House selling tips

[whenyouwish]

We are going to put our house on the market. It's an average 3 bed new build semi. It was on over a year ago for 6 months with only 1 offer, lots of viewings though.
It's a fairly new build, 7 ish years old and its neutral, clean, newly decorated after we took it off the market and has original bathrooms and kitchen which are plain and functional (nothing new or snazzy but perfectly acceptable)
What are people's house selling tips as we've seen a house we love and want to sell quickly but can only knock 20k max off of our selling price which is priced at the going rate.
I'm thinking -
Declutter everything, put clutter in storage boxes and pop in loft
Put all kids toys in garden into the shed and weed the flower beds
Buy toy storage like shelves so toys aren't taking up floor space in our playroom as it's currently chocka with dolls prams, buggies, highchairs and other random toys. It's a fine line between decluttering and actually being able to live in a house with sufficient toys!!!
Any other amazing ideas which will help my house sell fast?
Thanks in advance!

Hopeful bump for the people that have just put their kids to bed!

Is it definitely the going rate as in what people are selling for, rather than what they're listing for?

Yep as far as I can see it's at the going rate. Last year when it was on we were offered 13k under asking price, but we rejected this as our figures were really tight and we needed around 8k under asking price to buy the house we wanted. I think 13k under asking price shows that it was priced pretty realistically?
Compared to other houses it's the same price!

If it is magnolia reprint it. Otherwise as you said declutter. Be mindful of price as well. Most estate agents will over value properties to get you to sign on. House prices have dropped recently as well so your best bet would be to see if anything else similar has sold in your development and base your price on that.

All recently decorated, less than a year ago. Mainly stone type colours, neutrals and light blues, so nothing offensive. No loud wallpaper or crazy decorating. Can't afford new kitchens and bathrooms, although they're only 7 years old and just standard new built beech units and black worktops and all white bathrooms.
Carpets upstairs are 7 years old and a bit grubby in places, do you think carpet cleaner or not if 50+ people will end up viewing and walking all over it?
How about family photos on walls? Keep up to show its a family home or remove?

We decluttered and for photos had it as minimal as possible but with the odd photo or vase of flowers. For viewings I went all out each time and did a big clean and tidy, put all things away and put toys in my car. I kept it as tidy as possible with 2 young children underfoot! It was a massive pain and perhaps I went overboard but we had quite a lot of viewings and accepted an offer after 4 weeks of it being on the market.

What was your feedback after viewings last time?

De clutter everywhere as much as possible , rent a storage unit or family garage away from your property and store it there , depersonalise the property as much as possible

I personally don't like loads of photos / pictures up as it is distracting and Viewers want to visualise it as potentially their home not yours also Stuff on the walls optically can tend to reduce the sizes of the rooms ,.

have the minimum of " stuff " your going to be packing as soon as you sell so make a start now . The clearer the room the better ,

then clean everywhere very throughly including carpets , even if they are replaced by the next owner a dirty carpet will detract from the look you need to achieve .

Mow any grass regularly - at least once a week , trim shrubs & trees, sweep hard standing / hard landscape areas regularly , paint and repair etc where needed , keep on top of the whole property so everything is always ready ,

have all bathroom junk hidden away / removed just a couple of nice towels out , keep the loo seat down for neatness ,

make sure the house is well aired and avoid strong cooking smells / pet/ chemical smells

Make sure everywhere is tidy and beds made
Have the kitchen surfaces empty except for the kettle , put away , store, or dispose of all extra kitchen paraphernalia , the clearer it is the bigger it will look .

Get several ( at least 3 or 4) valuations and go with the middle one . As a pp said some bump up the valuation to pull you in only to get you to drop the asking price a couple of weeks later , if you go with a realistic starting figure it will be quicker and less likely you will have to drop

Keep the bins tidy and make sure they are emptied regularly

The remarks we had last time was that they loved downstairs as we've extended, converted the garage and have a conservatory on the side. They didn't like upstairs as its 3 small bedrooms. Downstairs is 3 times the size of upstairs.
Lots of people didn't like the garage being converted, but at the time we were using it as a home office which clients could visit so it was very clinical. This has all been carpeted, decorated and notice boards etc taken down so it's a family playroom not a commercial looking room.
Lots of people would have preferred a garage not a conversion so not sure why they even viewed.
Also a third of the not huge garden has been lost with extending so it's finding people that want lots of living space, a small amount of sleeping space and a very manageable garden!

Definitely have your carpets cleaned.

Professional photos if it's an affordable option (the estate agent offered us this option for £100 when we sold our flat a few years ago - and the photos were brilliant - the photographer styled everything too)

If you have spare bedding, keep it ready for making up the bed for viewings, your bed will always be clean and smell fresh.

I think toys in big fabric bins (GLTC ones are nice) could work out cheaper and easier than shelves? Easier to chuck everything in too.

I think decluttered but homely is a good look for viewings. And if you're in a family home it will most likely go to a family so they will want to see how you use it practically.

Good luck!

If feedback on bedrooms was that they were small, think about removing any unnecessary furniture. Such as chairs/ bookcases and linen baskets. Can you manage with one bedside cabinet?
Solid furniture, such as chests of drawers, seen as you walk into a room block the view and the brain thinks the space is smaller.
Can you rearrange things to make the space seem bigger?

Can you post a link to the listing or some pictures? 'Neutral decor' can be quite subjective.