Feedback from house viewing - AIBU?

[Pointypointything]

Recently put our house on the market and not had a huge amount of interest - in fact had only our second viewing this morning. We knew they weren't keen as they were here less than 5 minutes. But I'm a bit bemused by the feedback. Which was that location, price and condition were poor. We asked for specifics and were told that it needs a new kitchen and driveway and that they didn't like the position on the street.

First off, the position is clear from the advert and street view. Secondly, the kitchen is 5 years old, and I was under the impression that most people look to change the kitchen in a new house at some point anyway. It's in good condition, estate agent described it as modern (although I guess they are only ever going to be positive to get you on their books?) It's in full working order, no cupboard doors hanging off or scuffed or anything like that. No-one selling a house is going to put a new kitchen in are they? Same for driveway really?

I obviously need to toughen up a bit, as everyone has their own ideas of what they want, particularly in a kitchen I guess. And the driveway could do with being re tarmacked but it's not got big holes or anything, and again I thought the general wisdom was not to spend money on things like that when you're selling?

It just stung a bit to hear they felt the condition of the house was poor, and the examples they gave I'm just like . I feel like they maybe have massively unrealistic expectations if they are expecting everything to be immaculately finished to their taste already, but then I'm doubting myself and wondering if actually no, we should make our house like a new build show home?

I suspect their comments are mainly related to the price, maybe your house is at the top of their budget and for that price they need it to be in move in condition and to their taste so they don’t need to spend money on it.
I wouldn’t take the comments personally but if it’s been a while and there hasn’t been much interest then that’s usually a sign that it’s priced too high.

Do you have a link so we could perhaps give constructive feedback for you?

Doing work to property is extortionate at the moment so I suspect more people will be looking for finished houses.

We have certainly said that our new house needs to have landscaping and established gardens because it’s so expensive to do it.

If you’ve priced your house at the top end of the market for its size then people’s expectations is it’s ready to move into with no work needed if you have an old/dated kitchen/bathroom then despite it condition it needs work so pricing from a buyers point of view should reflect it.

If you are feeling emotionally robust enough, you could share the link and let posters see for themselves.

I’m not sure I’d be as brave, but you’d sure as shit get a straight answer!

I think you have to be objective in these things - if the photos don't show the driveway, and perhaps the kitchen looks more modern in the photos, or the location isn't dead obvious then that feedback is reasonable.

Thanks for replies. To answer a few points, it's been on the market nearly a month. We're looking in the same area as we want a slightly bigger house so we can see that ours is in line with similar properties. I'm not brave enough to post a link 🙈.

I can see the point about it being expensive to have work done, but for context the one house we are keeping an eye on needs some work doing (don't most houses?) but we are paying for the extra space, I guess other buyers are seeing it differently... It's making me doubt the one we like now if that's how it is now...

If I'm honest we thought the valuation was high, but again it is in keeping with similar properties in the same area, and we would accept a lower offer(not that anyone is offering...) I guess I would have expected the kitchen/driveway to be reasons to negotiate price, whereas the feedback actually sounds like reasons not to make an offer at all 😢

I looked at houses for a year before we bought this one. Some houses just didn't appeal. No particular reason sometimes but agents really harangue you for 'feedback'. Often I'd say wrong location (you don't get a sense until you are actually there). Not sunny enough (you can't tell position until you get there). Or too much to do (ie we'd want a wall to come down or different windows or a different layout kitchen.

I don't expect the vendor to change these things at all you certainly can't reorient a house to get more sun but they wanted a reason as to why I wasn't willing to spend x hundreds of thousands of pounds on it and I gave one.

Also possibly they felt they had to say something when the estate agents asked and then asked again for specifics. They might not actually feel strongly about the driveway but we’re looking for something concrete (heh!) to say rather than “this house just doesn’t give me the feeling”.

Many years ago when we listed our 1 bed flat I remember getting frustrated by the number of people who gave the feedback 'not enough bedrooms'.

It was listed as a 1 bed, with photos and a floor plan, why anyone was expecting more bedrooms was a mystery.

Often the feedback is not worth paying attention to, see how you go with a few more viewings.

You've said it yourself OP - the valuation is ambitious. Lower the price and it will sell.

Agents tend to overvalue houses. If you’ve not had many viewings then it’s likely you’ve priced your house too high.

I know even with the estate agent saying they were open to offers I didn’t go view houses that I thought were very overpriced . As saw it as a waste of my time.

also when selling didn’t go with the estate agent with the highest estimate as they are just trying to get the business

The person that bought our last flat lowered her first offer because "it wasn't very attractive from the outside" . It wasn't, it was an ex council grayish block of flats....but that shouldn't have come as a surprise as she viewed it before she put the initial offer in!

Ah, it’s hard to suck up that sort of feedback. I can remember being very miffed when viewers said (via estate agent) that my house needed a new bathroom. In truth, though, it was old-fashioned, though perfectly fine for me, being rather old-fashioned myself.

