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Original poster

Why don't people reduce if the house isn't selling?

214 replies

donttellmehesalive · 01/10/2022 07:35

Around here, it's a buyers market now. Everything has been on for months, lots coming back on, most reduced. I've only seen one sold in the past month in my price range.

But I'm fascinated by those properties that went on in the second quarter, were wildly overpriced, and are still there or reduced by a tiny amount. Some houses have come on in the past week for more than they were on for in March or April.

I always assumed they were people who were chancing their arm and didn't really care if they sold or not, or would only move if they sold for a lavish amount.

But I was recently talking to a neighbour who has been on for a year. She went on when everything was selling, but for about £100k more than the house was worth. Over the year, she's reduced by about £10k per month. It's now £120k less than it was on for last October, but there still isn't any interest and she says she's desperate to downsize and move near family. Why not price to sell in the first place? Do people take bad advice from optimistic agents, or what?

OP posts:
C4tastrophe · 01/10/2022 07:49

Greed.
or they ‘need’ a price to fund their life, and expect someone else to pay it.
There is a house in my viewing area, was on for 599, sstc 6 months ago, suddenly back at 625.
Should be 525 or 550. I’ll watch with interest.

Raidtheice · 01/10/2022 07:58

I think estate agents price things up 'optimistically'.

I also think that some people chance their luck. Especially if the estate agent tells them it's worth £100k more.

It's also about not understanding the area and market. Where we live is not a great area. A few people have bought cheap houses and done them to sell on. They then put them on the market at ridiculously high prices. No one is going to pay £250k for a house here, when your neighbours would be a drug dealer and nuisance kids. No matter how fancy the bathroom is. Especially not when other houses in the street are up for £175k.

Fundamentallyfuckeed · 01/10/2022 07:58

I think it’ll take a while for people to realise the market has changed, it was a sellers market for so long and house prices were so inflated that I think some people just think their house will sell for ridiculous money. Not the same, but we bought in the peak this year (march), and the house we really wanted we couldn’t get a viewing on (rang up the morning it went on and was told the owner wouldn’t accept any more viewings as she had so many booked and had had offers over asking off people without having even seen it). Well that sale must have fallen through because it’s come back on the market again - for 10k more. Irony is we would have been moved in by now had we been able to view and make an offer. I suspect it will linger on the market for a bit now and eventually reduce 🤷‍♀️

Sling · 01/10/2022 08:07

Many people think their house is worth a certain amount - either because it's their aspiration especially if they spent a lot on a refurb, the house was once a time worth that amount, or their estate agent tells them it is worth a higher price (hello Foxtons, who are particularly guilty of this!). That figure is theoretical at best, and usually inflated and unreflective of the actual market. But they see anything beneath it as 'losing money' and some people just can't get out of that mind set.

I've a friend like this, bought a London flat about 15/16 years ago which they want to sell, whatever they get for it now will always be a huge profit on what they paid, but they won't reduce as it as they think it will be a loss on a theoretical value from a few years back. Bonkers.

Twiglets1 · 01/10/2022 08:07

donttellmehesalive · 01/10/2022 07:35

Around here, it's a buyers market now. Everything has been on for months, lots coming back on, most reduced. I've only seen one sold in the past month in my price range.

But I'm fascinated by those properties that went on in the second quarter, were wildly overpriced, and are still there or reduced by a tiny amount. Some houses have come on in the past week for more than they were on for in March or April.

I always assumed they were people who were chancing their arm and didn't really care if they sold or not, or would only move if they sold for a lavish amount.

But I was recently talking to a neighbour who has been on for a year. She went on when everything was selling, but for about £100k more than the house was worth. Over the year, she's reduced by about £10k per month. It's now £120k less than it was on for last October, but there still isn't any interest and she says she's desperate to downsize and move near family. Why not price to sell in the first place? Do people take bad advice from optimistic agents, or what?

I think it often is the fault of estate agents who give wildly optimistic valuations in order to win the business. Then spend the next few months trying to encourage you to reduce the price because it suddenly seems full of faults in their eyes compared to when they valued it and it would apparently fly off the shelves (not bitter at all).

ArcticSkewer · 01/10/2022 08:15

I always assumed they were not desperate to sell, but would if someone 'made it worth their while'. Maybe they are just stupid. There's plenty of it around.

TheYearOfSmallThings · 01/10/2022 08:30

They only want to sell at a certain price, and if they don't get that price it is better for them to stay put. I've often heard frustrated would-be buyers wondering why prices don't drop to a price that suits them - especially in London in 2008 and the years after, when nothing was selling except estate sales and the market stagnated. Whole blocks of flats sat half finished for 4 years. Prices never dropped, and now are worse than ever.

IMO neither seller not buyer is greedy for knowing what price they will go to.

EfficientDynamics · 01/10/2022 08:41

Some people aren't actually that bothered if the house sells or not, if they get the price advertised then great but if not, we'll stay

waffless · 01/10/2022 08:50

Yes, as efficiency said.
The Estate agents do everything to get you on board and as soon as you sign with them and the house is in their sites they show their true colours. There are still opportunities for houses ready to move in. The chains falling means some people have mortgages approved so they are looking to buy quickly.

SilentHedges · 01/10/2022 08:54

It's greed and unrealistic expectations around the worth of their home.

@donttellmehesalive Your neighbour has perfectly illustrated what's called "chasing the market down", ie constant tiny reductions to the point they're now asking 120k less than a year ago. If it ever sells it will be significantly less than that. If she had priced realistically to start with, she'd have got more, sold and be in her downsized house. It's greed and it's backfired.

