Property been on the market for six weeks, only 2 viewings

[katemiddletonsnudeheels]

Would you be a bit worried?

I've dropped the price a bit but still no further interest.

It's a well presented house, nothing 'obvious' wrong (that I can change anyway!) so is it just a question of waiting for it to sell? Feel as if life is on hold a little bit :)

Exactly what teacher said. Floorplans are the first thing I look at because photos can be very deceptive. Having said that, the photos don't do your house justice, especially of the garden. And even if you don't eat at a table put a small one in so people can see there is space. Staging aside, your house looks lovely and well cared for.

I agree with Paddington that it looks like a really nice house, but it isn't being marketed as well as it could, which is a shame! Could you look online for a house write-up and photos that you really like but is similar to yours, and then send the link to the estate agents [if you can find one from a local rival, that would of course be all to the good...]?

There's a shot that includes a bare lightbulb which makes it feel a bit studenty. Put a lampshade up and possibly tone down the colourful room as it makes me think, how many coats of paint will that need?
Also floor plans are the norm now. Really helps people visualise the house.

Some great advice so far - I would also get the blind pulled right up for a new shot of the bathroom and stick a pot plant on the windowsill in there.

The estate agent blurb is a bit obsessed with light fittings.

Agreed you need to make it clear that it is an eat-in kitchen

Also That enormous scruffy tree shouts 'too near the house , insurance issue'

Echo what teacher said about showing the kitchen in full. It doesn't look big at all and I too was wondering where you ate. Seemed odd in a 3-bed house to have to eat off your knees in (what looks like) a small lounge. I know lots of EA's in regional areas don't include floorplans, but then the photos and blurb need to work even harder really show the house off. That 3rd bedroom should be included. The front view of the house is also not helpful, it's not even clear which house we should be focusing on. There must be a better angle.

Hehe - so redoing photos and sorting the garden are on next weeks to do list.

It actually has tenants in who are moving out at the end of August - I'll tone down 'colourful room' rhen!

Definitely they need a photo of the table. Otherwise looks like no room for one which would make most people discount it immediately. The EA hasn't done a great job for you with the pics. And get one of the third bedroom on there. I'm always suspicious when rooms are left out of the photos.

Floor plan is definitely needed.

Get the photos re-taken on a sunny day especially for the exterior shots.

Fresh flowers in vases always makes a room look more inviting.

Put the lights on for the photos.

Can the front be tidied at all? It feels very claustrophobic.

All toiletries out of the bathroom and put a big candle on the windowsill.

Tidy the toys in the garden, get them out of shot.

When we had our photos taken I worked with the agent and moved things from room to room so it was completely clear of clutter. I don't think you need a photo of bedroom 3, I didn't. That room housed all the crap when the photos were being taken. I even told him not to open the door as it was rammed full

Don't give up hope, we had our house on the market since new year and it was very quiet until now....two families both bidding away now, happy days

The first picture - I wasn't sure which property was up for sale based on the way the photo was taken. I'd get the tree by the front door removed (heard dreadful things about the roots of that type of conifer so I'd get it removed a.s.a.p.) and the light in the hallway will improve.
The plants outside the living room window need to be cut back. (pic 3)
I'd consider replacing the plastic drainer with a stainless steel one and also remove any notices from the fridge freezer (pic 4)
Hide the shampoo bottles etc and get the picture of the bathroom retaken. Consider having a scented candle on the window sill and have some nice hand towels draped over the bath to add a smidge of colour to the room (pic 7).
I'd also echo the suggestion about getting floor plans but the big thing for me is the plants outside the front door and the back garden needs a tidy.

Have a look at other property photos of places that have gone sale agreed and see how they have presented their gardens

I'd need a photo of room 3 - its a consideration for us as we need to know how small the "box room" is for the 3rd child. Much easier if there's a bed in there rather than a desk so you can visualise it.

I was impressed with how tidy it all looked, but agree with above about showing table and a floor plan.

Its the sort of house we'd buy but its not our area (sadly price wise!)

I think it took us about 6 weeks to sell. We had several EAs through before deciding who to go with.
You need well-lit photos (including third bedroom) and a floor plan. It's impossible for prospective buyers to understand without the latter. I rejected any without when we were looking to buy.

I wouldn't worry any further about decluttering or toning down. People can easily buy a tin of magnolia paint!

Many thanks for all these ideas, I'm really grateful.

I am away this week but next week I'll contact a local gardening firm to sort the garden (front and back) out and hopefully get another loads of photos then.

Agreeing with the above, floor plan is 1st thing that puts me off. All photos cluttered with knicknacks are the second thing. For photos if you can stick it in a carrier bag and have it out of sight (bottles, picture frames on mantle etc) then do.

The 3rd thing that would put me off is that the 2 nearest schools are undersubscribed and therefore probably dreadful but you can't do anything about that.

We were trying to sell in 2010 and were on the market for nearly a year, I expect there will be similar experiences now with the current slow down.

Can you rewrite the blurb yourself and send it to the EA? It's absolutely awful and makes absolutely no effort to present the house as desirable, focus on its strong points etc. It sounds actually as though it was written by someone without a strong grasp of English, and that, added to the weird EA speak, and the litany of light fittings, wouldn't appeal to anyone.

And the floorplan and better photos, using a filter to heighten the colours slightly. Bad photos and a neutral colour scheme can just look dreary rather than minimalist and uncluttered.

I really hope the agent is cheap because this is a nice house with a shoddy listing. Rubbish photos, not enough photos, and huge issue with the lack of floor plan.

Pull it off the market for a couple of weeks then relist with a decent agent?

Agree with Jinny that the blurb reads very strangely - "Having a..." isn't good English at all. There also isn't any nice introductory summary that you see in many blurbs - even just "Well-appointed 3-bedroom home in a desirable area with spacious garden, excellent for families" - something like that!

The photos are not the best I've ever seen - there's something odd about the angles especially the first living room one, because it's been shot towards a corner so none of the ceiling lines are level, which for me personally gives an odd effect. The 2nd picture of the living room is better than the 1st and I think you'd actually be better off having just that particular view as it looks really lovely and airy. The kitchen - perhaps remove the bits and pieces from the fridge and the plastic draining stand as people have mentioned. Garden - perhaps remove plastic toys and try to get a photo on a sunnier day. Warm up the white balance in all photos.

I'd say it's definitely the photos that are making the difference in terms of not getting viewings. Really good photos can get people through the door so that they can then consider the property in person.

Looking quickly at the description and photos it didn't look as if you could eat in the kitchen which would put me off. Apart from that I'd like to be able to get a 3 bedroom house for that amount

And along with the lack of floor plan the room measurements are only in feet, not feet and metres. That would really really piss me off as someone looking through Rightmove (I am in midst of buying and selling so have recent experience). Its just that much more work to figure out the size and if it's right. DH and I don't have loads of time to waste doing viewings 'just in case'. If there are other properties around at a similar value they'll be getting the viewings, not you, because it's so much easier to see 'ohh this one might be right'.

Change your agent.

I think your house looks quite nice. The garden picture is at a weird angle - that's not helping. The fence could use painting too.

Like the kitchen, but if there's space for a table, get that in a photo too.