House market - anyone struggling to sell?

[Doingthingsdifferently]

We are in the south east and have we been on the market for ten weeks with what we thought would be an easy house to sell. We had an early offer that fell through and now we are back on with a 5% drop in price. We have had hardly any viewings for six weeks and no further offers - is it the market, are others struggling to sell at the moment?

[MegsLevante]

@Ireolu

Also where is your dining table from? I quite like it. Thanks in advance.

I second this 😀

[Ireolu]

Thanks OP. Will have a look at what they have now and try to convince DH to part with some money. Good luck with the house sale.

[Doingthingsdifferently]

Thanks @PermanentTemporary good spot - it doesn’t. I will ask the estate agent about that tomorrow! Good point re the artwork - we could retake the pictures and swap in mirrors.

[Viviennemary]

House prices are too high in relation to wages. Its a never ending spiral. A lot of people are sitting tight to see what happens with house prices and interest rates. People are cautious as they dont want to be left in negative equity.

[elm26]

I don't have an answer for you OP but your house is beautiful and about 10 minutes from me, if I had the money I'd snap it up! Really reasonable price considering the area. Good luck!

[Doingthingsdifferently]

Thanks @elm26 that is really reassuring - thank you!

[WhenisitmyturntobePM]

I am actively trying to buy. We sold our house a few months ago and we’re in rented desperate to get settled somewhere. What’s holding us back is primarily the lack of choice on the market. Hardly any 4 beds where we live and those that are available are mostly new builds. I am wary of paying the new build premium at the best of times, but even more so when the market is wobbling and the developers are not moving an inch on price. We are considering doing a Mail Drop to some of the roads we like to see if anyone bites.

The other thing we are trying to adjust to is that our budget is a bit less than previously, as we’re trying to give ourselves some headroom over the next few years. So we’re having to reset our expectations about what we can afford and accept some more compromises, which all just feels a bit joyless and medicinal really. Hope that shines some light from the buyers’ side. Good luck selling, it’s a gorgeous house.

[mmalinky]

It's a lot of house for the money but I have no idea about the specific market. The price has doubled in 10 years which is not unusual but who is the target market?

[Evenstar]

Mine is not far from you, I have had only two viewings since the end of November. It is a desirable area, when I moved there in 2010 from a neighbouring town 6 miles away, properties were selling the same day. My agent says it is the market not the house, nevertheless I have just reduced by £25,000 which resulted in one of the viewings. That was before the latest base rate increase, so I am hoping there may still be more interest but less optimistic than I was.

[NorthernDrizzle]

It is a nice house but very grey. No-one wants grey anymore and that is a lot of kitchen, flooring, paint and bathroom to revamp.

[ImNotWhoYouThink]

@MegsLevante

When you say sales do you mean completions or accepted offers?

Offers accepted. We’re still completing on sales as well with only a few sales falling through.

[Reallybadidea]

Lovely house, I really like it. Am I right in thinking there's only 1 picture of a bedroom though? I'd expect to see at least 2 or 3 of them really.

[Doingthingsdifferently]

Thanks @Evenstar , sorry to hear you are having similar issues, hopefully the local market wakes up soon!

Fair point @NorthernDrizzle our taste is on the grey side, but I guess some wouldn’t like colourful decor so we probably can’t win there - and similar sized new builds in our area are 200k more so hopefully a bit of decorating wouldn’t put everyone off.

[Brieandjam]

The market has slowed. Even houses on the most desirable roads in my (popular) commuter town took months to shift, but they all do sell eventually.

[Doingthingsdifferently]

Good point @Reallybadidea we can add more

[Kentlassie]

@Doingthingsdifferently you have a beautiful house! A couple of minor things - I would add a better living room photo. The sofa in photo 6 doesn’t suggest living room to me (maybe it needs to be on the radiator wall, facing the garden?), and more photos of bedrooms. I looked at the floorplan and thought, 3 narrow bedrooms, but I’m sure photos would change my mind.

Good luck, I’m sure you’ll sell it :)

[MegsLevante]

@ImNotWhoYouThink

Offers accepted. We’re still completing on sales as well with only a few sales falling through.

I was in the middle of buying a property when the credit crunch hit in 2008. My lender pulled my (and pretty much everyone else’s mortgage offers). It worked out well in the end (for me) but a lot of financial experts think we’re heading for something similar.

I had to wait 3 months before I was able to get a mortgage again, interest rates and house prices dropped during those 3 months, so longer term, I was better off. I think I’m seen as a safe borrower as I’m in a public sector, key worker job but I’m still having a panic about the banking news this week. Probably just my 2008 experience colouring my thinking. As it’s just my luck that the next time I try to move house (now) there another credit crunch 😭

[Doingthingsdifferently]

Thanks @Kentlassie this is great advice - I will sort out the photos tomorrow

[MegsLevante]

@NorthernDrizzle

It is a nice house but very grey. No-one wants grey anymore and that is a lot of kitchen, flooring, paint and bathroom to revamp.

These things are cosmetic and subjective. They can be changed to suit the new owners tastes. The house has a great, spacious floor plan, is very light and a lovely garden - that would sell it to me if I lived down south.

[Dibbydoos]

Interest rates are making taking on a mortgage hard, that's what's sniffling the property market imo.

I have 1 year left on my fix, so I'm hoping that rates will be lower by next March... I could port my mortgage, but I'd just rather ride the current storm until things settle even if property comes down a bit and I make less on the house.

My neighbours house has been up for several months well priced compared to the smaller semis that seem to selling (theirs is a 4 bed detached)...

[WonderingWanda]

Beautiful house op.

[Dirtypaintwater]

South East here too, just outside London. Ours went on in September and only sold three weeks ago

[LadyVictoriaSponge]

Lovely house OP, very tasteful.

[Wombats23]

More photos needed, I think, for that value house.

Gorgeous tho.

[mjf981]

I like it, but to be honest find the furniture placement downstairs a bit..awkward? Not sure if this help with the sale but heres what I would do:

1. Move the large chair in pic 2 to the corner where the lamp is (angled). Put a big lamp hanging over the char to stage it as a 'reading' chair.
   
2. Invest in a long rectangular kichen island. It doesn't have to be expensive, just something made of a rich/darker wood - similar to the dining room tablet would be ideal. And dress it up with flowers, cookbooks etc.
   
3. Better pictures of the room in pics 6/7. It doesn't look like the couch faces the TV. How does this layout work?
   
   Just some food for thought!