Help me sell my house please!

[movingoverseas]

It's been on the market since early January. About 7 viewings so far, turned down an offer about two weeks in, and no viewings this month at all. Right Move report shows that the number of hits is still consistent with previous weeks. It's an immaculate detached new build in a gated development with extensive gardens, three storey, 4 bed, 3 ensuite bathrooms, garage. The photographer did a fantastic job and it was presented like a show home.

It's pricey, but we are in the suburbs of west London and it's actually £50k below what Zoopla say it is worth. We have asked the agent to recontact the person who made the offer a few months back, but they didn't engage. My husband is already overseas, I'm joining him in August and we really want to sell the house before then. We have a relatively small mortgage, about 30% LTV.

Other than reduce the price, what else can we do? There are 10 detached houses with 4+ bedrooms within a mile and ours is the second cheapest. Thank you!

Remove the table from the kitchen. It accentuates the narrow size. Also, I didn't get to the pics of the garden, because I got so bored of scrolling through all the bland pics! Get rid of at least 20 pics!

This really should be a question for your agent after all that’s jay your paying them for. Online agents are notably cheaper but if they don’t work for their fee can cost you more in the long run. You need a local agent with knowledge of the local area to advise you honestly, they aren’t there to be your friend you need them to be proactive and sell your house. what Zoopla say it is worth is total rubbish, sorry but the computarised valuations they produce are rediculous. Your agent should be able to produce a more accurate Rightmove comparable report detailing historical sales data which they should base your pricing and demand on.
Rightmove statistics indicate that most vendors accept between 5-10% less than their asking price, in your case an offer of £65k less is probably more true to its value.
Your house is lovely but the non traditional layout may put off potential buyers. I would definitely recommend getting 2 or 3 local agents round to value your property properly before adjusting the price with your current agent.

It's a beautiful house but I wouldn't pay that kind of money for such a small kitchen and garden.

I'm trying to come up with something helpful. I would say ditch most of the photos. Especially the kitchen/hall partition one and one of a bedroom that looks like it hasn't got a door between it and the hallway. There's also one of a double bed that looks like it's practically in the en-suite.

Who is your market? If it's families, the ground floor and garden need to be more child-orientated. If it's couples then maybe a study or gym on top floor, games room next to the lounge? I'm probably overthinking this!

Agree with others, ditch the kitchen table, a breakfast bar would look better. And definitely patio furniture or something in the garden to make it look inviting. You need a link between the dining room and the outside. I would love this space but am not imaginative enough to think what I'd put there. Maybe like your viewers?

I know there's nothing you can do about it, but the garden is very small for a family sized house.
I am not a million miles away from you, and the fact is that many people around here who are prepared to pay that sort of money for a family house, will prefer a period property, probably with a bigger garden.

We have neighbours whose very nice, 60s build house has been heavily extended compared to the garden, which now seems very small. It's been sitting on the market for nearly 2 years now. Of course it's still overpriced - was probably overpriced even when it first went on the market.

I have to say that the gated community would in itself put me off. I know that will be a plus for some people, though, if only for the swank factor.

Your best bet might well be older 'downsizers' moving from larger and more expensive period homes, who don't want a flat, but do want less maintenance and a smaller and much more manageable garden. We know a couple who recently moved from a 5 bed/large garden house in a rural area to a new build not unlike yours. It wasn't in the London area, but I'm sure there will be similar in your area too.

Have you asked your EA to be brutally honest about pricing? Too often, unless you ask straight out - they will tell you what they think you want to hear.

I think you need to lose a sofa from the downstairs room, which will give you room to make the dining table more prominent (it is listed as a dining room on the floor plan). We have a house by the same builder and I know that the room is just slightly awkward for two sofas plus a dining table.

Photo 5 makes the kitchen look long and narrow, I’d lose the table and chairs there and I’d add a few coloured jars etc to make it look less bland.

The upstairs sitting room needs to be more cosy - it does look a bit bland. Maybe a rug to add some focus, matching cushions, throws etc.

I’d have a look at the developer’s website to see how they’ve dressed houses with a similar layout.

Bedrooms need more dressing, pictures on the wall, and I’d add a few luxury type things in the bathrooms. Is there room on the balcony for a cafe table and chairs?

The garage is a plus point - especially as it’s attached so not eating into the footprint of the house.

I’d also paint the shed, add some garden furniture to show how you could use it, and possibly plant a couple of fruit trees and add potted flowers for colour.

Ultimately though you’ll need to drop your price - I’d go under the £900k mark.

Thanks for all the feedback. I've emailed the agent and asked them to delete 20 of the photos and replace the kitchen one with the one I've just taken, see attached.

We already sold our patio furniture and I really don't want to buy any more when we are emigrating and have to get rid of it again. Unfortunately the neighbours that we know well don't have any either.

I've also asked the agent to amend the description so that the first floor living room is described as an 'additional' living room as some people misread it originally and thought it was the only one, despite the photos and the floorplan.

We will revise the price too, but these are the first steps.

