No viewings and I don't know why, it must be the price right?

[Scruffydoggy1]

House has been on the market for just under a month now.

Before the pictures were taken I did a lot of maintenance, redecorating cleaning and made sure the house was as immaculate as I could get it.

We live on a desirable street and we are classed as a new build as we are just under 10years.

Most of the houses in the area are terraced Victorian. Apart from part ownership and our development there are no new builds. Houses that have previously gone up for sale in our development have sold within a week.

The market has boomed round here and we found the estate agents were having a problem valuing our house and they have valued it at the top end of the market and price wise we are on par with the terrace houses. This is due to a few improvements we have made as these houses were basic starter homes. So far we have: added a garage conversion, added conservatory totally redecorated and put a high spec kitchen in. Plus we have ample parking and for round here lots of land.

Our decor is quite bight however it's modern and in keeping with the house.

We have recently put in a big kitchen have extended it by knocking out the wall. It's very modern and clean with granite worktops inbuilt appliances and a breakfast bar.

I'm gutted, before our house went on the agents were bargaining with me over % they all loved the house and said it will sell in no time.

But nothing, I had someone knock on the door Boxing Day asking questions and they never arranged a viewing.

The problem we now face is we are buying a new build off barratt. The foundations will be in within the next month then we have 28days to complete. If the house isn't sold we will need to apply for a mortgage and then rent this house out.

However I have another rental property, very basic ex authority 2 bed house and the rental price is fantastic for it. If we compare my current house to it, it doesn't compare and yet the rental income we are looking at will be lower.

So I'm getting a bit anxious to sell it now. This week I need to submit a lower price to the agents and I have no idea how much lower it needs to go to spark interest well a viewing as over 6000 people have viewed it online. And with the stamp duty prices changing our buyers will be saving about £7,000.

Any ideas?

So during the time your house has been on the market there has been that small thing of Christmas and New Year.

I'd not worry just yet. This weekend will be massive for people thinking 'ok Christmas is over, lets start looking at houses again'.

If you've heard nothing by next weekend then I'd be worrying.

Mind you, even if someone saw it and bought it today could you realistically complete in 28 days??

You could post a RM link here?

Or look at zoopla/mouseprice's valuations.

The worst time of year to put your house on the market is December. You probably would have been better holding off until now tbh.

Interest should pick up over this month as people stop thinking about Christmas presents and start thinking about buying houses

Could be the stagnation in the market at the moment, could try and get barratts to take it as a part exchange

Wrong time of the year, be patient it will start to pick up over the next few weeks.

You haven't said how much its up for.
Around here its only first time properties that are selling quickly in a matter of days so generally priced less than £220,000. Anything above that just isn't shifting because they tend to be when you have outgrown your first time property. Most families will wait until May/June to move up the ladder so that their children can finish the school year without too much disruption.
Its worth asking about part exchange as you are looking at a new build. The market should pick up as you go through the next few weeks. I believe generally a house takes 3 months to sell so only being on the market a few weeks isn't really something to worry about just yet.

Part exchange won't be possible without possibly loosing the new property. We have put a early bird reservation on so we have to complete when the new property is at ground level. If we want a part exchange that happends at roof level so our reservation will have to come off and possibly loose out if someone else buys it. Can't take the risk as it is our dream home.

It's on at £280k.

I think I might push for a reshoot as I think the pictures make the rooms look small as they are not taken as far back as possible. Our bedroom furnature is also huge and makes the rooms look so small.

The other problem we have is we are looking for first time buyers or someone with no chain as need to complete within about 2 months possibly more as Barratts deposit has been freed up for them so I am not 100% sure on that.

Am attaching the images, please feel free to comment I would like outsiders perspective and I can take criticism I'd like honesty.

.......,

Kitchen looks dark dark dark, I would change the orange bulbs for white and re-do that photo making it look as bright as you can.

I think the back garden needs cheering up a bit, I know it's winter but a few potted shrubs would be nice.

The flooring in the main bedroom and the room with the tv in - is that laminate or lino? it looks like grey tiles which is unusual for a bedroom - wood might be more usual.

Also, how many estimates did you get? did you go with the top estimate?
how many two? bedroom houses have sold near you recently and for what price?

How many other two? beds are on for sale within a couple of miles and how does their asking price/decor compare to yours?

Go onto right move and zoopla, put in the price of your house look at your competition objectively. Would you buy your house if you were looking now? Then look 10k, 20k and 30k cheaper would you chose your house?

Is your rental less because the rooms are smaller than your rental house? Is it because of the location? This too will affect people's decisions to buy.

A price reduction should be a minimum of 5%.

The last couple of years certain parts of the uk have been very busy over Xmas and jan for house sales.

Why does your agent say? Why did you chose this agent? How long are you tied in to the contract?

Kitchen bulbs are white. I see what you are saying about the Orange its a reflection of the red splash back. And I agree with it being dark as the lights are off.

And the flooring is laminate (tile effect)

It's a 3 bed, 2 doubles 1 single.

We have 5 estimates ranging from 250k - 290k and we are on for 280k

Other houses that are on for similar price are older houses with older fashion decor. The prices round here really vary. Plus a house identical to ours has never been on the market only 2 beds and town houses. The last town house 3 bed 3 story but smaller sold a year ago at £220k.

Maybe if you live in a predominantly Victorian area, that is the style of property which most people looking want. There's not much you can do about that though.

Would barratt do part exchange on it?

Sorry, just saw you mentioned part exchange earlier.

The house next door to us has been on for a couple of months with no obvious interest. The fact that it is 400k and the one the other side of us sold for 340k less than 12 months ago is causing it to stick methinks.

