Help selling house

[Smithy500]

My house has been on the market for 4.5 months. I have had 6 viewings. I have asked other agents to come and look at it today and they say that the price is realistic and perhaps a drop to £750 might elicit more viewings. I am now running for cover but does anyone have any advice to get more viewings and a potential buyer or should I leave it for this year and try selling again next year?
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-52780950.html

It looks in very good condition - only things are missing stones in garden, I don't like bathroom tiles and maybe few more plants in front of house but they are all minor so would guess its price. The impression I have is top end of property market is struggling more than the rest - maybe if people are worried about economy they don't go to their maximum budget?

It's also quite unique so may just need to wait for someone who really appreciates a special house. Not sure waiting until next year will help. I would maybe try the £750k and see.

I think the missing paving stones in the garden may be deliberate....but it needs some plants in. I'd also ditch the mural

it is grade 2 listed which may put some people off (I live in a listed building !)
Unless you have spent lots since 2014 I would drop the price to circa £699000 unless Wells has seen massive HPI.

I think it is a lovely house BTW

The photos make it look very dark inside, they need to come out and take them with a good back light rather than the flash.

It looks nice apart from that, but a quick look on rightmove and for the same price, similar area and a 4 bed semi, you could get this:

Upper Breach, South Horrington - NO CHAIN
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-65359261.html

Go on rightmove and search for similar houses and yours looks the most cramped and with the smallest garden

Photis a bit dark. Can you have them redone on a very sunny day?

Downstairs looks v cluttered and too many photos etc. Older houses seem to struggling in the market the last few years. Lovely house.

it does look quite dark inside. I think the main issue is that it's a niche market and you'll probably just have to wait for the right person to come along.

just seen the house is Grade 2* - even more people will dismiss a charming house because of that.
It was last sold (to you) in 2014 for £635K - that is a massive uplift to £775K
I know I would consider a Grade 2 listed cottage but the * would put me off.
Price is everything in this market.

When you step into the Grade 2* category, things start to get a little tricky. The house needs to offer something really special to counteract the higher level of restriction coming from the listing.

My (rather harsh) impression of this house is that whilst it is of undeniable historical value, there is nothing for the buyer to differentiate from a regular Grade 2 property.

If I was selling this house, I would do everything that I could to persuade buyers that the house was "finished" and thus they wouldn't even be required to think about listed consent for the foreseeable future. Unfortunately, that would mean that the mural and the colourful tiles in the bathroom and kitchen would need to go.

Your modern furniture won't help either.

On the plus side, it's a great location and will make a lovely, relatively low maintenance house.

I know of a similar cottage in a totally different part of the country which has been on the market for over two years (and that one isn't listed). I think sadly cottages like this are often houses people would like to live next to, but not in. I think you need to resign yourself to sale being slow unless you do something drastic with the price.

The people who would want to live in an house like this are going to want fresh decoration consistent with the cottage feel. I often think holiday cottages get it most right - they have to to pull in the punters week after week - so pictures of them might give you an idea but in all honesty the tiles in the bathroom and kitchen IMO are not what likely buyers would want or expect. The lounge and the bedroom with the pink bed for me match "cottage" in terms of decoation and furnishings ; the other rooms don't.

For a cottage at this price point, compared to others I have seen, the kitchen is very poor. A cheap stainless steel sink is just wrong. Personally I don't like them, but those looking at cottages also often want an Arga. At this price point, I don't think either the bathroom or kitchen - especially the kitchen - are the standard most buyers would be wanting.

It backs nearly up to another house? There is no real garden. And it seems to be almost next door to a pub. That's three negatives you will need to overcome. It's not an obvious choice as a family home but the steep stairs and listing might put off older couples too.

My personal view is that you have 3 options
1 By very patient
2 Price it to overcome the negatives - estate agents are not good at factoring those into the price

1. As others have suggested, spend the time and money to make it spot on.

It is genuinely a lovely house. You need to sell it to people's hearts because their head is going to be listing the drawbacks.