Obviously, it’s far too expensive to put in a new kitchen just for the sake of your sale, though a wow kitchen can definitely sell a house. Not everyone wants to go through the expense and upheaval of putting in a new one. And you can’t change the location. Could the driveway be tarted up in some way? Removing weeds, moss, stains, neatening edges, for example. I wouldn’t re-tarmac: people like brick or fancy flagstones these days.

But you’ve only had two viewings. It’s too soon to draw any conclusions. If lots of people say the same thing then you’ll have to take it seriously and if you don’t get any/many more viewings then you’ll have to drop the price.

When I search for houses I put an upper price limit on my search so although you'd take a lower offer, there are probably people who atent even seeing it.

I also dont expect to have to replace the kitchen when buying a house, not unless the house is significantly under budget.

I think we all tend to get very used to our houses and find it difficult to see them as others do. I remember going to a one bed in a great location. Parents a three under 10s lived there. I was child free at the time.

I was shocked when I went into the large bedroom and saw one double and three singles all squashed together. The place was filled with clutter in every room. They were obviously so used to their house, it never occurred to them viewers would be rushing for the door.

Although if your kitchen is 5 years old, that's probably taste rather than a need to replace.

Recently put our house on the market and not had a huge amount of interest - in fact had only our second viewing this morning.

Market has slowed (interest rates) and if you’re not getting viewings then I’d suggest that that it’s down to price.

Your view that you’ll need to do work on what you want to buy also applies to anyone viewing your property, and buyers will take that into account.

There’s no point in asking for detailed feedback. Every viewer will have their own likes and dislikes and often opposing views on a house. Your house is what it is, marketed as it is.

Have a conversation with the EA about the slow interest and ask what they think about the price. But do your own research too.

And don’t bother asking for feedback.

i have said some rubbish in feedback because I felt I had to say something. After a while I just settled for a bland it’s just not quite what I am looking for.

people on here will try and give you feedback on decluttering and getting new photos. But it’s probably the price and the best person to give you feedback in your estate agent. They know the area better than any ransoms on here and also have spoke to elopement who have viewed your house and similar houses - and most tellingly the people who dismiss your house.

good luck - it’s an awful, long, stressful process but hopefully with it in the end

Yes, you're taking this too seriously/personally. People feel the need to say something when asked for 'feedback' from the agent (and some are quite persistent/pushy) and while the majority of people will go for something neutral like 'just not for us' others will be more honest and you can't blame them for it. It's just one person's opinion/reasoning, not meant to be professional advice on how to sell your house or a judgement on you and your decor/choices. It certainly doesn't mean you need to immediately rush to spend loads of money on the house, often enough the true reason people don't want to buy is something you can't change anyway like off street parking or location (you may ask why people come to view in the first place if that's the case but plenty of people do on the off chance the rest of the house blows them away enough (or is cheap enough) to make it worth the compromise, but again, it's not a personal slight on you if they don't). I'd listen to your agents advice both on presentation/any work worth doing and on price, more specifically the latter, if they think your asking price is still realistic then it's just a case of being patient l, otherwise a price drop is usually much more effective than fixing minor cosmetic issues...

I agree with @Stripedbag101 it’s always about the price.
And I agree with @Sickofchangingmyfuckingusername that people are getting used to their houses and it affects their views.
When we were house hunting I hated the feedback part . DH told his views several times and he usually got back long patronizing speeches about housing market from EAs.
If buyers are not queuing for your house it’s about the price.

Thank you all for taking time to reply.

I would be inclined to agree re price. An additional thing is we're with an online agent. Only reason being the house we liked was with them and we thought it might speed things up, but from reading on here that's an additional factor that would put some people off.

I'm reluctant to reduce price just yet as we've only seen one house that ticks all our boxes, but in light of this recent feedback on ours, given the work that needs doing to the one we like I'm feeling that that is too expensive too. So I'm worried if ours does sell that we won't actually find something we want to buy 😩

I don't think online agents are the best but that's a different topic.

I wouldn't take the comments too much to heart. Your house just was not the right one for those people, someone else might like your kitchen and it's only 5 years old so shouldn't need changing yet. You can't change the position of the house in the street and that should be refleted in the price anyway. The only thing you could do is make sure the driveway is clear of weeds so it looks more visually appealing (if it has weeds, maybe it hasn't).

Once it has been on the market a month, if you still only have the 2 viewings, I would assume it's time to reduce the price, especially if you thought the initial valuation was on the high side. Estate agents often over value to win your business, but the market is showing that the price if too high as you should have more viewings by now.

Agree with PPs that the agents always follow up these days to get feedback and I think people don't know what to say so they say something generic like location or condition, rather than 'we just weren't feeling it'.

Bear in mind some viewers will have said 'we may as well see that one' and be lacklustre from the start, we are viewing at the moment and we try not to waste anyone's time but occasionally we might see a house simply because it's close to another, or on with the same agent for example.

Buyers are more savvy to price per square foot now too, have you calculated this and compared it to other houses in your area? I always work it out for houses now (but not necessarily before I view) and some places get discounted just because they don't stack up right.

Agree with others who have said don't take feedback personally, and don't make expensive changes to the house just to get it sold, but do tart it up as much as you possibly can to make it feel like nothing needs doing.

Good luck!