3 weeks, no offers - lower price?

[mudpiesfortea]

Our house has been listed for approx 3 weeks and we've only had 6 viewings and no offers. Our estate agent thinks we should lower house. Thoughts?

[mudpiesfortea]

MesFlorrick - you're kidding?!! It's madness. It's like 2007 never happened in the SE

[whattodoforthebest2]

A FTB isn't necessarily a FTB as in they've never had a mortgage before. XH and I moved into rented for a year to break the chain issues. We had time to get used to the area and find a house we really wanted. So we had a good deposit and were ready to go.

[MrsFlorrick]

Mudpies. No not kidding. Can't quite believe either (ponders selling house for massive price hike )

Also in SE, similar distance to London but further east than you in Kent.

Anything commutable to London hasn't really been affected by 2007.

If you much further out, you can see prices are only just starting to level with 2007 in some areas. Crazy.

And your house is lovely btw. Given the competition, I wouldn't lower the price just yet unless you needed to sell urgently. It's early days and it's only Feb. the Season (house buying season) really kicks off in March.

Estate agent is giving you crap advice because he is desperate for a fee.

[GrouchyKiwi]

I love the kitchen/diner in your house and that's a massive selling point for me.

Agree with PP that changing Bed 4 to a study and making the study a playroom is a good idea. Might help sell it more to a family.

I think the big dresser in the living room would look better if you took some of the books etc out so it's less packed. It looks a bit cluttered in that room.

I think it's lovely otherwise. Maybe some lovely green herbs on the windowsill.

[mudpiesfortea]

Thanks MrsF (currently binge watching season 6). I've always thought March was a good time to sell. Sounds crazy but our road looks gorgeous in March. The whole road is full of chamelia's and cherry blossoms and all our plants in front bloom (as opposed to the dead withered state the in now). Maybe we should take it off until then?

[mudpiesfortea]

I should give you all a commission . This is all really helpful, thanks

[RandomMess]

You need to tell your DH how much money you will save by decluttering now and not needing to move it all.

Seriously get chucking stuff out asap.

Insist they sort the floor plan out.

Sell the dresser - it may not fit the new place anyway?

[mudpiesfortea]

Agree re: se littering but the dresser isn't going anywhere. That thing was nearly £3k

[mudpiesfortea]

Random - every house we look at I think about where the monster's going to go. DH will never part with it. I love it though - it's a constant reminder that I should hold my ground and not give in when I know I'm right

[RandomMess]

£3k hope you are buying a grand new house to fit it in - because I know you have about 1.5 million to spend in order to do that...

You need to empty your dressing room and present it as an office or something - no photo so can't see what it's like?

[Artandco]

Move the dresser Into the study and fill with books. It will be a better place for it and even though it's big will look like it was bought for a study. Will give loads more space in living room.

[Puppymouse]

I only liked the first one OP so I m glad that's yours ! Hate the others. All have odd size rooms and gardens don't appeal. I would give it another month before panicking. Spring is on its way. We are just putting ours on the market this week (very different part of country to you) and have deliberately waited until now when there's less competition but more buyers on their way...

[Imperialleather2]

OK so I live not million mils away from you another town but visit Guildford regularly.

Youre right the London market is ruining prices in Surrey.

I actually think your house is good value for money. If people want a period property nearer the station then they need to double their budget literally.

Unfortunately I think your house could be one which makes your head say yes but doesn't make your heart sing As Kirstie allsop.would say. Please don't think I'm being rude.

Personally I would sit tight for a bit don't bother going with another agent it's on Rightmove and that's enough. Possibly change the description to 4th bedroom / study and it might just manage the expectations slightly better.

You want your agent to push the value in your house

I think things have cooled slightly though in the local market.

[MrsFlorrick]

Mudpies. Keep the house on. As others suggest, declutter some more.

And when you have a viewing, make sure you clean like a loon before hand. It all helps.

[HarlettOScara]

Ask your DH if he'd rather spend £100 on a storage unit or drop your house price by £25k.

I wouldn't even have that picture of the study on to be honest. The rest of the house is lovely but having that as the second pic made me thing 'WTF is that room even for?' If you're not going to change its purpose, you at least need to declutter it so that buyers can get a better idea of the size and imagine how they might use it.

If you're considering changing Agent, look at which one is shifting properties the fastest around you. That's what I did last year when we were selling (although vastly different area and market to your area). I didn't even get other agents to value even though I knew this agent wasn't the cheapest either. I could see that they were selling houses in my area quickest. We had 23 viewings and were sale agreed in under 3 weeks so it paid off.

