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

Echoing what others have said- if I was in the market for a £1million plus, modern home, I’d be expecting an extremely high finish and a polished interior.

The two bedrooms belonging to the younger children are beautiful- neutral but still interesting. But the striking decor in the big lounge is a bit love it or hate it, and the bedrooms with the feature walls look a bit dated.

The bathrooms and kitchen are pretty standard- probably very premium when you bought the house, but as time has gone on the average three bed semi has similar but on a (much!) smaller scale.

You’re not going to want to start major work to the kitchen and bathrooms, so it looks like the only option would be to reconsider the price?

@DeadHouseBounce

It is overpriced, drop the price.

It's more if we can't get relatively close to the price (and there is of course wiggle room) we'll just stay here. Dropping by a big chunk would not give us the option to take a step up so the sensible move would be to come off the market. Appreciate your feedback, thank you.

A new kitchen would cost £50,000

You asked about the bathrooms- The bathroom shapes are dated and the overhanging sinks and built in units- I put those from V&B into houses in 1999 and 2002. Todays shapes are cleaner and slicker.

Grey is no longer in vogue. Could you redecorate?

People want a huge kitchen/dining/living space with bifolds now. Viewers will be wanting to extend. It’s a big house, nicely kept but it’s expensive and there’s no wow factor anywhere. Bathrooms are basic, kitchen is basic, garden is relatively small, no period features.

I live in the area and I agree it is lovely! Personally, if I had the money to spend I would want Four Oaks! Think it's just a tricky market!

For me it unfortunately screams "hasn't been touched since being built". The kitchen, bedrooms and built in wardrobes (img 20) all look 15-20 years old. Not what I would especially for this price and when getting trades in is so difficult

[quote gibletjane]this sold in May for 1.3m & the garden & back of the house are lovely

www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices/detailMatching.html?prop=95798747&sale=12839848&country=england[/quote]
Stunning house. I will not argue on that one bit! But there is lots of road noise there, and that's definitely one tiny little win for us here. No road noise at all!

You’ve got good taste in champagne, OP.

Back on topic, the hot tub would actually put me off. Let’s say that that applied to 50% of the potential buyers. Your market is small anyway: not that many people outside London have £1.3m to spend on a house plus £70k stamp duty, plus the people with that budget often want ‘character’ houses. So that reduces your pool of people who have the right amount of cash, like new houses and want a hot tub!

On first impression (the first couple of photos) it's beautiful. Parts of it are lovely. But then as you go through the photos, it's looks internally like a big Barratt / Taylor Wimpey etc developpers house from the late 90s / early 2000s. As others have said, the kitchdn looks dated and cheap, the bathroom built ins / sanitary ware looks dated. The garden looks like your typical developper-trying-to-squeeze-in-too-many-plots garden.

I also clicked on the schools data. Unless you're Catholic, your two nearest primaries are only "good" and the nearest state secondary requires improvement. I don't know the area but certainly if I had £1.3 million to spend, I would be looking for a more individual house, not on an estate-type development, in a better area (good state schools).

@SunLovingMum

I agree with *@bshfan* above, plus being overlooked

Otherwise, house is in good order, great photos. I’d discuss price with EA. Take off the market for now and relist after Xmas

That's like of what we are thinking. Try again next year. But I can't make the garden any bigger or move surrounding houses. [sad}

Being completely honest, when you said it was sixteen years old that made a lot of sense. There's no doubt that the bathrooms and kitchen are in good condition, but there's something very mid-00's about the style and design of them. Same with the ash/maple veneer wardrobes. It looks like a lovely house, but on closer inspection you start seeing more and more that you think looks slightly dated and "oh well I'd have to change that". I don't know about the area or prices locally, but certainly if I were paying that sort of money for a property I would expect more up to date fixtures and fittings.

I'd agree that the delcuttering has gone a bit too far; when I first flicked through I thought the house was vacant!

The exterior is beautiful though, it's a very attractive looking house!

Would you landscape the garden?

@Terminallysleepdeprived

www.rightmove.co.uk/sold-prices/map-view/property-64540485.html

This is a recently sold one a few streets away, it's dated but has potential, conservatory and a pool. Also you will know better but it looks far less over looked than yours. Possibly creative pics but if so get your garden ones reshot and remove the unnecessary duplications maybe.

Love that road. Gated like ours so a good comparable.

Agents have told us swimming pools are a bit marmite. They can reduce home value (due to costs of heating and maintenance) as well as adding value, if you're into swimming!

Sold 2 years ago now and we've had a 10% rise in the area since January this year (according to local agents) so I think it would be a lot more in the current market.

It's a gorgeous house, OP! Tons of kerb appeal, I love the silver birch in the front. Kitchen is a bit dated but perfectly neutral, and presumably been priced with that in mind.