I think it looks bloody gorgeous, looks like a great location too, so I'd say the only thing you can realistically do is lower the price, unless you've had any specific comments from viewers about anything else.

We are currently buying a grade 2 listed thatch, they do seem to take longer to sell. I like all your decoration apart from bright tiles which I would prefer more neutral or less bright at least. Garden would be big enough for us but may not for all. What would stop me is being next to a pub. I didn't realise that at first.

I know Wells v well. That’s a lovely house on a great street. To the pp who compared it with a house in South Horrington...that mile makes all the difference...Wells will always command a much higher price.

Also Wells properties have risen in value a lot over the last few years.

I do wonder if it’s the garden size...and lack of lawn. Could you make it less “stone” base and a bit more cottage garden?

Also, how have you found Roderick Thomas? I have always gone with Killens and couldn’t fault them.

Thank you for your ideas and thoughts. They are all really useful. I haven't spoken to Killens -it's good suggestion to ask them to view it. I haven't had any recommendations of Estate Agents in Wells, so if anyone has any please go ahead.

It's beautiful. You are never going to be inundated with viewings for a property like it though: price, location, period cottage, listed - all those things narrow your market. The tiles wouldn't bother me if I was looking for that kind of house.

Got no advice but just wanted to say that's a beautiful house! In a really lovely location too! I hope it sells for you soon!

It’s a lovely house. However, both cottage and listed narrow your potential market.

I would try to make it look more appealing by replacing the tiles (with something more neautral) in both the kitchen and bathroom... this will freshen the appearance and visually open up the rooms and appeal more broadly.

Also, you could remove both the desk and grand piano from the living room. It should be as spacious as possible.

If possible, fix the broken stones in the garden paving.

Good luck OP.

It is a lovely house but I agree that the kitchen and bathroom aren’t the high spec I’d expect. They can perhaps be altered with the tiles being changed and some more high end accessories?

Well, I like the jolly kitchen tiles and think the garden mural is fantastic - don't let anyone persuade you to paint over that!

Just reiterating the dark photos. With the exception of the bedrooms the photos have been taken with overhead lights and/or badly used flash. It doesn’t grab me because the photos made me thing dark/dingy/low. I think better photos would make a huge difference tbh. What are the Rightmove stats like in terms of how many have viewed online vs physical viewings

I find it a bit depressing and I would get the bathrooms and kitchens updated if I was buying it! The appearance is very fussy with lots of plant pots outside, odd chairs and dated furniture. I know you have to look beyond that, but first impressions count for a lot. Black beans would be better white but not sure if that’s allowed.

I think the big problem is that it’s a semi (it did say that didn’t it?) and the garden is too small for the number of bedrooms. Many people want houses in a town, but they also want a bit more lovely garden. Your garden doesn’t really look lovely. The whole house looks very lived in but not remotely stylish. Without spending money, I guess all you can do is reduce it. What have you spent money on since you bought it? It would take a lot to make it tip top in my view.

The only room I like is the room done in white with a day bed. It is at the top of the house, I think. Reasons? It is fresh and uncluttered.

I think it’s because your home is the size of a family home but the garden isn’t family friendly. I wouldn’t have purchased this when looking with small children and now we are looking again and are mindful of being closer to 60 than 50 and not wanting to do lots of maintenance, or steep, tricky staircases, although still want a decent garden with some lawn.
It is a beautiful house, I would definitely get the agent back to re photograph, the house deserves much better photography. Do you have a Fine and Country agent near you? Take a look at their details, they are always very good.

I like the tiles and the mural very much, and it’s a lovely house. People like to put their own kitchens and bathrooms in so I doubt that is what is putting people off.

Far more likely is that it is a niche property, grade 2* and the market is slow / weird. You might just have to drop the price a bit and be prepared for a long wait.