewings.

It's a shame you haven't planted up the garden for more privacy. That's going to be a project for the next owner.

I don’t think there’s generally anything wrong with it. Decor is just to individual taste. How long has it been up for? Remember, mortgages have gone crazy at the moment with hardly any fixed rates. It’s putting people off as a mortgage they could have got before maybe the can’t afford now. The war is having a big impact, so don’t stress that it’s your house, the market has slowed down at the moment.

Honestly, to me your house looks fine. There’s always going to be things that people don’t like on any listing – too grey/beige, too much colour, too many bedrooms versus bathrooms or not enough bedrooms for the number of bathrooms, too much grass or not enough grass etc etc.

Things I don’t like though are you say you have reduced the price from £400k but the listing actually says offers in the region of £375K and the body of the text still indicates that the range is 375 to 400. That’s not really a reduction is it? I hate this business of offers over, just say what you want for the house!

I don’t know Swindon or the area particularly but there are a number of houses for sale in the area with very similar prices and layouts so people have lots of choice and there’s nothing particularly special that makes your house stand out.

It’s also a terrible market at the moment, everyone is worried about cost of living and fuel price increases and mortgage rates have gone up substantially over the past year so people are very anxious about making huge financial commitments.

Agree with other comments about general clutter/oversized furniture and tidying up the garden. I’d also add that the photo order confused me: it skips between rooms making it harder to get a feel of flow. Some of the photo angles are odd as well. The one of the front seems to cut off a bit of the house. I’d ask for some new pictures.

The blue in the kitchen is gorgeous. I’m actually getting a splashback fitted and think I might go for something that colour. Also love the bathrooms.

I think it’s a nice house. The kitchen is lovely as others have said.

There are small things - the fireplace, I wouldn’t like the fitted wardrobe arrangement, the garden needs work etc

But I think it’s the price in the current market. People are cautious right now.

Probably just the market but declutter a bit, tart up garden and photos taken when its sunny

Looks nice I would want a large tree or hedge to block the neighbours view of my garden at the back. Don’t know your area so can’t tell if it’s overpriced or not

Seems like masses of (nice) house for the money to me but I don't really know Swindon. Nothing obviously wrong with it - I think stuff is just hanging around.

Another one saying it’s the market. Buyers are hunkering down. Things were already bad and people have gone from waiting for a further rate cut to now expecting rates to rise and house prices to fall.

Can you wait it out? If not then you’re going to have to accept another haircut I expect. Removing the ugly cardboard boxes in your spare room isn’t going to counter WW3.

It’s fine. There are nitpicky things people won’t like - I don’t like the fireplace thing in the living room, but it wouldn’t stop me buying an otherwise fine house.

Are you getting viewings but no offers? Or no viewings? It will be the price. It’s always the price. People are right about the bedrooms being a little small, but you can’t change that, so it’s the price for those bedrooms that is wrong. And a war sending interest rates through the roof.

The windows let it down so much. They are so old fashioned. The kerb appeal is awful because of the windows.

I’d be put off by the windows, they’re so old fashioned and I’d need to replace them immediately. Have you factored the cost of this and any other work needed into the house price? It’s a very slow market at the moment, if you need to sell the price has to be very competitive.

If I see 'parking - ask agent' I assume there is no off street parking and would instantly dismiss that house.

For me the bedroom size would be a deterrent - they are small and the amount of furniture makes them look even smaller. Maybe get them rephotographed with less furniture / clutter.

I would add another photo of the main bedroom. It looks like there is a built in wardrobe from the floor plan? But at the moment it looks like there is no space for any furniture and the rest of the room is completely empty. In the green bedroom I would rearrange so the bed is on the other wall which I think would make the room look bigger as there will be space around it. Or change for a single until you move. I like everything else but those two pictures would stop me viewing.

I really don’t mind the windows even though they are old. But the front rocks and gravel look a bit grey and dirty in terms of kerb appeal

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with it, good house with good bones.

It’s got to be the price. Who is the target market? will those people have the necessary budget?
A lot of people on lower rungs of the ladder have struggled to build equity, this impacts their budget for their next rung.

The inside of the house is nice but, as others have mentioned, the outside appearance is a let down, plus garden seems drab and exposed, not a place where I'd want to sit out and relax. People who are particularly keen on a nice garden probably wouldn't give your listing a second glance.

I don’t know the area and there is nothing obvious that I can see. If you aren’t getting viewings it will be the price.

If I were a potential buyer the only thing that would put me off would be the brown windows but most of the other houses have the same so thats down to the style of the house/house builder.

Perhaps spend a little time making the outside look nice - it looks a little neglected and doesn’t match the inside.

The animal cage may be putting people off - whenever we move house all pets are banished 😛 Get the estate agent to remove that photo.

The photo of the weights needs to go too.

What feedback are the agent giving you from any viewers - other than the standard "drop the price"?

I think some of the photos look great, but others could be improved - especially the utility room - defo remove clutter on top of cupboards, and take washing out of machine!

Agree with other posters re: removing the animals from sun room, defining the study better, and better pictures of bedrooms to show space for bedside tables, wardrobes, etc.

Definitely try to make the most of kerb appeal, even a hanging basket with artificial flowers would help! This would also help with the back garden too.

Another thing i will.suggest, having viewed a few houses recently myself, make sure the pictures reflect the reality! I.e. the pictures suggest that the house is well finished kn terms of decor and immaculately clean. If this turns out to NOT be quite the case when viewers come, they will be put off and underwhelmed! You want the photos to look great to encourage them to visit and then the reality to deliver even more than they expected.

Think beyond just "clean" and get a trusted friend to cast a critical eye around for tired woodwork, scuffed paintwork, badly edged flooring, grimy inner window frames, poor seals/grouting in bathrooms/kitchen, musty or animal smells etc and tackle those. They really should be quick and cheap to do!

How's the price for your area?
I'm just selling my parents' place - much older house and needs some work, slightly smaller - one less downstairs room for £295,000. £375,00 seems a lot.

Definitely make the garden stand out more.
The room with the weights needs a purpose.
Highlight the parking spaces.
Other than that you have a lovely home.

It’s a nice house with decent layout and the price wouldn’t be historically unreasonable… but the market is really bad right now.
The bedrooms are small for a four bed. That may put people off.
Decor always needs changing when you move, the main expenses of bathrooms and kitchen look decent in the pictures. Little tweaks like tidying kids rooms won’t be what’s stopping this selling.
The listing details aren’t great, make it clear where cars can park and what charges you might face.

So are you getting viewings or no? If there are no offers then something isn’t meeting expectations. Probably the size of the bedrooms.
Also, what else is on sale in your area? That’s your issue.

ChatGPT can be really helpful for this, I just asked it and the suggestions were to paint the front door and fencing, jet wash drive, add some pots and window boxes. Pic attached. Think it got a bit carried away with the fencing though 🤣
Just a freshen up of the outside can really help. good luck!