It's a beautiful house OP and in good condition, but it does feel very 'new build' (I.E, quite bland, with no real features). I also agree with PP that whilst technically it is detached, you are in reality so close to the house next door that you're not really getting the privacy that most people would want when buying a detached home. In reality I think you are completing with 4-bed semis in the area and need to drop the price to reflect that.

I’d still be tempted to spend a couple of hundred pounds on some garden furniture so people can see how they could use the garden - and then give away to your friends that don’t have any once you’ve sold.

Is there no such thing as a real-life house doctor/stager? Where they borrow items eg outdoor furniture

I think your type of house only appeals to certain people. I really don't like the layout. I find it confusing the way you have a sitting room/dining room on the ground floor etc AND a kitchen table in a tiny kitchen. I hate lounge diners so that automatically switches me off. I prefer a more traditional layout so I would stop looking by photo three. It isn't the house I would want as a family home, and DH and I have no DC yet and are in our 20's and it doesn't appeal to me now either.

Is the garden included in the square footage? Is that a London thing? Makes it hard to really know how spacious the place is, so that makes me a bit skeptical. The garage looks to have been included. I think there are way too many photos too. It's overwhelming. I'd go for no more than 12-15 tops.

Gosh, some people are being really horrible. I've no idea what they get out of doing that

I know!

OP - it will be the price not the fact that you have Malm furniture in the bedroom and no colour pops!

Lovely home @movingoverseas

The kitchen is why it's not selling. So small for such an expensive home. Imo. 💕💕

Good call removing the kitchen table but the new photo is taken from too low down, and the room looks dark compared to the previous ones - it gives it a bit of a 'tunnel' effect. I'd be tempted to just leave that particular angle off the listing. Good luck with the sale.

I Think you need to drop the price a bit of you are desperate to shift the property.

The kitchen looks much better without the table.
I think it also looked better coming from the other side too, where you could see right through the kitchen into the reception room.
From the angle you’ve shown just it looks a like the kitchen is small and out of the way. If you can see into the living space it looks more communal.

Most families want a bigger kitchen or at least a kitchen where the kids can play within sight In an adjacent room. And they usually want a bigger garden. Adjacent private grounds are no use to young families.

A single person or a couple with that kind of budget would prefer fewer larger rooms and a better area.

Older people wont want a house on so many floors.

So it’s not clear who the target market is. Maybe families with teenaged children and parents who hate being outside ?

Anyway If you want to sell it you need to take the advice given in this thread . Dress it more stylishly and reduce the price.

Sorry I know that’s not what you want to hear.

The kitchen is why it's not selling. So small for such an expensive home. Imo.

Large kitchens are a matter of opinion - if you don't like elaborate cooking, they're a waste of space.

We saw a lot of Victorian houses with kitchens that took up half of the downstairs. We have bought a house with a kitchen half-stuffed into a narrow utility room, which has given us a joint playroom and dining room that we wouldn't have otherwise.

The important thing isn't the size of the kitchen, it's having an open-plan family area (to supervise small children) in a family home.

How much did you pay when you bought it? Can’t see the door number very clearly, but if it is number 23 and you paid £660k 5 years ago, then your current asking price seems far too high. New builds don’t generally have such a high inflation (generally as there’s little the first buyer can do to improve value).

Most house links that people post on here need declutttering and depersonalising to give the viewers an opportunity to see potential, but yours is actually a bit too clinical and would benefit from more “warmth”/staging to create a more inviting space that people can envisage themselves living in.

Definitely try a change in agent too. Good luck OP!

Just so you know, nothing that anyone has said is hurting my feelings! I want to sell the house, hence asking for opinions. We like it and we like the area, other people won't and that's fair enough. It's very energy efficient and you never have to queue for the loo!

People have preferences and some houses suit families more than others. We don't have young children but there are under 10s in five out of the seven houses like this one. We have had people looking around from all ages and stages.

I might have another go with the kitchen photo. It's difficult as there's a lot of glare from the window so I had to darken the photo a little. It's taken on a Samsung S7, so not up to the standard of the original photographer!

Get them back to retake the kitchen picture. Don’t put the one you’ve taken on

Agree with most replies definatley the price if you are willing to accept something beginning with an 8 drop it down to £899,000, which will probably introduce a fresh wave of viewers who previously would have rejected it on their price range. House is lovely and would definatley appeal to professional couples who want low maintenance living . Good luck with your move and fingers crossed you have a sale soon

I’m not too far from you movingoverseas in SW London and I’ve noticed prices have really been dropping. A house a couple of streets away from me went on at £749,000 about a year ago and it has just sold after dropping down to £575,000. I wonder if estate agent’s valuations have not caught up with the reality of the market around here - a house on that street would have been snapped up at the initial £749,000 price even 18 months ago.

Too many photographs. Need to entice people in its total overkill and the more you see the more plain everything seems. Weird red lampshades needs something a bit more glam. Looks big but souless needs more furnishings in something that size and about 50k off the price at least.