Is the housing market really slow at the mo?

[BreeVDKamp]

Is it because of the election? I don't really understand what effect the election might have on the housing market - surely any changes the new government will make won't come in straight away?

Anyway, we put our flat (zone 3 London) on the market at the start of the month, and viewings have been trickling in very slowly. Just had a call that someone who came for a 2nd viewing last night isn't going to put an offer in (they'd already put one in that we'd rejected for various reasons, perhaps that was stupid), so feeling a bit downhearted!

Realistically we could stay here for another year, but I am desperate to leave London :( DC1 due in May so we naively hoped we could complete roundabout June/July.

It's taken us 6 months ish to sell our zone 3 flat, bit of a pain but made a very good profit so can't complain. What I would say though is not all agents are equal and target investment buyers if you can.

I've just sold through an online estate agent, and I choose them specifically because the one I choose does everything a high St ea would, accompanied viewings, sales progression etc.

I sold on the first day of viewings over the asking price.
What I also did was low key marketing with a high St ea for their investors. They knew I would only accept an offer through them that had been bumped up to account for their fees.
Although I didn't accept an offer through them I did get quite a few that were close to what I wanted!

Maybe this could be an option?

We're what would probably be called red-hot buyers at the moment, we've sold our house, we're renting and we're desperate to get in somewhere super fast.
I call the local agents regularly and get notified of properties before they've come on the market officially, and certainly before they hit rightmove. I don't call online agents. If ever I have to view a house with the vendor present, my heart sinks. It's so much harder to properly look around, it really puts me off.
Also, we've used the same agents to sell our last two houses, both sales have been completed in 6 weeks, despite having a (albeit short) chain. The agents are fab, I trust them and they chase and chase and push the whole thing through. They're also probably one of the most expensive ones in the area, but I'd rather pay their fees on a sale that happens than a theoretical cheaper fee on one that doesn't. In a buoyant market, it really doesn't matter much but when things stagnate, I think that's when the quality of the agent really matters.

I've sold privately before so quite like the idea of an on line thing. The only thing that concerns me is pricing.