Should I drop the price or stage the house?

[Farla]

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/91803594?utm_campaign=property-details&utm_content=buying&utm_medium=sharing&utm_source=copytoclipboard#/&channel=RES_BUY

AIBU = just drop the price, staging won't help
NOT AIBU= stage the house and bide your time

Please help- I'm selling the linked 4bed house in nice area. The house was rented for many years but tenants left in July, and I can't face renting it again due to the recent tax and law changes...so selling. There are 8 4beds on market currently within 1 mile, 6 at same price as this house, 1 less and 1 higher price. The house has now been on market for 2 months, very few viewings, no offers. It is unfurnished and I'm wondering if that is holding it back? Should I pay someone to stage the house nicely, or just accept that I need to drop the price? Is there anything I could do to make it more appealing?
Any tips would be appreciated!

I’d give the house some keep appeal by tidying up those bushes and surely the grass is now greener when the photos were taken - I’d update the outside photo and also tidy up the garden. The house looks a rental house that would need quite a lot of work done to it, you could get rid of the wallpaper, paint all the rooms white, take down the blinds at the windows and do something with the piping that looks awful in one of the bathrooms. You need to create an impression that it would be ok to live in the house while sorting a refurb or else have the price reflect the work that owner would need to do. New owners will want to replace the bathrooms, kitchen, those overhead wardrobes, and the skirting’s and stairs bannisters.

A combination of both I think.
the garden and outside area along the fence needs a good tidy and fresh photos. My lawn looked brown 3 weeks ago and now it’s green again.
The photo of the downstairs loo shows all the messy pipework, a better phot is needed. Some of the photo angles are awful. A better bathroom photo is needed, it’s focusing on the loo!
Beds in bedroom would help but you can mock them up with inflatable beds or even cardboard boxes if you dress the bed properly.
I would repaint the yellow bedroom, white would be fine.
Get the stair carpet cleaned as well as it looks mucky in the photos.
Clean all the paving and paths and paint the fence.
I would want a new kitchen as it’s quite a dated colour and the floor tiles are dated but it looks in good condition and that’s why I would suggest a price drop.

I would paint the kitchen units, I think a brand new kitchen would be a waste as everyone has different taste in units

I would save yourself the work and drop the price. It’s tricky though because every buyer is different. I’d much rather buy a house that needed all that cosmetic work done to it because I can do it exactly as I want it. It’s unlikely our tastes are the same so I would couldn’t go for a house that was charging top rate because it had recently been decorated.

Also in this current market I think a price drop is the best idea. Interest rates are high, likely to go up. People won’t be stretching themselves as much as previously.

I don’t think you need to stage it, I quite like being able to see a house that is empty.
The market is terrible as we all know and for me it would depend on how badly I wanted to sell but I think there are a couple of things that would make it a bit more appealing.
Repainting the yellow bedroom something more neutral.
Removing the blinds that look broken.
Jetwashing the drive/repainting garage door.
Getting rid of garden pots that have dead plants in.
Maybe more recent photos of outside if it looks less ‘heatwaves’ now.

Since when has blatantly advertising your house been ok on Mumsnet?

It's too expensive. House prices have stalled this year. 2 in the same road sold at £450k a few.montha ago without needed to be completely refurbished

Looks like it may be a probate sale as pretty old fashioned

I agree, a mixture. At the moment it looks utterly unloved and unappealing.

You can change that without spending a fortune- sort the garden out (front and back), paint, get rid of the wallpaper, take down the blinds, maybe a new carpet in the bedroom. If you can afford some basic garden furniture even better. Most estate agents can CGI some furniture into some of the rooms too to get people through the door. Then make sure it’s warm, clean, and doesn’t smell odd and you’ll get a buyer.

The outside shots would put me off straight away, if doing anything I’d focus there. Inside looks dated but fine, it looks nice and bright with potential

The price is too high. It is not a "5 bed potential", it's a 4 bed with an office off the living room, not an extra bedroom.

