Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Property/DIY

Join our Property forum for renovation, DIY, and house selling advice.

Original poster

Reduce house price or switch agent?

39 replies

watchingwaiting87 · 12/02/2018 13:08

Our house has been on the market for a few weeks and hasn't had an offer. I'm aware this isn't long, but it's an attractive house in commuterville so that actually is quite a poor performance in the local market.

We are likely going to be needing to reduce in the next week or so.

I feel like reducing the property on Rightmove etc looks like a bit of an admission of failure and could hinder interest. Am I overthinking?!

Do you think it would it be better to market with a different agent altogether at a new price (and sack off the prior agent?) Then at least the property might look shiny and new (and better priced) to any new viewers.

To be honest we've not been blown away with current agent's service and would not be averse to signing with a new agent if it is best for the property.

(I guess option C would be 'be more patient', so there's that too.)

Any opinions/insights would be great. Thanks!

OP posts:
Mildura · 12/02/2018 13:22

How many weeks is a few?

What are the terms of the contract you have signed with agent1? Is there a minimum tie in period?

How many viewings have you had? Lots of viewings with no offers suggests price could be high.

The market is not the same as it was 2 years ago, even for attractive houses in commuterville. Things are taking longer to sell, and generally for lower prices than 2 years ago, but this varies depending on exactly where you are.

Notyetthere · 12/02/2018 13:36

Have you looked at what similar houses in your area sold for recently? This should hopefully inform you on whether you need to drop the price.

Original poster
watchingwaiting87 · 12/02/2018 13:38

We've been on for 3 weeks. I am probably am being melodramatic.

No minimum tie in, but conscious of how it might "look" to switch agents/reduce.

We have actually had a reasonable number of viewings (10ish) so it may be more about presentation than price, so we are doing some things to improve that.

You're right, it is a different market, just hope we haven't shot ourselves in the foot. We bought for 450 a few years ago. All valuations came back at 550 so that's what we went with.

But small bedrooms are making it a struggle to get to second viewing. Like I said, we have been changing the presentation a bit (adding a double bed in room 2 instead of office set up etc). So maybe that'll help.

Argh, selling a house sucks! Can't bear the uncertainty and feeling that we've done something wrong.

OP posts:
Bluntness100 · 12/02/2018 13:40

It doesn't make a difference in terms of what potential buyers can see, right move shows when it was previously listed for sale and for what price. Changing agents doesn't change that.

How many viewings are you getting?

Lilmisskittykat · 12/02/2018 13:46

I would say that changing agents won't help. They all do the same shove it in right move...

Your most likely to see better result by reducing your price. Price will always trump Presentation I'd think, you can see past a run down kitchen/ bathroom small rooms etc if the price is right.

What's the feedback from all the viewings been ?

NotDavidTennant · 12/02/2018 13:50

Would you be willing to share a link? MN is usually good for honest feedback.

GreenTulips · 12/02/2018 13:58

For that price I'd expect the house to look very well presented.

I'm surprised the agents didn't advice you in the first place

Have a good look round is everything clean and presentable? Have you decluttered and washed the windows?

Some people view and then consider putting theirs on the market others have theirs on but not sold - so you need to ask if they have sold and ready to go otherwise there's no pint in offering

GreenTulips · 12/02/2018 13:58

Point

Original poster
watchingwaiting87 · 12/02/2018 14:11

Bluntness100/ Lilmisskittykat - The reason I was wondering about switching agents is to avoid having the 'reduced' sign on our listing with current agent, as it would look new with a diff agent. I feel 'reduced' can look detrimental.

Green Tulips - I think it is well presented. It is very stylish/minimal/scandi vibes. The only downfall is bedroom sizes - that's the consistent negative feedback and there just isn't much we can do about that (besides sensible staging).

Property has a gigantic garden for the area, near a station with 25min commute and next to one of UK's best schools.

OP posts:
wowfudge · 12/02/2018 14:16

You are in for a rough ride if you are worrying like this after 3 weeks. What is the feedback? If there has been no feedback then I’d be concerned the agent was doing sweet fa. If you make changes, make sure the agent comes back and takes new photos and the listing is updated. If you reduce the price after such a short time, even if you go with another agent, you just look desperate.