[mummytime]

If you go with a new agent, I would brighten up the front with some bedding plants in tubs. I would also get them to highlight the safe walking route to town, also access to the University (including bus routes). At the most change it to a 3/4 bedroom house, because denying it has 4 could put off potential landlords etc.
You do also want to see if they can reach the "moving out of London" market. And might want to check that no-one is giving "nothing North of the A3" advice.

[mollie123]

I am absolutely amazed at the uplift in prices since 2010 in this road (when you bought the house you are now selling) - prices have gone beyond 2007 (bubble) by a huge percentage. The London effect has trickled out quite a long way.
The only people who can afford these prices - including yourselves as you will have to pay so much more for your next house - are those who got in early as it were.

[LunaLovebad]

Personally I think your house looks lovely, and I would definitely view it on the basis of the particulars. Kitchen/diner is gorgeous. I would agree with PP who suggested changing the study into a playroom/snug as you'll likely sell to a family.

One thing that would put me off a bit though is the fact that the two smallest bedrooms do look very small. I would want to see pictures of these two rooms on the details. It seems to be a common problem with houses of the kind of age yours looks to be, where a 4 bed house is actually 2 double beds and 2 singles when really the space lends itself better to being 3 double beds.

The dresser is quite imposing and I suspect makes the living room look smaller than it actually is.

I'm also in Surrey and we've been affected hugely by the London ripple. We're buying a house in our town at the moment that was sold for £475k 3 years ago and is now on for £700k. Only reason we can afford it is because someone moving in from London is willing to pay £550k for ours (which we bought for £350k 3 years ago). It's staggering.

[goldenlilliesdaffodillies]

3 weeks isn't very long in the grand scheme of things. If you need to sell urgently then I would drop your price if that is what the EA is saying. Our house was massively overpriced at the start (didn't realise this as trusted EA valuations!). It has been a very painful 8 months trying to sell!

I wouldn't get a second agent as the costs will go up and doesn't give a good impression.

I would say now is a good time to sell as in my experience the buyers seem to be more serious and keen to move by April.

[Hillingdon]

We have been on the market for just over a week. A few viewings but we are using a local EA who sells most of the houses around here. Most EA's apparently over value to get the business and most people over value their own house. So you get an overpriced house launched onto the market that no one will buy, you blame the EA or the people who came around twice and didn't put an offer in...

Price is the thing that will sell a house IMHO not the fact that you need xx for your new place, or xx to pay off your debts or Aunt Jenny 20 years ago had people queuing out the door to see her house so surely it will be the same for you!

A friend of ours is just about to sell a town house but it doesn't have a garage and there is just a bit of land at the back for one car. Its also on a main road. That has not stopped her and her DH from overvaluing and insisting that people will fall in love with it (if it was that great they wouldn't be moving!) They are dismissing the lack of parking and the road noise even though every time we see them they moan about those two things! They are even thinking about doing it themselves as EA's don't do anything much do they... I did say you will get all sorts turning up. You could be alone showing a strange man around, you could be messed around because to be frank buying a house is full of issues.

Our EA says the big thing at present is that people assume they wont have any issues getting a mortgage. In the SE you need every penny you can so we are not talking about small sums of money. They apply for a mortgage and are turned down..

[mudpiesfortea]

Update:
Met with a new agent today. They have good coverage in south east and spend a lot in local media (eg homes supplement which is REALLY popular, radio ads plus they're on high street so get all that footfall). They also take awesome photos and present their houses really well. I am, however, going to speak to one more agent based on advice down thread re: working with EA's that have sold most/fastest in the area.


We're going to trim the overgrowth at front of house which will allow photog a better angle. We'll also stage the house properly for photos (fresh flowers in the right places, no clutter, etc). For viewings we're going to start with Open house,' which I would prefer. That way I can remove clutter from all rooms, etc at one time. It's been difficult doing them at the drop of the hat (you know what it's like with small kids).

[mudpiesfortea]

Mollie - it actually makes me feel a bit sick. I remember thinking last year that a big 'win' for us with regards to equity would be to sell our house in 2-3 years for £475k . Never thought we could list it for this much and keep a straight face. I don't know how people are buying property. We got lucky with this house.

Bought after market crash. Vendors purchased as an investment and spent a lot of cash doing the extension, etc. You remember what it was like then? All the uncertainty & speculation about how bad the market would get, etc. They had to cut their losses and basically gave it away. Had they been able to hold out another year they would have made their money back and then some.

[snowypenguin]

As an estate agent I could say a lot but the main thing is your photos are shit, house is really cluttered and take down the photos on the wall in your lounge.

[orangina01]

Completely unrelated to your original post but where is the lovely window treatment from in the "pink" room? I have a similar coloured room and I love the introduction of the blue...

[mudpiesfortea]

Snowy - would be interested to hear a bit more. I honestly take no offence. I want to get this right so we're not on the market for ages