People study rm/ zoopla carefully these days and won't pay over the odds. So imo it's price.

The house next door to us has been on for a couple of months with no obvious interest. The fact that it is 400k and the one the other side of us sold for 340k less than 12 months ago is causing it to stick methinks.

People study rm/ zoopla carefully these days and won't pay over the odds. So imo it's price.

Why on earth tile effect laminate in a bedroom?! It's those little sorts of details which really put people off. They immediately tick it off on their list as "something that needs changing immediately and will cost money."

For me, too, I am very suspicious as to why the head of the bed is against the window. I'm not sure why anyone would do that so I inmediately suspect it's because it's the only way the bed will fit in the room and would dismiss even the chance of a viewing immediately.

Potential buyers need to look at those photographs and imagine their own stuff in the rooms and it will be very off putting to them to be suspicious of the proportions.

Which sell quicker, the terraces or the new builds in the area? Lots of people would choose an older house over a new build any day in my opinion because the room proportions are better, the ceilings are higher, there is more character, more storage etc. People are drawn to buying brand new new builds precisely because it IS brand new - trying to then sell it on is sometimes hard as it's used and not as fresh then so the pull of the "brand new house" isn't there any more. My sister is struggling to sell her new build. She regrets buying it and wishes she'd bought the much older houses on her estatee as there is more scope for extending and the rooms were a better size in the first place. She says she fell for all the shiny newness and didn't consider the practicalities.

Maybe people in your area are looking at both terraces and new builds and considering that they get more value for money from an older house?

unless you get a cash buyer with no change you are unlikely to complete in 28 days if it sells tomorrow. How long does your council take to do searches?

new builds are not that easy for the developer to sell. Do some hard-nosed negotiation, you can still get it.

change? Chain!

Even a cash buyer may struggle to complete in 28 days as the searches etc can take a while and the solicitors paperwork.

The flooring would put my off looking at the place and the garden. Tiles in living spaces are not to most people's tastes and that's quite an expense to put right. The kitchen is very dark and it makes it look tiny and I agree with beds by the window means the room appears tiny. The garden needs a lot of work too so if your price is the higher end its quite an amount of money on top.

We are in a similar position OP
We put our house on just before Christmas as we are buying new build house and can't sign anything till this is sold. We had 2 viewings before Christmas and one this week who are coming for 2nd viewing tomorrow but that's it. Loads of online hits but not converting to viewings. If things don't pick this week we will have to go back to builder and either renegotiate price or pull out. Our neighbours sold very quickly in October and their house is quite bog standard compared to ours which has loads of lovely features so we thought we'd have a buyer by now ??
Online hits have picked up this week though so maybe Christmas has been the problem till now

I agree with Curlyhairedassassin. If people want new build, they want brand new usually, with all the incentives that developers throw in. In my view - there is no incentive to buying an old new build if you see what I mean, the fittings are usually a little bit out of date (although I can see yours are modern), the rooms are small, the NHBC guarantee is about to run out etc.

I agree that the bedroom looks really odd with the way the bed is placed, I would change that, and the flooring in the lounge looks cold. The room seems very narrow, can you play around with the furniture to make it look wider? I would probably tone down the pink in your child's room too. Do you have artex ceilings (looks like you do from the photo of the pink room). Can you have this skimmed over too as that really is quite old fashioned now and buyers think its a massive job getting rid of artex?

I think perhaps there is a danger than you have overspent on a first time buyers house and you're not likely to get your money back. I think if 3 beds went less than a year ago at £220k, yours does sound overpriced slightly.

My honest opinion is that the pictures are doing you no favours - sorry but they make the house look small and dark! Did the agent take them or did they bring in a specialist? My house stuck last year and viewings quadrupled when agent re-commissioned the pictures by their photographer.
The market has dropped off in some places so maybe your price is a bit punchy.
This time last year I was desperate to view properties as I had accepted an offer on my house - but all the agents were closed from Christmas to New Year.

I agree about the photos. They make the rooms look very small, there is no storage shown in any of the bedroom photos. Is that because there the photos have been badly taken or because there is no storage??? The conservatory photo needs to be taken from a different angle as the overwhelming impression of the existing photo is that the garden fence is almost up against the window. Being blunt, the photo of your living room (the one with the TV in) looks like a medical waiting room. Can you get some cushions, art for the walls, and most of all a rug to cover up the grey tiles? The garden needs some kind of colour and something to show how it functions - right now, it look like a patch of scrub land. Do you have any garden furniture, a trampoline, anything which would give some perspective on the size and show people how it can function? Also, I am suspicious of all the lights being on in every photo as it makes me think the house is very dark. Can you get the photos retaken with better lighting or at least on a sunny day?

Most of all, however, if you are not getting viewings after this weekend, then the absolutely most likely cause is that the price is too high.

To be totally blunt, I think it will be the decor killing any chances of a sale. It's black and grey out of the 80s, tiled grey laminate in a bedroom is horrid. The black furniture everywhere is not nice. The house looks more 80s than 2000s. I can't believe there are artexed ceilings in a house only 10 years old?

The kitchen is fine but I think you seriously need to address the rest.

And I know that sounds so rude, but if you're wondering why it's not selling I guess you want honest opinions.

I think you really need to address the layout of furniture in the living room. Can you put the sofa under the window at all? The current layout makes it look like a box room. It also needs some serious cheering up - bright rug on the floor, colourful flowers in vase.....?

And, sorry, but I agree with the flooring. The grey lino everywhere is only going to appeal to a minority of buyers - the vast majority are going to be thinking ££££ to change it all.