Lilmisskittykat · 12/02/2018 14:17

I can see your concern but I guess it's just about perspective.

I'd just read reduced as motivated to sell and realistic about the housing market.

100k is a massive increase in a couple of years. Well it is my end of the world.. north. Maybe worth listing positives you have done to the house since moving in - new kitchen, new boiler, bathroom etc. To assure buyers if the value added and reason for increase

Only ideas as I have no idea of where you are selling things might be very different further south.

whiskyowl · 12/02/2018 14:19

I never see a reduced price as a sign of 'failure', but more as an eagerness to sell. It would actually make me more, not less, inclined to look at a property - it tells me the owners are sensible, and genuine about the process. I would wonder more about a property that had been on since mid-summer, and had been photographed with trees and flowers in full flow, that was on still at an unreduced price in February.

Original poster
watchingwaiting87 · 12/02/2018 14:21

Lilmisskitty - Yes I think the price is somewhat unrealistic TBH, but all valuations agreed at this price and for all we knew, they were the experts. Should've trusted our own instincts, eh?

Wowfudge - You're probably right. Haven't sold a property before and am the anxious type at the best of times. Feedback is unanimously bedrooms a bit too small.

I think you're right about appearing desperate, have heard that from a few diff sources so think I will try and stick it out longer. (Agent keen to reduce in next week or so, but maybe for their own gain, I wonder...)

OP posts:
Original poster
watchingwaiting87 · 12/02/2018 14:22

Whiskyowl - that's really good to know if we do reduce, thank you :)

OP posts:
Bluntness100 · 12/02/2018 14:24

Op, you can ask the agent not to write reduced. They don't need to.

Original poster
watchingwaiting87 · 12/02/2018 14:27

Bluntness100 - oh really? Didn't realise that. Would it still show up in 'just added' I wonder?

OP posts:
Mildura · 12/02/2018 14:47

Bluntness100 - It will automatically show as 'reduced' on Rightmove though, if the price comes down by more than 3%.

Mildura · 12/02/2018 14:48

10viewings in 3 weeks, doesn't sound like the agent is doing that bad a job.

No offers or 2nd viewings and it sounds like the price may be a little high.

GreenTulips · 12/02/2018 14:52

Well your listing should be as you say easy commute great school plus any new things expensive kitchen sunny garden

People are interested but unless you know what position they are in you can't reduce yet.
Some agents get a percentage of the original listing price rather than the selling price - do you know which?

Can you put open to offers?

FluffyWuffy100 · 12/02/2018 14:52

Don't worry about seeing 'reduced' - to me it means the buyer is actually motivated rather than totally unrealistic and hanging on to a pie in the sky valuation.

10 viewings and no second viewings or offers does sound like your actual house is as too high a price.

Easilyflattered · 12/02/2018 15:01

Down here in the South East most houses we are looking at have reduced at least once. And we reduced ours too.

I wouldn't see it as admission of failure, if anything I see houses where the vendor clearly refuses to reduce and think the vendor hasn't woken up to the fact that the market has altered, or that the vendor isn't that committed to actually selling.

peachypetite · 12/02/2018 15:04

10 viewings in three weeks is good. Maybe it's priced too high?

Original poster
watchingwaiting87 · 12/02/2018 15:38

Easilyflattered - that's really good to know. I honestly have no idea about any of this and spend far too much time worrying what other people 'might' think.

How many months in did you reduce? Did it make an impact? (More viewings etc?)

OP posts:
nemno · 12/02/2018 16:10

I didn't worry about the "reduced" label, in fact my agent didn't reduce quite enough to trigger it so I got him to increase the reduction so it did. The advantage of doing this is it generates a new alert to all the Rightmove viewers that have saved a search and generates interest all over again. Which it did for us.

Original poster
watchingwaiting87 · 12/02/2018 16:15

nemno that's great! Congrats to you guys. Really helpful to hear the positive experiences and views on reducing.

Getting back into the 'newly listed' is definitely my endgame, whether it is with my current agent or a new one...

OP posts: