No offers on our house

[housetales]

Our house has been on the market for 2 months - launching as the school holidays started which I think was a huge mistake - with what I'd describe as a handful of viewings (mostly right as it went live).

The price it's been listed at was the agent's price, not ours, and when compared with others locally, doesn't seem OTT. All the agents who came round gave similar valuations too. No viewers have said upon viewing it that it is overpriced either.

We had only one bit of negative feedback and it was only from a couple of viewers, not all - that we are overlooked from the side of our property - so we purchased some 10ft trees to allay that concern.

I'm putting myself out there with a link to see what you guys think so be gentle! Should we stay on the market or take it off for now? I should say we only went on the market as we fancied a project for our forever home and were told there was a massive opportunity in our price range as there is such limited supply.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/110082437#/?channel=RES_BUY

and are people buying 5 bedroom houses so quickly?

I my looking at similar houses, different area, similar budget. I'd not consider it because the kitchen is not very welcoming, and the garden is not my preference. But as i'm looking more rural that this seems I'd say its the kitchen that would put me off.

Agree with all the points OP has so graciously taken on board. But also - looking at the other properties in that area/bracket, it does seem that the beech built-in wardrobes and fake fire surrounds etc are a thing thereabouts and perhaps not such a hurdle as long as the price is right. And from the other options out there, it does seem like this is a 100k or two too optimistic. For that price or less, you can get similar in Four Oaks, if that's more the desired location e.g. www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/111130004#/?channel=RES_BUY

Sure OP will have some detailed local knowledge to say x is on a less quiet road etc. but every house has its compromises and knowing what the compromises on OP's are, I suspect it'll have to come down in price a bit to compete with other dated new-build type houses around there.

I honestly wouldn't waste a lot of money changing the kitchen or bathrooms as viewers still might not like your taste. As PP have pointed out, the sex pond and nasty dining chairs do scream nouveau riche (sorry OP)

Personally if I had that budget I wouldn't go anywhere near a new build, it would be period all the way.

However, it may well be that you just have to wait it out a bit longer to find that perfect buyer who really wants a house just like yours and is prepared to pay the price, or just below. I hope you find them soon

I have not had a chance to read the full thread yet so I am sorry I repeat points made by others.
The house is lovely and I can see why the price can be right, and I expect there will be families who can't quite stretch £1.5 so will aim for, say, £1.3m with some compromises(it is all relative) such as the garden size. Good layout, great size, many bathrooms, good sized bedrooms, ticks most of the main boxes in my view. However it does not give off a very homely feel (maybe indeed too much decluttering) and it is too monochrome: so many pictures are just very beige/yellow, with little contrast or colour. Even the coffee machine looks the same colour as the rest of the kitchen. So it makes it look more sterile and dated even if it is not necessarily so in real life. Similarly the garden looks very bare. Maybe it is just the lighting and editing of the photos, not sure. So maybe people feel it would need some additional work (=cost) to make these changes, e.g. repainting or recarpenting, or they cannot quite picture it as a family home. But these are minor things that are easy to address, if you agree and that's what you would like to do: some paintings, pictures, rugs, throws, a couple of vases with flowers, maybe leave a couple of appliances or other things out in the kitchen (e.g. even a kettle or a nice holder for wooden spoons etc - you get the idea). The garden is trickier but even a few pots with flowers by the fence may make it look nicer.
One final thought: for those looking for open plan and a single kitchen/living room area, do you think that this is something they would be able to get planning permission for, and so can you add on the listing that it has potential to extend?

Whilst lovely I think at that price I’d expect everything to be “done”. Eg Bathrooms are a little dated (perfectly lovely and serviceable but builders grade and not “fashionable”). Also as PP have said it’s a bit soulless. If it is appropriately priced I’m more likely to buy something smaller with more character. Our budget was different but DH and I could have bought a 4 bed in our area but decided on a 3 bed with more features.

It's a lovely house, but others in the area for a similar price have more 'wow factor'.

I'd except a newer, top of the range kitchen and bathrooms. If I was being fussy I'd also want the fitted wardrobe doors replaced with something more on trend.

I do also look at the two children's rooms with slopping ceilings and think 'where would you put a double bed and adult furniture, without banging your head everything you get out of bed'. I'm sure you can but it's hard to visualise, so potentially putting more furniture in them will help people visualise that.

just hold fire until the new year op?

