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?

[Twiglets1]

It’s a lovely house and I’m very fussy. I think the price seems fine actually for the area. The price was only reduced on the 20th March so I think you need to give it more time at the new price. Speak to your agents about what they could do to promote your house more in terms of advertising.
I think you just need to be patient and obviously it’s a better time of year for selling as we reach Spring and gardens start looking better.

[Fedupofdiets]

I agree to move the sofa so it is facing the garden, you are blocking off those beautiful glass doors. The biggest thing that would put me off, and there is nothing you can do about this, is the stairs being off a room rather than a hallway. It is immaculate though and lovely and neutral you need to hold tight and be patient I think as frustrating as it is.

[surreyisik]

It's such a lovely home, OP.
We have just sold (process started in Sept) and had only 1 viewing even though it's a very desirable property (great area, same postcode as an extremely desired primary etc) No other viewing requests and when we bought about 7 years ago had to snatch the house from the market in 30 minutes.
I must also say our buyer almost pulled out for a trivial extra expense in comparison to everything else.
The estate agent is a good friend and advised us to jump on the offer.
The owner of the new property we bought also accepted about 15% less in than the initial asking price and it's in a similarly popular area and property.
It's defo the market.

[Frenchfancy]

Lovely house but I would re-order the photos. The selling point for me would be the beautiful big dining kitchen with the glass doors. That should be photo number 2.

[Kitsmummy]

My take on this...it's actually a really great house but I agree with PP that...
it needs more bedroom pics.
The lounge layout is awkward.
The kitchen almost looks a bit vacuous and I agree that it could carry some sort of slim island/butcher's block.

And the biggie for me...your back garden/house is stunning. It looks massive and very glamorous, whereas your house from the front looks very pedestrian. I'd make the back of the house pic the first one in your Rightmove pics.

[Reallybadidea]

I would actually get rid of the picture with the stairs - it's a nice staircase but highlights the fact that they're in a living space.

[AuntieJoyce]

It’s a lovely house, OP. If PP is correct and it’s not coming up as a four bedroom on a Rightmove search in the right area that’s probably a big part of your issue, as at that price point, I’d expect you to be getting viewings with the buyers considering potentially lower offers in the current market

I just need to add that’s the most MN Rightmove house description I’ve ever seen by the way

[AuntiePhoenixClaw]

The market is so uncertain currently I think unless people really need to move because of work relocation or desperate for space because they are expecting another child then they are staying put.

I know two first time buyers, both are waiting to see if the market falls more plus nervous because of interest rates. They wouldn’t be buying a house like yours but they are needed for the bottom of the chain.

The house is decently presented. I wouldn’t buy it because it looks like it’s quite overlooked and that’s an issue with many newer developments.

[Lcb123]

We’re buying at the moment, in a popular SE town. We were very cautious in what we offered given our budget reduced to account for the interest rates. If you need to move you have to reduce price. Otherwise I’d consider waiting

[catshreddedthesofa]

Things have changed a lot in the last few months. With all the mortgage rate changes our budget dropped from £800k to absolute max of £700k, but happier closer to £650k.

None of the houses which would have been suitable were dropping their price to match, so we decided to stay put. Imagine many others are doing the same m, especially with the risk of redundancies and other COL issues.

[Roselilly36]

Some good advice on here OP. I would agree, lovely house, superbly presented.

I would agree remove photo with stairs in the lounge, that would put me off viewing. The EA photos should be highlighting the positives and enticing potential viewers, not focusing on what could be a negative for some purchasers. If I viewed your house and fell in love with it, the position of the stairs might be something I could live with.

Also I couldn’t see, is there a window in the kitchen?

Have you tried a reduction in price yet, this could open up more potential viewers. How long are you tied into contract with the EA, are they selling other properties in your area?

Good luck with your move, it’s always very stressful at every stage, but worth it in the end. Wishing you all the best.

[WoeBeCome]

The garden looks nice but you’ve only got one photo of it. I’d want a photo take from the other direction to see what the back is like.

[jellycakeandicecream]

Lovely house - but as previously mentioned a 5% reduction wouldn’t have got any new eyes on it due to the RightMove banding - you’d have to drop it something like ‘offers over £700,000’ to get that group of buyers.

Where I am in Yorkshire the market seems more buoyant that in the South. only anecdotally of course.

We’re moving (completion in April fingers crossed). Our house went on the market on Thursday, had three viewings the following day - the first of which put a cash offer in before finish the tour - and more viewings over the weekend and we accepted an offer above asking… the question then is did we price to low?

