Not getting many viewers - advice welcome!

[CuddyMum]

We've had our property on the market for 4 months now and I'm getting frustrated by the lack of viewings (6 viewings to date). We have reduced the price to as low as we can now and although two different parties are interested, they have yet to sell their own properties. We did have an offer at Easter but were advised to turn it down by the agents. I regret doing this now :( The house is in an expensive area and has excellent infant, junior and secondary schools all in walking distance. I would appreciate any advice. I have just asked the agent to update the exterior photos.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-37819829.html?premiumA=true

Looks lovely - I'd have it! :)

However I am not able to move to Olney.

is the market generally flat locally? Are your rival comparable houses getting lots of viewings?

Are you on your agents case and demonstrating keen-ness? I think keeping your house fresh in their mind with frequent contact is always worth doing.

You say you've reduced the price to as low as you can go. Is that low enough to sell it? A good way to check is by looking at recent sold prices in your area/for similar houses and checking you're competing with those values.

It is a slow market, but it's also a falling market (in most areas - I don't know yours) so a 'low' offer now may be better than a lower offer later.

As you said, the external photos are letting it down. It's hard to get one at the moment but a sunny day would make all the difference. As a front page photo for the web listing and details I would suggest using one the same as number four on the gallary but with the sun out and taken further right so the concrete lampost isn't central. That area of grass looks lovely and a great amenity that many houses wouldn't have.

Picky I know but although the house looks incredibly well turned out, and tidy (have you been watching the House Doctor?!) it doesn't provoke an emotional reaction to me, perhaps it is a little too tidy? That sounds stupid but in those photos the rooms that look most appealing are your DCs, because they are more personal and homely. I know that too much personality puts people off but to me, so does too little.

Again, sounds stupid, but I would take the kitchen photos again with some flowers/bright accessories/fruit bowl or something in shot to make more impact. Doesn't have to look like an over dressed show home but needs to look like a happy bright home. Likewise, could you buy some cheap flowers, pansies or something in pots and put on the garden table and along your low garden wall for the garden shots.

Sorry if I sound out of order but I'm a very fussy househunter and if you could appeal to me you could appeal to anyone!

The rooms in general look very nice. However for a six bedroomed house the sitting room and dining room both look quite small in the photos. The dining room looks like you can barely walk round the table. I would get those photos done again.

You only have one house bathroom to serve five of the bedrooms, which might put people off. Big families would need more bathrooms. Small families wouldn't need so many bedrooms. Can you mention the ease of installing more bathrooms in the particulars? Or how the extra rooms might suit teenagers or aged relatives?

I'm with MsMoppet, I'm impressed with your decluttering skills but the downstairs rooms seem a bit cold, almost clinical, I almost wonder about a rug in the sitting room to soften it. Also agree about getting some current photos of the outside too.

Oops there is a rug! Sorry, I missed it first time!

Olney's lovely, when I lived in Bedford we used to call it Disneyland for the middle classes

However, it's a town of 2 halves, the character houses and the new builds and your new build is always going to be a bit less desirable in Olney when the market squeaks and it's been flat for a while.

Also your house is very oversized for the plot as you've a teeny garden(sorry ) and it's going to be a bit more of a niche market - yours is the only 6 bed available.

Is there any way you can cut the price? You've decorated it beautifully, it's not my taste and I do agree it's a little 'cold'

All good points well received. I have taken some garden shots today (it's sunny!) as it's much greener and has more flowers, shrubs now and have asked the agent to use them (or come and take similar). The next house above ours is £500k and the next below 385k and 379k, so nothing similar for people to compare at the moment. Strangely, we moved from another 6 bed house 4 years ago and ended up selling to a single woman in her 60s! I really need some buyers who are relocating from "down south" eg London. Here's hoping. Thanks for the feedback :)

Is yours number 9? If so you're looking at £50k more than you paid around peak in 2008. It might be worth adding into the description the improvements you've made since then to ensure people aren't put off by the hike in price.

The most recent sale on the road was your buying that house which makes it more difficult to know what it's value is today. The other most recent sales were:

15 Ferne Furlong, Olney, Milton Keynes MK46 5EN
£392,000 Detached, Freehold 14 Nov 2007
7 Ferne Furlong, Olney, Milton Keynes MK46 5EN
£363,500 Detached, Freehold 12 Dec 2006

Are they similar/bigger/smaller than yours? That might give you a price indicator.