Also, when prospective buyers see a house sitting on the market for years, you assume there's something very wrong with it, as no one else has been interested either.

Original poster
donttellmehesalive · 01/10/2022 08:57

I do understand that some people just aren't that bothered about selling, but that isn't the case with my neighbour. If she'd dropped it by even £50k a year ago it would have sold and I know she had offers. Now it's £120k down and zero interest. I always think a house is only worth what people are willing to pay for it but some people do seem to think it is worth what they want it to be worth, and any less is 'losing money.' Awful then if you end up losing even more money.

I'm not convinced it can just be optimistic agents. A house came back on recently for £50k more than it sold for six months ago. Surely no agent, given current conditions, would be advising anyone to do that.

OP posts:
FurierTransform · 01/10/2022 09:34

I'd guess in the majority of cases it's as simple as - They need X price in order to afford the next move. Selling for a lesser price means they can't buy what they want, so it's not 'worth' moving.
That would have certainly been the case for my last house move. I would have just not sold and stayed put over reducing.

TheYearOfSmallThings · 01/10/2022 09:55

If she'd dropped it by even £50k a year ago it would have sold and I know she had offers

But then the house she was planning to move to would also have been priced for a stronger market. There hasn't been a point where she could achieve what she wanted to by selling, and so she hasn't sold. If she was desperate to sell she would have had to sell, but she isn't.

floorida · 01/10/2022 11:00

Many people think their house is worth a certain amount - either because it's their aspiration especially if they spent a lot on a refurb, the house was once a time worth that amount, or their estate agent tells them it is worth a higher price (hello Foxtons, who are particularly guilty of this!)

Yes was talking recently to a relative about this. She wants to downsize, has an expensive house & no mortgage. She's very worried that she won't get her price now if prices fall. I explained that what she is buying will likely be cheaper & she has still made 7 figs but she doesn't get it 🤷🏻‍♀️

Hbh17 · 01/10/2022 11:07

Because they don't understand the market. A house is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it, no matter how much the seller "loves it" or thinks they need to make. Houses are also not guaranteed to make a profit when sold, but people forget this.

NellyBarney · 01/10/2022 11:10

I think even if you reduce massively now you might still struggle to find a buyer as it's so hard to get a mortgage at the moment, with so many banks suspending lending and stress testing making it hard for people to access them. During the last crash in 2008, very few people managed to buy, even though property in London iwas up to 25% reduced, because they couldn't get a mortgage. It's not easy for people to actually buy in a 'buyers market', otherwise demand would quickly push prices up again. It's so mean, especially for FTB, dangling reduced homes in front of their noses they can't buy. It only really profits cash buyers or BTL.

illiterato · 01/10/2022 11:19

I’m seeing the opposite- things being rescued within weeks of listing. Where I live a lot of big, expensive houses have suddenly come on. Looking at the interiors I suspect it’s empty nesters who planned to downsize but kept hanging in there for higher prices now suddenly panicking and realising that it’s cash in now or wait 5 years for the prices to recover.

illiterato · 01/10/2022 11:20

Rescued =reduced!!

TheOtherBoleynGirls · 01/10/2022 11:26

There’s a house near us that’s been on for over a year now at £750k. It’s never been reduced but they’ve moved to a different agent and resisted every few months. Now it’s listed with an agent who is miles away, they’ve been through all the local agents and either has given up with them or none of them will touch the place. It’s on a very desirable street but it needs SO much work - but the sellers are clearly obsessed with the idea that houses on their street go for X amount and just won’t budge. I can’t see how it will ever sell.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/Hitchin.html

cloutneerbeout · 01/10/2022 11:30

Because people are greedy and fail to understand that their house is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.

Pizzadreams · 01/10/2022 11:38

I think many people listen to agents and genuinely believe their Home is worth the price. They don’t think they are being greedy. Others compare it to houses that sold in the area and think their house is like that too. When their house is in a different location, or less good interior, smaller plot etc

there has been plenty of threads on here from folks asking why their house doesn’t sell and they just can’t see it.

I recall one woman on here, she’d barely made the beds, stuff all visibly shoved down the side of them, the washing machine was jam packed, cleaning materials on display and by the state of the outside the concept of a power washer was alien to her. Not only was it over priced significantly it was presented terribly

they really think their house is worth it and they can’t see what others can.

ThisIsNotAFlyingToy · 01/10/2022 11:43

TheOtherBoleynGirls · 01/10/2022 11:26

There’s a house near us that’s been on for over a year now at £750k. It’s never been reduced but they’ve moved to a different agent and resisted every few months. Now it’s listed with an agent who is miles away, they’ve been through all the local agents and either has given up with them or none of them will touch the place. It’s on a very desirable street but it needs SO much work - but the sellers are clearly obsessed with the idea that houses on their street go for X amount and just won’t budge. I can’t see how it will ever sell.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/Hitchin.html

Is that the wrong link? That's quite nice.

MrFirstTimeBuyer · 01/10/2022 11:46

@TheOtherBoleynGirls

Which one of the 750k properties?

DadOnIce · 01/10/2022 11:47

It's not always 'greed'. Sometimes if you don't get the price you want then you can't afford to move, or could only afford to move to a house the same size or in a worse area, which often would defeat the object.

lookthisway · 01/10/2022 11:51

Also for some people their house is their pension, and therefore need to maximise what they get as else they won't have large enough savings to fund their retirement.