The most recent comparable sale was for substantially less than you have it marketed for and prices are dropping, not increasing. That house was also finished to a higher standard by the looks of it.

By all means, soft wash the patio and driveway, get the bushes clipped, and give it kerb appeal with nee and brighter photos but I wouldn't bother painting or decorating unless you really want to - in which case lose the yellow room and make it more generic.

Beyond that, most things are about personal taste and unless you're prepared to renovate I'd leave that to the next owner.

I wouldn't stage it. Maybe I am biased as I recently bought a "staged" house and when all the furniture came out, it transpired that it was decorated around the furniture. Plus, it also complicated surveying as there was too much stuff obstructing the work. Never again will I buy a house unless I see it empty even if it severely limits my options.
Not to mention that the owners left half of their furniture behind which took a week of dismantling and tip trips.
Two months is really not that long on the market in the current climate and I would expect at least one price drop before it gets moving.

The inside is fine (although you could remove the broken blinds as pp mentions). Definitely don't spend any money on it. The outside is unappealing- presumably you've had some rain now so you could consider getting external photos redone + give the straggly hedging at the front a cut.

But if you want to sell quickly, it's the price.

Many thanks for the tips, agree it looks dated and unloved, and the front really let's it down. It was rented for 10 years so not much was done. I think price will have to drop, even with improvements.

It’s the outside that lets it down, both front and back.

Spend your money sorting that out rather than wasting it on staging.

It's a bit of a halfway house - no furniture but the odd light fitting an mirror. I'd lean in to completely unfurnished, remove all bits like thar and paint the yellow and blue rooms a neutral shade. And as PPs ha e said, tidy up the fence and bushes.

Definitely new photos of the garden with green grass, otherwise looks OK to me but no idea if the price is too much for the local area.

I wouldn’t stage it, I quite like empty houses to look at.
It needs decorated, blinds took down, I’d paint the kitchen cabinets (Frenchic paint, I’ve used before on a kitchen and was great)
Id also probably remove the fitted wardrobes aswell.
Outside also

I agree the outside is the issue, but it also looks like there is damp in two bedrooms which would put people off.

The others on the market - are they shifting? As if so, and they have furniture in, that's your issue. But if they're not then it's price and market conditions

I know the area, it's not one of the more desirable parts of Chelmsford (not the worst either) and there's a lot of competition, especially with Beulieu park , drop the price, it's not worth spending the amount on it that you'd need to, having said that I'd tidy the garden and get the stair carpet cleaned so it looks cared for

Your estate agent should be able to state it on the photographs using AI.
Ask them to do this first. If they can't, change estate agents.

Needs to be whitewashed! Nice, clean, neutral. Remove fitted cupboards in bedroom, replace any old curtains/blinds, or at least give them a good wash. Things like the frame by the bathroom door handle is damaged, these things tarted up can make your home appealing. The front does need tidying too, take the tired bushes out, they will never look nice again as gone woody, clean the steps. It all helps.

I’d do a bit of both.
I’d drop the price, but I’d also paint the bright walls magnolia. And I’d definitely make the garden look better. And even before doing any gardening, I’d put up-to-date photos on the website, because I imagine the grass is now green again, which would look a lot nicer.

Did you consult local agents to value your property? I personally would preferably go with a local agent, rather than Purple Bricks. I know that will be more expensive but they know far more about the area. They will also have a list of potential viewers already on their books. You are in a good position with no chain behind you, I assume.

I would seek local agents out first, before dropping the price.

My parents sold their house in Chelmsford last year. They had a good experience with local agent.

I don’t think the inside is the issue as long as it’s cleaned well and smells nice, but the kerb appeal is awful, the bushes all need trimming right back and I’d give the fence a varnish, it looks really scruffy outside which will instantly put people off if they do a drive past, then get the estate agent to redo the photos once it’s been tidied.