You seem to have lots of reasons why all the other houses which have sold for less or are bigger for the same, have sold and this one hasn’t.

Given you apparently know better, why do you think it hasn’t sold, and why ask if those giving market advice are clearly wrong?

People who buy at that price range in that area often prefer doer uppers. I’m not sure what more can be done to your house which is probably why it isn’t selling - it needs someone who is 100% happy with the house; and as it looks very new build like inside you probably won’t find the type of buyer you need.

In your position I might lower the price a bit OR consult an interior designer in how to present it a bit better.

I'm with the others hating the hot tub. It really cheapens things for me, especially the photo with the lights so I'd definitely lose the pictures of that. To me a hot tub is just be a problem I'd have to deal with. I think a lot of other people think the same way so drawing attention to it would be a negative in the listing.

I have to say though, I didn't realise Sutton Coldfield was so expensive. Our house is similarly sized but with more land and a more rural area in Yorkshire and it wouldn't be worth much more than half yours is up for!

I do really like most of your house, OP, but probably just remove some of the photos as mentioned - hot tub in particular and the other outside photos that show the neighbour's windows.

Good luck!

I definitely think it is overpriced. There are ones that have sold for similar very close to you which are over 50% more floor space with much nicer bathrooms.

Lets out it another way. The people who will buy your house have money & generally can afford to put their stamp on things. Your house doesn’t have that. So it needs the wow factor put in through decor

So the other house you own is the issue I think. It's so close to your house and anyone with kids would worry about them coming steaming down their drive which is directly next to your house. Honestly I think it's hugely devalued your main house as it's been sited. It's such a shame as the annex house has its own bug garden. It's just not sited well at all. I think if you packaged the two houses together or did available 'subject to separate negotiation' you'd get a lot more potential buyers.

The other issue is that people who like modern and new builds expect modern and that kitchen/bathrooms are very dated. I honestly wouldn't renovate them myself unless you really want to stay for the next 10 years as your taste may not be the next buyers taste.

I'm a buyer in that bracket and with the annex at 1.6m I'd consider it but I wouldn't buy the big house alone at 1.3m.

it's absolutely stunning!!! No help I don't know why it hasn't sold. Its amazing!

I haven't looked at it because I know the only reason a property won't sell is because it's too expensive. It doesn't matter if it's a mansion in Mayfair or a hovel in Hounslow - if the price is pitched right it will sell.

It’s a lovely looking house, so can only be due to price, houses always sell at a price a buyer is willing to pay, EA will say anything to get the property on their books, but the market always decides the price. Can you reduce the price, a bit to get more viewings? It only takes one buyer to fall in love with your house. Good luck.

For a house of that price, the kitchen is crap. It looks very dated and as a couple of others have said, is an odd layout, especially with the cooker.

Also, looking at the floor plan you have two dining areas, and only one "drawing room", maybe change the dining room to a living room?

The photos aren't the best. Way too many of outside at the start of the slideshow, they can be at the end. It's clearly staged, and some of the placements of chairs look really odd.

It's well presented and the photos are good. So I can only imagine it's the price. It's not great to lower it once on the market, but reducing by a hit and moving to 'offers over' might help. And would give an indication of what people are willing to pay.

For that amount of money I would prefer one of the (cheaper and also unsold) period properties nearby.

I think French doors are actually coming back into fashion
Garden boundaries could be shown on plan
Less pictures of sunloungers and champagne more of dogs and family life
You need to drop price to include someone putting in a new kitchen
Kitchen should not be sleek but more characterful in new version if you are doing it yourself
Wood floor and rug in sitting room ditto not carpet

I think you just need to drop price and move on

I'm a buyer in that bracket and with the annex at 1.6m I'd consider it but I wouldn't buy the big house alone at 1.3m.

The smaller house is valued at much more than £300,000- hoopla says up to £526k

There's literally not an inch of character in it. Every room looks like a sterile hotel room. The champagne photos are totally naff. Couldn't look less like an inviting home

It's nice, but a pretty standard detached boxy house, albeit big. It's not a £1.3m house.

It’s a lovely house but it’s a bit too expensive. It needs a new kitchen and bathrooms and they need to be reasonably high end, IKEA and Howdens won’t cut it so you’re looking at going at going into the German kitchens. For me, it would be 100k to get it up to scratch which means o need a budget of £1.5m to afford ir