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

there’s nothing wrong with your house so you need to consider the wider market and Swindon, specifically, has seen LOADS of house building. You’re up against all the new new builds.

I'm currently looking for a house and I'm afraid I veto any with brown pvc windows immediately.

You've got a lovely home. Really nice kitchen, bathrooms and the planet room looks lovely too. All the other pictures need redoing imo.

I suggest you declutter other rooms and get pictures with better light and angles.

I think you need to tidy the front by removing the tree and painting the fence to increase the curb appeal. It looks like there’s no parking so make sure that picture includes the driveway. Even better if you can style out front with some potted plants. Definitely worth mowing the grass out back too in the sunshine it’d look much more attractive.

The main thing that would put me off is 2 full bathrooms upstairs but no downstairs toilet. Im not a fan of the decor but that wouldn't put me off, Im not against a lick of paint. It seems very small and cramped upstairs. Downstairs seems spacious and airy but the bedrooms are looking very small. Im not sure if thats just the way they're presented.

Agree on the fireplace, it’s an eyesore and may put potential viewers off bothering when the market is stagnant and lots of other options.

It’s a shame as your kitchen and bathroom are great and thats where the real cost is in any refurb.

I think you need some comments from people who know the Swindon market as I think your house is a steal at this price.

I think it’s really nice and good value (if not in a rubbish area).

I think your home is beautiful op and very well priced too

One thing that no one has mentioned is that the tenure is showing as "ask agent". That makes it seem it is leasehold, which would put off many buyers. If you're not sure of the tenure pay the small fee to the land registry and check the title. If its Freehold you want that in the listing. Its also link-detached, not detached, as you share a wall with next-door's garage.

That aside I agree with pretty much everything everyone else has said. It would need to be the best priced property of the type (including 3 beds as competition because most people who want 4 bedrooms want at least 2 good size doubles) to get one of the scarce buyers in the current market.

The outside needs tidying up, including the soffits and facias. It is clear looking at the previous listing that you have changed quite a lot, it looks like the size of one of the bedrooms was reduced to increase the size of a bathroom? You have improved some of the decor from the 2017 photographs, but its fundamentally the same house and while the market in most places is probably still higher than in 2017 if I were a prospective buyer in your market (which I am not), I would not be thinking that the changes made justified a price £100,000 more than it was in 2017.

I am in a different location and as someone who has always watched my local property market on rightmove, prices are currently nosediving, the properties that are showing as SSTC in my area are either very significantly cheaper than the competition or are issue free. A house near me the sale was agreed a few months ago within 2 weeks of going on the market and completed just before Easter, the property was very well presented inside and out, and was correctly priced on the day it was listed.

I would say you either need to drop the price significantly or take it off the market until the market improves.

The bedrooms were the photos that made me a little put off. They seem small - there’s a lot going on in them.

If you look at the "see similar properties" and "recently sold and under offer", I'd say it's the price/market.

People can see through cosmetic stuff. But they aren't going to buy an overpriced house in this market.

I’m an ex estate agent. It’s a nice house, but generally if a house isn’t selling it tends to be the price. However I’ve heard that the market is dire at the moment due to the global situation so could just be that.

How big is the main bedroom? It looks quite small in the photos (I can’t read the measurements on the floor plan).

Many people these days have busy lifestyles and are looking for a property that needs zero work. The fireplace and some of the decor may put some people off.

The front and looks a little drab and tired. Could you get some plants ans maybe take some photos on a brighter day?

It's REALLY nicely presented, hard for me to comment on price as I'm not familiar with Swindon housing market but it is quite far from the centre of the town which is something that would be an issue for me. The market is down right now, you need to just hold your nerve and wait.

You haven't said why you are selling, and its none of our business, but a cautionary tale, one property that I have seen come up for sale in the last year or so, which had good room sizes but very individual decor choices, started for sale as a property occupied by a young family, priced in line with other properties of a similar size that didn't have the decor issues. It didn't sell. It then reappeared relisted for 2/3 of the original price appearing to be a mortgage repossession and went under offer quickly at that price.

On second thought, defo DEFO paint over the grey brick fireplace ? thingy? and the blue feature wall. It'll be a quick job if you and hubby get onto it and it will make a huge difference. The blue colour is not nice, sorry OP. Other than that it is really lovely xxx

Declutter throughout - and get rid of the animal cage. That’s my personal objection straightaway.

Bathroom with the tiled floor - gorgeous.

I think it looks fab, you've done a lovely job with the decor and design and made the most of it.

The main issue I can see is the size of the bedrooms. We once rejected a house purely because we couldn't get a cot alongside a double bed in the main bedroom. Here I'd have the same worry I think, plus the kids' rooms are small. But there's nothing you can do to change that.

It's a lot of house for the money for someone who can live with the small bedrooms. I think it might just take time to find that person, and you need to factor into the price that you are competing with spacious 3 beds as well as smaller 4 beds.

I would get rid of the blue on the living room wall, replace with a more neutral colour such as grayish green or a beige. Buy some cheap cushions and a rug. The rug needs to be a decent size, look at the Gabrielle rug in dunelm. Make the sitting room look like somewhere a buyer would want to relax. Other than this, weeding at front, tidying kids/ study rooms. Have pictures that dont include the animal cage.

Back garden is a mess and that fake fireplace is awful. Not a fan of the blue walls.

I think that due to the size of the bedrooms, it’s a house that a family would grow out of reasonably quickly. In that respect, it’s quite bottom heavy.

But most of all, I think it’s just the market I’m afraid.

I like it, only thing I don’t like is the fireplace and the lawn needs mowing.

its odd having 2 massive bathrooms at the expense of the size of the bedrooms - you can hardly call them doubles as you get the bed and a chest of drawers in there and that’s it - where is the wardrobe supposed to go? so at best you have a double and 3 single bedrooms.

the others rooms are ok - the grey fireplace is horrid though sorry and not everyone wants all their kitchen things on display and would rather have wall cupboards

also is that timber slat on the ceiling in one photo? The house is nice enough but it’s clearly got a very personal stamp on it which would be screaming at me that it’s going to cost ££ to make it mine.

also the front garden/drive is a bit weak as well as the rear

This is what I thought. The tv in the living room is a mad shape, all stretched out so I’d assume that the photos were out of proportion.

The bedrooms look too small for the beds.

Is the price right compared to similar properties locally?

Wrt the photos, the blue walls in the kitchen look nice but the colour doesn't work in the lounge, it's too cold to be cosy. If budget permits I'd take the old fashioned built in fireplace out - it might not be as bad in real life but the stretch photo makes it look so big. Apart from the main bedroom (and even that look tight for space either side of the bed) the remaining three bedrooms are all pretty small - I can't work out what's going on with Bed 2 - I think that needs to be photographed again. I'd take the animal cage out of the conservatory for the photo. Maybe lead with one of the photos of the kitchen, that's definitely the standout room.

I think that overall it is a very nice house but the photos are doing it no favours. Photos should be taken in a "staged" manner - imagine it was going in a glossy magazine that all your neighbours would be critiquing. You want people to look at them and think, "I'd love to live there".

The clutter has to go (boxes etc) and, ideally, that ghastly brick fireplace which is just awful. Do that, stage the rooms to make them look spacious and fabulous, get quality photos taken and I think it will sell quickly.

It looks really cluttered, especially the kids' bedrooms.

You need to take all the decor off the walls, and clear out all the junk in picture 12 (iirc). The kitchen looks as if it's lacking storage - clear the counters. Take out the animal crate.

Declutter and retake the photos.

Dress the dining table for a meal - or at least park a bowl of fruit in the middle, and pull it out from the wall.