Will we EVER sell our house?

[TroublesomeTownHouse]

We have been on the market since Feb. Basically sold and then lockdown hit and they pulled out. Sold again in the summer but they also pulled out having found somewhere they preferred.

Switched agents mid-September because we'd been on so long and hoped for some new interest but got 1 solitary viewing.

Then did a fairly big price drop 2 weeks ago and NOTHING.

I know we should probably just take it off the market until next year but everything around us is selling. Cons are we are on a main road and we don't have much garden but we (and both sets of agents) are really genuinely puzzled about what's going on because otherwise its pretty good!

Does anyone have any miracle stories about buyers appearing suddenly after months?

I know that oneandzero. We are now £100k lower.

@Dailyhandtowelwash

But the OP, and others, have repeatedly said that the garden is par for the course in the area. Other houses posted have been in different locations. Prices are pre-adjusted to take local factors into account that will be more subtle than a RightMove search will reveal. I’m not saying that I have any idea about the price, but it sounds like people who want to live in that area may be prepared for a smaller garden. And it wouldn’t bother me.

But the point is that Covid may have made people less likely to want to live in that area. Hence the lack of viewings. 8 months ago people may have been happy to sacrifice a garden to live centrally, but now people are looking for houses further out of town but with more outside space. Priorities have changed a bit.

No @Asterion the most viewings were once the market reopened when we were still on at 800

Exactly @SoUtterlyGroundDown so we probably need to just come off for a while

Is this listing that a PP posted, the listing from when you had viewings at £800k?

www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices/detailMatching.html?prop=89666510&sale=46471074&country=england

There is definitely plenty of room for improvement in that listing but it is a lot better than the current listing. You can see the full size of the back garden. The current one really gives the impression there is no back garden apart from a tiny patio.

Yes, totally get the change in priorities. Although it still won’t put everyone off. But the endless posts telling the OP her garden is small are just missing the point a bit - she knows it and all the houses in her area are the same. She’s dropped the price by 100k so she’s not living in denial!

Thanks @Dailyhandtowelwash was wondering if I'm missing something.

I like it a lot however your kitchen is dark, your garden is barren and exposed, you’ve got a weird layout in the cellar, it’s on a main road. It is a nice house but would need reconfiguring or rethinking in some way

No of course it won’t put everyone off. It’s a lovely house and will sell. But the pool of potential buyers will be lower, which is why it will take longer to sell. I think that’s all that people were saying, in response to an OP about why a house isn’t selling.

For a family home, I personally feel it is let down by the garden. No greenery whatsoever. Could you buy a large 'rug' of astroturf almost to give the illusion? For some people, they just need the vision laid out for them.
Also, for £700k, things like the curtain panels above the windows date it quite a lot. It is another thing people will have to spend money on to update the home when it is already a high total. Even white Venetian blinds would modernise and freshen it up without taking character perhaps?

The living room with carpet looks really cosy, I found that the nicest looking room overall despite the fact the others had character.

Also, you have gorgeous features like stained glass windows, why are the estate agents not making highlights of those? Many agents do that now...zoomed in, instagram style photos on rightmove of key features.

I wish you luck! Perhaps remove for 3-4 weeks then try again. People scouring the area every day on rightmove will be familiar with your property now and probably won't look at it. Wait a few weeks then drum up new interest. Good luck

@TroublesomeTownHouse

No *@Asterion* the most viewings were once the market reopened when we were still on at 800

Ah, right. But no offers. And then, people who are looking at around that price would have already seen it once you dropped it.

Basically, you didn't drop the price enough to get interest from the lower band of buyers.

Yes prefer the original listing

Stay away from AstroTurf

@orangenasturtium

Is this listing that a PP posted, the listing from when you had viewings at £800k?

www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices/detailMatching.html?prop=89666510&sale=46471074&country=england

There is definitely plenty of room for improvement in that listing but it is a lot better than the current listing. You can see the full size of the back garden. The current one really gives the impression there is no back garden apart from a tiny patio.

Wow, those photos are much, much better.

I know you are resistant to redoing the garden but I think if you took up half the patio and had a bit of lawn and some more planting it would be much more appealing to a wide range of buyers- it looks grey and dull. It isn't that small and could he presented much better.

I think you are right OP and I would indeed take it off the market for now.

The interior of your house is lovely and has some lovely features. There are some things I think you could do/change to help matters.....

Most noticeable is the garden, you obviously can’t increase its size but it is rather over looked, and is lacking in any character. It basically looks like an afterthought and as though you don’t really use it, and if it looks that way it won’t be appealing to others either. I would invest cheap planters for flowers and shrubs and in some tall greenery, or attach a trellis along the top boundaries with some fake ivy (as obviously don’t have long enough to grown the real thing) which will make it feel more green and garden like, and more private / less overlooked.

Secondly I would go through your house and de clutter what you can and store or box non essentials as having things clear but not bare will give a better impression of the space that is in offer, which is a real plus point if your house.

