Selling house - getting frustated

[Photogemic]

This is the first time we've sold a house and when we were looking at estate agents we ended up with one that seemed to have a good sold rate, offered us advice on how to improve etc.

Just before we went on the market and signed with them we noticed that the house next door but one went on market and within 1.5 weeks was sold. It was on for higher than we were and very similar specification except we had a bigger kitchen. The estate agent said quietly confident they could get this and we went on for the higher price.

Fast forward 2 weeks and only 5 views (2/3 which didn't show up!) I questioned what the feedback is is there anything we can do and it came up we were too high on price. I got a bit annoyed at this as and questioned why did you let me put on for so high i'm paying you to advise me. This resulted in them saying oh we wanted to test the market and the fact that house sold on your road at that price gave us hope when i then said are you sure it sold for the price that was online they went and found out by a 2 minute phone call no it didn't actually went for 30k under! To me this should have been done when i was enquiring about it...But obviously I should have probed more.

Anyway we've reduced the price to the original price we thought we would go on for as advised by the estate agent and they said oh yes we will get lots of interest now. Sadly once again only 2 viewings and I will have to wait til tomorrow to get some feedback but I am getting frustrated.

So after my rant my question is
a) is it normal to have approx 50% cancel viewings or not turn up? I would never dream of doing this to someone.
b) I'm wondering if the 'cancelled' viewings are even real are they just doing this to look like they are doing something

Another issue was that it wasn't until after the first open house he called and they said oh i should get some more information from you for potential viewers! Why wasn't that done before the first viewing.
We've said we are open to people coming round any day as aware not everyone's work schedules allow them to come on a saturday but once again nothing.

I know only just coming up to 4 weeks of being on the market but worried as we've found somewhere but they won't talk until ours is sold as its a small developer. Just in a frustrated mood and needed to vent but any advice or if someone has been in similar postion.

We are selling in London and are 3 mins walk from a tube station with great connections so don't understand it :(

It's definitely not normal to have that many viewers not turn up. It happens unfortunately but not at a 50% rate. Are you on with KFH by any chance? My friend tried to sell with them but gave up. She was convinced that they had a lot of fake viewings as they constantly had no shows or cancellations 15 mins before. It was hard for her as she had 2 kids and a dog to clear out for every viewing.

How long is your tie in period? I would get another agent on board as soon as you can. They have done you a big disservice by putting you on too high as it doesn't look great on RM. But if you are priced right now then you should start getting interest. IMO you should definitely look for a new agent. It will also give you a fresh listing which often generates more interest

@blacklilypad
Thanks for your response. No we are on with Winkworth, I feel for your friend as I have a small dog too and my brother lives with us so we have to get them out of the house too. Our tie in period is for 8 weeks so we can cancel with them after 30 Nov. Just annoyed that if they had actually advised or done their research instead of just taking my word for it (I sent them the link of the house that was on at that price). Just annoying they did the research only after i had a bit of a hissy fit.

They are due to call today with feedback and I am going to challenge them about the cancellations and see what they say but I am guessing will end up with another call from the big boss like last time as the guy handling our viewings did that last week after i challenged them. Which to be honest didn't instil confidence if he can't handle me asking these questions. I will see what today brings

@LittleOverWhelmed Its victorian terrace the only thing I can think of is that people don't like the colour of the house (it's painted not our choice). But thats seen on the photos anyway. We're in an area of london which is where people are now buying up to get our of flats etc so didn't think we would have this issue. Just frustrated and I get next to nothing back from the estate agents in terms of feedback

What’s parking like? Anything in the street that might put off drive by viewers? Would ULEZ be making a difference do you think? It’s not uncommon for estate agents to overvalue so they get the business and then advise you to drop the price pretty quickly thereafter. In a quick market people might be booking viewings then not following through if they offer on something else in the meantime. If there’s nothing obviously wrong with your listing, then it will always come down to price. Make sure the price matches with Rightmove search criteria so you are being seen by both those who have the budget but also slightly below and slightly above.

I always think EA feedback is fairly useless (unless everyone mentions overpriced) as it’s normally things you can’t do anything about … too small, didn’t like garden, don’t like the road, want bigger kitchen etc etc.

If someone wants to buy it they will.

You are with a very recognised EA and it may just be luck the other one sold so quickly. I do think that the run up to Christmas is a bad time generally for selling as many potential buyers hold off until the new year.

With all the talk of interest rate rises some may also be waiting to see how this pans out and may be relooking at finances etc. I think there are always no shows and cancellations for a variety of reasons but yes I don’t doubt that there could also be an element of creativity with supposed viewings.

Good luck. You only need that 1 buyer.

Have you expressed your concern already, to someone senior ? Ask them what they are doing to promote your property. How many views etc it is getting on Rightmove. Ask if they can make it a sponsored ad on the portals.

Sadly no shows are common but a good agent should call viewers the same day to confirm the viewing. I would insist on this, viewing to be confirmed 2 hours before agreed time. Also try to get them to get viewings a few days in advance and line up other viewers to do immediately before / after so less likely to have to tidy your house for just one viewing.

Just popping onto say I have never ever ever been patronised like I have been by Winkworths when we used them. It still makes me crack up to think about it. Never ever ever. God, he was pleased with himself. Also couldn't seem to understand that I - a woman - owned the house, and not my lovely partner. God, they were so fucking useless too. Gave me one lot of advice at the start, and then directly contradicted themselves six weeks later when they had failed to sell the house. Arses.

I sold my flat with a smaller Estate Agent I had never heard of previously but all of all the EA’s that visited (including Winkworths) I found them to be the most professional. They valued my property based on the price similar flats in the area had actually sold for, not list price. They also gave me 3 different price points: lower than their valuation for a quick sale, their actual valuation and finally one above valuation to test the market if I was happy to potentially wait longer for a sale. Everything was backed up by data and they used an app to manage viewings and post immediate feedback.

Sounds as if WW’s have been remiss here and they definitely should have researched what the other house actually sold for. A change of EA might be the way forward. Two viewings for a London terrace a few mins walk from the tube doesn’t sound right unless there is something obviously wrong with the house or the pictures are awful.

Any agent worth their commission should know all houses currently on the market, all that have recently sold and what for. When setting the price they should show you comparables. This is basic. I hate the 'I only show people around I don't know anything about the house' etc. I remember looking at a fixer upper with a friend and they asked the agent what a done up house would sell for. The agent didn't know. So I said, 'I know - that house three doors down with sold sign has an extension and off street parking and it's just sold for X'. Basic!