Advice on house selling price+possibly changing agent

[BeverlyCleary]

I wonder if I could ask for feedback from the wonderful minds on Mumsnet on this house I’m selling in south London?

It is chain free, a 13 minute walk to a mainline station with great connections into central London. It’s a 3 bed house with 3 double bedrooms, huge kitchen and decent garden. It’s on the market for 500k. It was refurbished to a rental standard recently when it was also rewired. It wasn’t refurbished to a high spec but it was done to a good standard and it’s entirely liveable (we lived there comfortably for a few weeks) – as the valuer said, you could walk right in and live in it. It’s been on the market since the end of October and although there have been about 15 viewings we’ve had no offers. Some feedback has been that it would apparently cost too much to modernise it. When I asked if anyone had expressed interest and mentioned a price they were happy to pay she said that someone had said he thought £450k – but didn’t make an offer - but she didn’t think fit to tell me at the time. The agent is now saying to reduce the price to 475k as apparently that means they will get many more people interested. But surely 25k doesn’t make that much difference? If you’re a decent agent with someone willing to spend 475k you’d show them a house for 500k and suggest they make an offer of 475k? Which means they don’t have anyone willing to pay 475k for it. When I said this she said they could put “in excess of 475k” as part of their Christmas campaign. Why did the agent value it at 500k a few weeks ago if 450k is a more realistic price? Are her valuing skills so poor?

We have the option of giving this agent 28 days’ notice and going with another agent. Would our current agent really get their finger out if we served notice? Or would they think what’s the point and be less inclined to try and sell it?

There does seem to be a change in how purchasers view property. The old maxim of location, location, location seems to be trumped a bit by the décor and fittings needing to modern and high end.

So, do I reduce the price to 475k straight or put “offers in excess of 475k”? What price would I expect to achieve?

The agent said another house was on the market for 500k but had lots more viewings once it was reduced to 475k and apparently they have accepted an offer of 475k– though nothing is showing on the website

They said that the busiest day online for Rightmove and Zoopla is 26 December when 26 million people are looking. Presumably it will be busier in January than now?

Thanks for reading.

The agent is now saying to reduce the price to 475k as apparently that means they will get many more people interested. But surely 25k doesn’t make that much difference? If you’re a decent agent with someone willing to spend 475k you’d show them a house for 500k and suggest they make an offer of 475k? Which means they don’t have anyone willing to pay 475k for it. When I said this she said they could put “in excess of 475k” as part of their Christmas campaign. Why did the agent value it at 500k a few weeks ago if 450k is a more realistic price? Are her valuing skills so poor?

I agree that you're not going to get 475 for it - if it was going to happen, it would have happened already. 25K off the asking price definitely could make a difference though - if someone had a max budget of say 440, they probably wouldn't bother offering if the asking price was 500, but they might if it was 475.

It could be that the estate agent isn't good at valuing, it could also be an attempt to keep you sweet. You're already thinking of changing agents - if another one said they thought your house was worth 450, you might be more inclined to stick with the one who is trying to make you think you could get 475.

Do you have any issues with the agent other than the pricing and the fact you haven't sold yet? I'm not convinced the agent you're with makes a huge difference, as long as the basics are there - decent photos on your listing, floorplan, they actually answer the phone, etc. If you've been on the market for a long time, it can be worth switching to make it look fresher, but it's been less than 2 months for you, so yes - I'd leave it up over Christmas.

Have you done your own research on competing houses for sale? And by this I mean have you factored in the cost of redecorating against what the market offer at a similar price point that may be more modern. This is one thing to have a house that is usable but would you actually live in this house permanently without having to spend £££ on bathrooms and kitchen plus general work? Only you know how good/bad is your agent, but at the end of the day in London, things well priced are selling.

Thanks Power. The agent hasn't been that great but as you say, once the basics are covered there's not really that much difference between agents.

Thanks Paulina. It's a good point to factor in decorating costs.

So, wrt the current agent, if we give 28 days notice do you think this will get the agent we have to pull their finger out or will they not try as hard?

I would reduce to £475k rather than OIEO.

I don't think that serving notice to the agent will make much difference. The property was overpriced in the first place. Any agent can sell a property that is realistically priced.

The market has changed so much since September / October time. All bets are off.

I would reduce price to 475k and get ready for Boxing Day rush.

I think no offers at this stage means it’s priced too high. Changing estate agents won’t do much.

Good luck - selling is so stressful.

Four of those weeks you were in lockdown. I know viewings could still happen but it was hardly business as usual. Also the market always stalls a bit in the run up to Christmas.
My house when put on the market mid October. I've had a few second viewings and a too low offer. The agent, who I rate as I've bought and sold through them a few times, started talking about price reduction. But I've looked at my competition and believe I compare very well. I'd consider a reasonable offer, but I'm not reducing the price yet. I do agree the market will get a bit busier in January.
Offers over doesn't mean anything- people will offer under as they want to think they are getting a deal.

I'm not saying yours is a doer upper but I have noticed in my area that properties requiring work go for a lot less than they should if that makes sense. I was told that it's because those who are buying are often borrowing the maximum & don't have the budget for the work &/or they don't have the time to manage because 2 full time jobs or having a baby soon, can't afford to move & rent for a few wks when the new kitchen goes in, etc.

I would reduce to £475k, would expect offers aroud £450k then and would imagine would then sell quickly.

Do you have a link? It sounds like the kind of house we are looking for

Thanks so much for your thoughts everyone.

Just wondered if anyone else had any thoughts?

Bumping - any more thoughts?

One reason they could have suggested such a massive drop is to get it into the next RM/Zoopla search category. Can you post a link to see if there’s anything objective eyes can spot.

Yes normally the market picks up after Christmas... I do wonder if the Christmas lull might be a bit longer this time while people hold their breath with Brexit, and the whole tier 4 thing is going to put another spanner in the works. So I think it'll be a waiting game for you now. Hold your nerve, don't panic.

Did you get a few valuations? Were the others higher or lower? We tend to get at least 3 and ignore the top one as a matter of course, because some agents will always bump up their initial estimates to get your business.

Changing agents is not a bad idea - it doesn't sound like you have many good reasons to stick with this one.

Thanks for your replies.

Murmur - we went a bit mad and got 7 valuations. We definitely didn't go with the highest. Sadly it looks like we are stuck with this agent.

There's a seasonal wave of interest factor at work but we sold DMIL's home today for pretty much exactly what we expected to get. We asked more, but took the proceedable and practical offer. We left enough on the table to give the new purchaser the funds to renovate to their taste. The sale has gone through like silk. The purchasers got a decent buy and we got a decent sale. If I were initating selling a house soon, I think I'd wait until early February.

Most of the negotiation was just before November lockdown, contracts were worked on during it, and the area went into T4 on Saturday. Heaven knows when the builders can do what the new owner wants, but that ain't our problem.