Lastly I would make sure that there are plenty of good pictures on your new listing once you put it back on the market. As it’s advertised at the moment it’s clear to see it’s a nice enough house, but there is nothing wow about it. There is also not enough pictures, given the size of the house I would expect a lot more pictures, and have those pictures in an order that makes sense. I hate seeing a picture of a master bedroom and the next picture being a garden or kitchen etc it’s just so out of sequence and makes it harder to understand the layout and whole flow of the house and with a house like yours with a non typical layout this is even more important. Also make sure that the agent does an extremely thorough and good write up of the house, that they mention any and all features so for instance if you have a fancy Westinghouse stove, a fancy shower, or a claw foot tub etc make sure it’s well pictured and described in the write up.

I don’t see any glaring reasons as to why your house shouldn’t sell, it just needs a little tweak and better pictures and advertising.

Wishing you lots of luck for your sale/move.

WOW your earlier photos are literally 100x better. Just the lighting and angles makes everything looks so much brighter, fresher and more up to date. Also the kitchen looks WAY better

Honestly from the previous photos it looks a different price range of house. Genuinely—the fact your current listing doesn’t even show many bathrooms makes you assume they’re in rag order, and would make me minus chunks from how much I would think it’s worth. Plus it looked like it would require you to demolish half the house to get a proper kitchen, when you actually have a nice one! And I don’t even remember seeing that nice bedroom with the door on the right? They look like they are selling different houses! The listing you posted looks like there are major renovations required, your previous photos looks like somewhere most people would be happy to move straight into! If my budget was close to the listed price, I wouldn’t view the current listing house as I would assume the costs for brining it to how I would like would be too much—would not have these reservations about the house ont eh other set of photos.

Problem is the current photos, the current listing, and the garden. Spend a bit on the garden to make it scream family friendly, a bit on some new bedspreads and a new tablecloth, style the whole place well and get a professional photographer on a sunny day. Take it off for the month while you sort, and relaunch. You should be able to generate quite a bit of interest like that.

Don't assume that e everyone looking at your house knows the local area. If you are very close to a nice piece of open space, say so and add a photo.

Having seen your later photos, your back garden is much bigger than your photos imply. All the same, I for one, would be put off by a large, plain area of paving and not much else. I understand you don't want to redo it, but if that is a factor putting off lots of potential buyers then it would be cheaper to redo it then to drop the price still further.

When we were the target we loved it and bought it.

Tbf though I think the market may have changed a bit as the pre Covid targets are likely a little different now. I'm in my 30s & have lived in a variety of housing types. The pandemic & wfh has made me think about my housing differently & things I would have compromised on before on not even given a second thought too now have more importance.

beautiful house, especially the room proprtions, OP.
I'd LOVE to have a 1 bed flat integral as an annexe for my mum so hard o find - you need to emphasise that!

Yes the patio is quite small but I agree with pp that you could brighten it up with either flowers or the way people stage patios - coloured retro garden furniture / cushions, on a bright day.
It will just take a while, don't think you need to lower the price. If anyone is interested they'll try to make offers anyway.

If you are near a large park, emphasise that too.

Love the flooring btw! just a classic, elegant house without gimmicks, my taste.

It looks a beautiful house esp in original advert and would suspect its the garden. Think lockdown has massively increased the number of people looing for good sized gardens. I would put on the leaflet if there's good green space you are really close to as a bullet point.

Also think it would look a lot nicer if the green was cleaned from walls and grass / flowers were put in. Just adding pot plants in flower round the edges would make it more appealing. I prefer the photograph which shows the parking space and garden.

@Dailyhandtowelwash

Yes, totally get the change in priorities. Although it still won’t put everyone off. But the endless posts telling the OP her garden is small are just missing the point a bit - she knows it and all the houses in her area are the same. She’s dropped the price by 100k so she’s not living in denial!

Yes but it would seem to be that £800k Was inflated. Yes they got an “offer” but that’s worthless and was withdrawn

So £100k dropped from An already inflated price BIT the property market landscape is unrecognisable from when it was £800k . Added to which, outside space has become a real positive more than ever before.

So £100k is clearly not sufficient as the very compelling (no viewings!) would indicate

I'd go back to basics:

Houses sell when people come to see them. Your listing should have enough about it to make people interested to see it. Then when they come, it also needs to charm them and catch them in a dream of their lives there.

In your house's case, someone needs to be so enchanted that they brush over the parking on the road issue and don't mind the paved garden.

This starts with the listing.

Your current listing is, in my humble opinion, pretty poor and actually puts me off rather than attracts me. That's the problem.

Which is great news, because there is a lot you can do to improve your listing 😀

1. Description

Why does it start with

• Grammar school

?? It reads like unedited notes. Why not something like:

Substantial stylish family townhouse with separate annexe and lovely original features within minutes' walk of the town centre and in the Grammar School catchment area.

I'll happily do it for you but have to dash now!!

But quick notes:

Photos bad - looks like 1938 boarding house
Remove bright stark colours in bedspreads etc.
The only thing I'd paint would be top room - blue is too strong and plain (and off putting if like me you don't like bloque that much)
Where are the bathrooms? One pic of a dated shower cubicle not good - do you have baths?

The garden is good - it ISN'T a courtyard garden - it's just paved!! So get some good pics of it (current ones dire) and describe it as a large garden with extensive Italianate paving of some such, and out some big planters and a bit of greenery and flowers in the pics

Etc.

It's a great house not being sold.

I'm only 0.8% by the way 😉