I agree there are too many pics, get rid of some (I.e 10/11 and 31/32 are too similar. Dining room pics are both a bit soulless, try to get one better one if possible. Lose the office pic completely and just keep a couple of the back garden).

I've no idea if the price is right but in that bracket your "pool" is probably smaller, and those in it will have more options than most! So you might just have to to wait a bit for the right buyer to come along. House is fab, I'm sure they will!

Although the bathrooms are clearly in good condition they are dated now - the small tiles and that style sink are out now in favour of larger tiles and hardware set on the tiles etc.

Just seen @Africa2go my grandma had a Barrett home of the age and the bathrooms were very similar.

I feel bad criticising as it's obviously a much loved family home - you've stayed there far longer than we have any of our homes.

Could you put more trees in the garden? caveat I have no idea if this a thing

@Cosmos123

Overpriced. I expected it to be in the South or South East.

If you search the area on rightmove, there's loads of much more expensive houses on our doorstep. It's just the locale.

@Littlepaws18

It's a beautiful home, but the bathrooms let you down. For that price I would expect highest quality fittings and that top end feel. They are a great size, but the fittings and decor are lack lustre. In a house half the price I wouldn't grumble- they look in good order, tidy and serviceable. But for over a million I would expect more.

Thank you for the feedback. It's much appreciated x

Hi again OP

Re. My comment about the kitchen lacking appliances, I was judging by the photos only originally. I only looked at the 3D tour after I messaged - I only noticed the nice tall units along the back wall once I explored the tour.

I agree with others about the bathrooms also lacking in luxury finish. The plain white wall tiles look very basic and the coloured border tiles are very 90s. I would be looking for something more spa like. As others say, they look liveable and serviceable at a much cheaper price but not at the price you are asking.

While the 3D tour improved my opinion of the inside of the house, personally the outside would put me off. It doesn’t feel like a ‘private’ development - the house immediately off to the side of the garage (and the view of their? Wheelie bins?), the house opposite, houses all around the back. Personally I would much prefer a house in its own defined grounds. The driveway also looks like it could do with a clean (have you had an oil or water spill? I can see where the two cars have been parked) if you had two cars parked on the drive, where do visitors park?

I agree the back garden is also lacking in personality/landscaping and is a little on the small (shallow) size.

Would it be worth considering paying for the services of a professional house dresser? Even some big showy fresh lilies or orchids etc might bring a little bit more luxury. The bedrooms all look very nice and well dressed to me.

@Scbchl

The kitchen and bathrooms really let it down for that price range. My aunts house is around the same value and her kitchen and bathroom are amazing. The kitchens what id expect in a much cheaper house, there is no wow factor at all.

There is a few too many pictures - looks like the dining tables being sold it was such a focus in the pics rather than the actual room and it does look overly minimal. Made me wonder if bedside tables won't fit beside the beds and is that why there is none.

The gardens brilliant, id remove the pic which shows the other house overlooking it tho. The front of the house is gorgeous and the actual decor in the house is really good too.

Thank you for the feedback. You make plenty of good points and I'm glad I'm not the only person in the world that things the front of the house is pretty! xxx

It’s the price.

I am not an expert, but if there is no interest, then the price is wrong.
All the best.

@Eviethyme

honestly for me it isnt worth the 1.3 mil, i hate the kitchen and utility room style and doesnt feel very homey, i also hated the bathrooms as no luxury for a million pound house. other than the kitchen and bathroom i do really like it

Thank you. It's not dissimilar to what we've thought. You're picking up - like other commenters - on basically the only bits of the house we've not improved from it's original build. Completely fair points. x

I didn't look at the link, just read the comments - until I saw one mention Streetly/Walsall so then had a peek. It's a huge amount of money for a 5 bed there. A friend is trying to sell a 5 bed/3 bath less than a mile from there and it's £650k. Other friends have recently bought right on the edge of the Roman Rd estate and paid less than yours for a mansion with an acre of land

@Soontobe60

The problem is that as it’s a relatively modern house in a small space and overlooked, I think it’s reached its ceiling price. I can’t see how a buyer could add value. At that price I’d expect to have an updated kitchen and bathrooms - buyers would need to spend maybe 50K on this. Yes, it’s very well kept and immaculate, but take out all your furniture and what is left? I presume you bought it in 2004 as that’s the last sale listed. Did you install the kitchen?

Bought in 2004 yes. Price listed does not include the £200k house I part-ex'd with the developer.

Kitchen and bathrooms were picked by another purchaser who dropped out as the house was being built so I inherited those. The bathrooms have never bothered me per se, but the kitchen is not my taste at all!

Interestingly, we were happy to allow a £50k negotiation down as we know who ever buys it will want to do a new kitchen. If we stay, that's what we'll start with!

Wow - the price is astonishing!

It’s a lovely big modern house but no wow factor for me. So the price just reflects the local market I guess. In my area this would cost half the price.

I’d drop the price or just stay where you are.