My parents are down south and also looking to move and have hardly had a sniff despite being on the market months and multiple price reductions. Similar price points, but you get a lot more for your money where I am.

Good Luck Op - if I was looking to move to the area and had that budget I’d be all over that house!

[Saisong]

Nicely presented house op, if it was in my town and was looking I'd view. Agree with the pp about lack of bedroom pictures though.
Also the first picture of the frontage shows power lines, I know you can't do anything about, but maybe you could get an angle that doesn't show them in case they are putting off viewings.
Am I right in thinking the garden is actually to the side rather than the back? What is at the back?
Finally (and again not something you can fix) the garden picture shows a double pitch roof - my DH would rule it out immediately because he has had previous bad experience with expensive leaks/roof repairs to a double pitch. It might explain some of the lack of views of that is a common conception?

[AlrightJulia]

Beautiful house...I'd want a lot more photos though for the price of the house including more of the bedrooms. Is there a video walkthrough included? I didn't notice if there was but these are so useful to help buyers get a feel of the house when it is a larger property. Also the description name drops the manufacturers used but doesn't actually describe the flow of the house or the rooms. Get your agent back to do a proper description! And change the first photo to the one of the back of the house.

[BigGreen]

It's a lovely house, but likely the market is smaller at that price range now since buyers who are borrowing more have had to radically reduce their budgets as a pp mentioned (this is also the case for us). Prices haven't dropped anywhere near as much.

[shazshaz]

I think the problem with Rightmove is that the area the search engine considers Little Sandhurst does not stretch as far as Mickle Hill. You have to go onto the map and stretch the search area to include Mickle Hill or in your search criteria select Little Sandhurst + ¼ mile, then the listing comes up. This is something for the estate agent to sort out somehow so that your listing becomes easier to find.

[NorthernDrizzle]

@MegsLevante

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.

I don't disagree but when money is tight people want to either be able to move in and live or to get a property that needs lots of work that they can do up one time and make money

They dont want one that needs changes that won't add value.

But renovated to a high standard with a colour scheme that is subjective or dated can be a carrier to selling.

[Tekkentime]

I don't know the target demographic of the area, but if you check the average salaries in your area and assume that buyers have got an ok deposit. Is your house still affordable? What's the monthly mortgage repayment?

There's also the fear that if people buy now, they'll end up in negative equity.

[Tekkentime]

I think your house is lovely though.

[2bazookas]

We're in the Highlands and properties are selling fast; (days); going to an early closing date , which almost always means there's hot competition to buy it AND, the sale price will be higher than the "offers over" one.

[StillWantingADog]

It’s a lovely house which i wouldn’t worry about changing in any way. Can’t comment on the price or area though

is there anything in the area that could have a negative impact on price- dodgy school/ railway line/factory?

[Malbab]

It's the price
Loads of new builds now around Wokingham area sold 3 to 4 years ago are coming back to market for resale at around 600 to 700 k (similar size to your property) and increases competition
It seems money has been spent in extending and refurbishing the house but th layout to me is a bit confusing, like entrance hallway is big and marked as family room but it also opens into kitchen, as soon as one enters the house kitchen are is in plain sight, this is the problem with extensions added on to existing layout the end result becomes disproportionate to the rest of the house...

[whereeverilaymycat]

The problem is the seller doesn't know what colour scheme is actually going to sell the house. It's very subjective. One persons love of grey is another's love of green etc. Whilst I'm not a massive fan of grey, it's still really popular, so not a bad bet when selling.

The house is beautifully presented and a great layout. I wouldn't care about the stairs because you have a separate living room anyway. I'd imagine using the family room with stairs mostly during the day and then the living room in the evening. My children are still young, so the whole set up works well for me.

More pics would be good, but I think your issue is simply the market and cost of debt. Over the last year we've seen what we could afford to move to reduce considerably. There comes a tipping point where it's just not worth moving at all. So that only leaves people that have no choice but to move.

It will sell, it'll just take time and hopefully at a price still worth it for you. Marathon and not a sprint seems to be the current market's motto! Make sure that you're coming up correctly on the listing search criteria and remember you only need one buyer, so don't lose heart just yet.

[2bazookas]

The front aspect (street view) looks quite dull grey and stern, and does NOT suggest what a gorgeous house lies behind the front door.

Once you get them through the door it will sell itself. How to get them through the door?

PLease make your selling agent swear a blood oath that they will say that to every enquirer AND when they are suggesting your house to waiting buyers .

I suggest you buy large tubs and plant up with bright flowering bulbs and primulas. as they go over, put more in. Maybe buy a pair of matching potted tress for either side of the front door (you can take them when you move)