House pricing conundrum

[Ruralbliss]

Finally able to put house on the market now a plethora of tradesmen doing upgrades have left

Estate agent assessed the house as being far higher than I imagined given it's uniqueness, size and huge grounds backing onto countryside but only being a two mins walk from our little town high street.

As much as I'd love the £££ she reckons could be achieved I really really really don't want the arse of it being for sale for ages with no offers.
I've made plans to take the kids & dog away for a couple of weekends in a row to allow open day style viewings. Cats will go to cattery.

I need to decide on a price but other than viewing other non similar properties in the area & taking the agents opinion I can't work out how to decide.

My inclination is to knock off 5% of her price then if there's a good load of interest would-be buyers may outbid one another.
I'd rather do myself out of £££ but on the other hand cash is cash so don't want to undervalue it by a lot.

Any clues? What would you do?

Agent says £500k and although there are houses in our area going for more than this they tend to be form houses with loads of land and outbuildings.

Other 4-5 beds detached but with far less garden than us and on main road or right next to trainline apparently selling quickly at £475k which is what I had fantasised would be absolute top price.

Maybe do just below so you fall into the lower bracket on Rightmove £499,500. There is very little coming to market now so shouldn’t hang around or languish on the for sale boards. If after a couple of weeks no takers reduce the price.

The house for context.

Thanks @Didicat I had not thought of the slider on Rightmove! Genius.

I only saw it myself 9 years ago after fruitless searching for our dream house for over three years when I allowed the slider to go beyond our top threshold & there it was.

Agree with the above, keeping it below the £500k cut off for that lower bracket.

It looks lovely.

The market is strange at the moment. Properties here are flying off the shelf on the same day they go up. You might be pleasantly surprised! (Don't accept any offers from people still awaiting mortgage approval though... recently got burned and set back by that).

Thanks @BrilliantBetty did not know that EA spk 'proceedable position' meant mortgage offer in place as well as a buyer for their property/FTB/sold & in rented!

This is good intel.

So the EA & I have agreed only proceedable folks to be alllwed to view would they be looking for documentary evidence of sale/mortgage offer I wonder? I will ask.

If not and I get offer I'll explain that I'd need to have proof of actually proceedable before accepting as per the good wisdoms off of MN

Thanks again. My loins are being girded!

Get a couple of other estate agents in to value? We had 3 and picked the middle value.

No advice to offer but beautiful house 🤩

Yes get a couple more valuations. Ours varied width and we were right to pick the lowest valuation.

It looks a lovely house but agents do overvalue. We recently had 2 estate agents value and the valuations differed by 50k. We split the difference and put it on with the agent who valued it lower plus 25k. But I can already tell that the price is too high and not as much interest as we hoped, so now I'm wishing we had just gone with the lower valuation.

Having said that, it depends how busy the market is in your area. Just be aware that estate agents routinely overvalue simply to get your listing.

We decided to go 5k under the highest agents valuation and ended up accepting an offer 15k above the top valuation.

Market is wild right now, I’d go 499 or 495 so you are under the cutoff line for people searching below 500k

I think you posted previously,I recognise the gorgeous house. I know where you are but don't know the market well there. I would think that if you price "too low" you will get offers higher and find the true market value but it just depends how hot the market is.

@Ruralbliss

Thanks *@BrilliantBetty* did not know that EA spk 'proceedable position' meant mortgage offer in place as well as a buyer for their property/FTB/sold & in rented!

This is good intel.

So the EA & I have agreed only proceedable folks to be alllwed to view would they be looking for documentary evidence of sale/mortgage offer I wonder? I will ask.

If not and I get offer I'll explain that I'd need to have proof of actually proceedable before accepting as per the good wisdoms off of MN

Thanks again. My loins are being girded!

It’s terrible intel. You can’t get a mortgage offer without an offer on a specific house. You can’t port that offer over. You can get an agreement in principle, that is a soft credit check and immediate. That’s what your estate agent should be checking.

Why are you leaving that lovely house? I agree, go just under 500k and get 3 valuations done. Check which agents are busy in your area and selling properties quickly. Also check how they progress a sale, some have sales progress people and they can be brilliant.

I think agents, even normally sensible ones, are being over-ambitious at the moment. A friend got no viewings for about three weeks and reduced her house by 10%, and then got viewings. The market where I live seems to have come off the manic rolling boil it was on a month ago.

The suggestion to go just under the 500k is very sensible.

This is back in early spring 2020 but like you we went not expecting the valuation to be so high, I think as long as you don’t become wedded to the idea and happy to reduce after a couple of weeks. We achieved £5k under the top valuation. Also just because some houses are achieving massive over offering I don’t think all houses are. The one we are buying is slightly under asking price.

Good luck!

House finally being listed for sale today. Followed Estate agent advice of listing it at £475k as those who have set Rightmove max price at that will see it.

This weekend Have booked cats into cattery, on with dad, the girls, dog & I into a pet friendly hotel and key being given to agent to conduct viewings while we are all out. Same again next weekend and the one following that too.

Hope we don't have to live in this state of ultra-tidiness for long. It's not something that comes naturally to my offspring.

Photographer came yesterday and used a drone for some overhead shots to show the position as don't want to waste anyone's time thinking we are in rural idyll when actually on quite a densely populated street.

Had a little weepy moment about leaving but move we must as my eldest has become disabled by illness and I need to be far closer to work/my mum etc

Fingers crossed for a quick and smooth sale. The tension is killing me snd it's all but started yet!

That’s a beautiful house. I’d be very surprised if you don’t get a bidding war.

Oh my god it’s beautiful!!

That will sell so quick! Market is hot right now.

Can you post the link to the house?

Good luck! Can’t advise sensibly about anything but you have a great house.

I love your house!!
Houses prices are so reasonable outside the main hot spots.

The market is red hot in some areas ATM. My son is first time buyer and put in an offer subject to mortgage valuation and valuer valued it at £10k less than estate agent had. EA then said they had been generous with pricing as expected to lower price if not much interest. At end of day whatever you put it on market for mortgage valuation will dictate what BS will lend on property unless you get a cash buyer which would be unlikely at that price. Fabulous looking house by the way.

[quote Hannahcolobus]@caringcarer that’s why EAs encourage you to accept the offer with the highest deposit so if it gets down valued the deposit covers it and you don’t necessarily have to drop the price to meet the valuation.[/quote]
It’s why cash and mortgage free buyers are so attractive too.

My son's deposit did cover shortfall but he made offer dependent upon Mortgage Valuation as no one wants to start off in negative equity.