Please can you help us decide what to put our maisonette on for?

[JulieAnderton]

We've had 4 valuations on our ground-floor maisonette:

£190-200k / £210k / £220k /£220k

Three identical maisonettes have sold in our road in the last 6 months or so. An upstairs one sold for £190k and two downstairs ones sold for £215k.

Similar properties within a one-mile radius of where we live are currently on for £225+ (there is one at offers over £180k though).

So, just by going purely on taking an average of the valuations, it would suggest that we should put it on for about £215k, but the wider market seems to suggest that a slightly higher (i.e. £220k) asking price wouldn't be amiss.

The EA who valued it the lowest said that it is always best to price realistically, get plenty of viewings and achieve asking price (or close to); if you price too high initially you might have to reduce your asking price but by then your property has gone "stale" and potential viewers may wonder what is wrong with it and be put off. His words are rather ringing in my ears and I wonder if we'd be foolish to price too high. We're in no real hurry to move, but don't want the process to be dragged out, iykwim.

How does yours compare decoratively to the other ones? Is it well staged etc?

is your place in similar condition/as desirable as the ones that sold for £215k? If so then I would go with the higher valuation to be honest. It's only £5k difference. I totally agree about overpricing - but if you go on for £220k and think you can achieve £215k then I don't think you are madly out of range......I've always tried to work out what I think I can achieve before getting valuations from agents. What did you think you would market it for before you saw anyone?

It's really unlikely that buyers in the £210k-£215k range would be put of viewing your place if you market it at £220k or put off making an offer at £210k-£215k. The same is probably true of those looking at £200k as it is 10%. The risk of "going stale" is generally due to not getting viewings. £20k/10% probably isn't going to deter viewings and people an always offer that bit less.

Have you asked the agents who suggested the lower valuations how your maisonette compares to those sold for more?

Bear in mind that you can always choose an agent but ask them to use a different asking price to the one they suggested.

Before we had any valuations we were thinking it would be valued around £200k, so have been rather taken aback by the higher ones.

One that sold for £215 was a recent renovation; the other was to someone who just missed out on that one and was v keen to buy in our road. Our decorative order is similar to the second one, according to the EA.

do you know that they actually sold for those prices or were they just marketed at those prices and have sold (the price they sold for may be different).

I would say, price is 5% above what you realistically would accept, buyers weep always offer less than asking price IME unless there is a bidding war.

good luck!

darn typos, sorry on my phone

weep = will!

According to the EAs they are sold prices. We've been checking mouseprice to try to verify, but they haven't been listed yet.

£220k minimum.

How much ate you actually hoping to get? I'd suggest putting it on for a bit more than that and making sure the EA knows what your expectations are (assuming that figure falls within the range above)

are

120

Test the market with this price then lower to 115 in two months

don't believe the EAs necessarily, I have found most to be very keen until they have you on their books and then they say you need to drop the price after a couple of weeks.

just decide what you need for it and put it on at a bit more. good luck

Thank you everyone. We'd be happy to accept £210 (and certainly no less than 200). I guess going on at 220 isn't unreasonable to test the market for a few weeks.

Off to bed now - thanks again for your thoughts.

Is it leasehold? If yes, the number of years on the lease is crucial. If not, then £220k sounds right.