I've tried to find similar sales in the neighbourhood.

This one sold for £358k in Jan this year.

This 6 bed sold for £425k in Nov last year.

Hope that helps. I'm sure rugs/flowers/twigs/curtains etc can help, but the fundamental is ensuring you have the right price.

I agree with everything said before. I would add some flowers to the gardens. Now that summer seems to have arrived you could get some nice big pots or even just shrubs.

I agree re price to a point but people always know that there is room to negotiate on price. The problem seems to be that they are not even coming through the door!

I think there is a limited market for people who want 6 bedrooms but only a small garden.

There's a saying in the States - "If you're not getting viewings then drop by 10%; if you're getting viewings but no offers then drop by 5%".

Having said that I do completely agree with getting everything else sorted first, i.e. you need to ensure your house is advertised well (local press, Rightmove, floorplans, good photos etc) with a competent agent (returns calls, is helpful to enquirers etc)

We've added loft conversion (40k), kitchen, flooring etc. The house is much more lived in than it may appear . Whilst the garden may seem small, it's a good size for the area. Some of the newer houses literally have postage stamp sized gardens. There is still room for negotiation and definitely scope for buyers to add a further bathroom as there is still a section of unconverted loft. I think technically we are a 5 bed house as the smaller room is really just a dressing area (and ironing room). A house like ours down the road (minus the loft conversion) did sell recently for close to £425k and he needs to gut it. The garden is half the size and it backs on to a busy road. Their neighbour tells me that he just chose the house without his wife even looking.

Not only do you have an issue with the size of garden you also have an issue with the amount of living space. Most houses have equal amounts of upstairs (bedroom, bathroom) and downstairs (living) space. You have far more bedroom space. Anyone looking for, and paying for, 6 bedrooms will expect bigger rooms downstairs. That means you need to price it as a 5 bed.

the closest house is £499k and IMO not as nice ( I don't like open fronted modern houses, you have a front hedge and enclosed space..)....

which agent sold the house down the road?

Van Weenens - for some reason he removes his sold properties from Rightmove and his own website straight away and has no shop window.

odd. was going to say, think about diff agent..but no shop window does mean no bypasser interest. although i'd have thought most people looking for a house like that would rely heavily on Rightmove.

I'd also get your front hedge cut.

I agree that the house isn't balanced - you don't have the downstairs living space to match a 6 bedroomed house (or at least you don't sppear to). I therefore would suggest that you need to make the downstairs look as big as possible - do you have a table in the kitchen or just the breakfast bar? I don't know the area so if gardens are small as you say, then you need to build this up in the particulars although to me, again, it doesn't fit with a 6 bedroomed house. I know others think the walkway / green spaces to the front would be a benefit, but it would actually put me off as I think people / teenagers at night would be continuously walking past the house and hanging around. Maybe just concentrate on the actual house.

Hi Cuddy,
Radical move but how about relocating the study to ne of the bedrooms to gain a bit of downstairs living space?
The study seems to be a very attractive room. is it possible to re-stage it as a snug or TV room?
In the garden, I would repaint the fence so that it is all one colour, fix the broken slab on the step and re-powerwash the patio.

Have done the fence and power washed the patio so hopefully this will look better in the photos :)

Oh, I hadn't looked at the floorplan - just the photos - and I thought the 'study' was the other end of the living room (as same colour scheme). I'd definitely make bedroom 4 into the study and convert the study into a formal sitting room/playroom/extra reception of your choice.

It is a beautiful house, but I agree the photos of the kitchen looked a bit sterile. Easily rectified though, so good luck. :)

It's a beautiful house, but I agree that the downstairs living space is too small for 6 bedrooms. How many peole would want 6 bedrooms? Could you market it as 5 bedrooms and upstairs study?

The dining room looks like a corridor in the photos. Could you take another photo? We have a tiny dining room that just fits a table and four chairs, so a small dining room would be a major off putter for me.

It might look cold because of the black/white/red, its a bit wag in design? I think there's not much you can do about that because its a modern house but in that price range are people expecting a bit more? It just looks a bit like a page from the home section of the Next catalogue.

I know that sounded insulting and I'm sorry, I'm not trying to be at all (I like Next :D ) I just think it might be something worth thinking about? Perhaps you could warm it up with different colours, yellows etc?