How much to reduce our listing?

[Potaytoe5]

Only had 1 viewing in 3 weeks since we went live, so we decided we might as well drop the price already (annoyingly enough they loved our house, just went with one nearer train station!).
It's quite reasonably priced against other similar houses, but they all seem to be hanging around at the moment.
EA said there's not a lot of buyers and a lot of people told them they can't afford to buy anymore.
Would it be enough to drop it from £215k to £210k to start with, with a view of going to £200k if we still get no viewings?
I don't want to shoot myself in the foot and reduce to much too early. EA said it might be worth going for the lowest we are willing to sell for at the moment, but I am not sure how low we are willing to go really.
House is a standard 3 bed semi, renovated, nothing really 'wrong' with it, so that's not the problem. Nice area, houses usually sell quickly.

Probably all sorts of nuanced reasons.

Aww, I feel bad for her. The most important thing in this market for those in that bracket is the quality of agent (and, as we've seen in recent posts, quality of the advert/photo). A good agent will know how to price it to get people through the door and hopefully have many bids. I've dealt with some shocking agents this year. One house we viewed that had been on 4 weeks had dropped from 325k to 300k after 2 and, I kid you not, we called 5 times over 4 days to get a Saturday viewing; in the end I got the OH to call head office, who got him transferred to sales in the branch immediately. I told the vendor, and he said 'oh, right, I think they have some people on holiday.'

I felt like saying are you fucking shitting me? We left four voicemail messages, not many people can be bothered to go to the effort to call a head office to get a viewing, your house ain't THAT special.

I've asked for virtual viewings or more photos because more often than not I'm doing 5 hour round trips that causes me a lot of pain, so I'm keen not to waste good physicality. Tumbleweed

Guess what. That house has been reduced by 17k and still hasn't sold because it's next to a motorway. Back in Feb, I probably would have paid full asking if they'd bothered to save me a bit of pain by pulling their finger out.

There are also agents out there who are saying to buyers 'they'll have to reduce their price soon.' That's REALLY BAD! You work for the seller, don't ever say that!

So, my advice to anyone needing to sell close to asking at the moment is to vet your agent as though they were taking care of your firstborn, get a friend to mystery shop with a faux viewing to see what the agent is telling prospective buyers if you feel it is NOT overpriced, and, for the love of all things homely, do not agree to a contract longer than 4 weeks with any one agent.

Change your EA! Check to see if they are picking up the phone and talking to prospective clients. Some EAs just leave the house sale advert in Zoopla/Rightmove and don't do anything else. They need to be proactive!

Check EA contract - there is a catch - if previous EA customers see your house and then want to buy it if you re-listed the house under a new EA, you pay for both agents! Usually this rarely happens.

The house market has slowed down immensely but new buyers are always appearing.

It doesn't make you look desperate, it makes you look like a motivated Seller.

That's what we did so fingers crossed.

Why should anyone reduce the advertised price, especially if the house they are buying is not being reduced?
It is unfair to expect a reduction in price when no checks have been done.

It does not matter who is selling their house or what age group they fall, they are not stubbon. The stubborness is from the prospective Buyer who puts an offer on a house they cannot afford but want it!

@Goodnesssakeyyy We're with them for 2 more weeks as a minimum.
I managed to negotiate it down from 12 weeks to 6 anyway!
They are very good at answering their phones tbh, I called them multiple times.
I think we have a bit of a competition right now, with 3 houses within 5 minute walk and about 6 within 10 minute walk, all 3 bed semis!

I was in the same boat when prospective buyers were trying to knock the house price ridiculously. I refused and changed my EA. The new EA put the house price higher, it sold to a decent family who could afford it.

Too many people buy to let or try to knock prices down so they gain the profit. That is unfair to the buyer.
The only time the house price is reduced is when checks have been done, and new works will be costly to do to the house. You can then decide to knock the price down a bit to help them.

Huh? If everyone acts like this and doesn't adjust their asking price to the fact interest rates are increasing, nobody is going to buy and sell anything, because nobody will be able to afford to? Or am I missing something??

Our house is all 'done', unless the roof decided to fly away, but I don't see why it would.

You reduce the advertised price because valuing a property isn't an exact science so the EA may have got it wrong. Or the EA may have been deliberately over optimistic to win the business.

Ultimately, the market decides not the EA. If a house has been on the market for 3-4 weeks and no viewings or maybe only one viewing, that tells you that it is overpriced for the current market.

We had to reduce the price twice on a property sold in London last year. I think in hindsight the EA was overoptimistic to win our business. Also, the market was not strong in that area, and the property needed a lot of work. We got viewings initially but then they dried up. We could have refused to reduce it but then it would likely still be For Sale.

Those who don't need to move simply won't. By 2025 rates will be dropping back down to the 3.5-4.5% level most likely, perhaps even lower because the BoE has overshot and a recession will ensue. So anybody not in desperate need to move in the next two years will simply wait it out rather than accepting a hugely reduced price. This is what happens in these situations: the market stagnates. Agents of course won't mention those longer-term projections because they need business, so it's in their interests to convince people that this is going to be the ongoing status quo now and they should sell at reduced prices, otherwise they have no houses to list and no commission!

Whatever the reasons for selling a property, it is wrong to assume "It may not be so much that "boomers" don't accept the new reality but more like they don't NEED to move so will only do so if they get a good price. They can afford to wait it out even if it takes a year or more. Though they will probably take their house off the market eventually as will get bored of listing it."
These boomers have paid a long mortgage of over 25 years and their reasons for selling and not dropping the price is a good thing. Why should they lose out? Someone buys it, does it up and sells at a huge profit. We live in the world of Buy to Let or Buy to refurbish and Sell at a profit. This business went mad since TV series on buy to let, refurbishment of properties to make a profit sent the market reeling!

No more is a house to be a home, but a property developers business.
Don't fall for prospective buyers who knock it down more than 1-2%. Your house will sell but unlikely in the time you want it to sell. It can take up to 6 months to get a good buyer that will not mess things up and the sale will complete with speed.

You either live in an area that's in ridiculously high demand or you don't have the foggiest.

I would suggest continuing to converse with @Twiglets1 instead, who I am sure will be more civil in her reply that I can be bothered with.

It is ridiculous that the house price was so high in the first place! It is just a game then? If it was too high and above the other properties for sale in the area, then of course reduce it to match the others.
I tell from my experience and you don't have the foggiest either.

@KievLoverTwo for what it’s worth, I agree with you. I’be found it exactly the same with the type of house we are trying to buy (upsizing). They are generally family homes owned by older people who have lived there for decades, and are now mortgage free and have no pressing need to sell, so are being extremely difficult vendors. Even before the market started falling we were messed around on 2 separate occasions by these types who weren’t serious sellers.

but now, none of them are dropping their prices and some have been on the market for 12 months + already at ridiculously high values. I think some are 10-15% overpriced and EA have said they won’t even consider an offer that isn’t full asking price, in this market. When they’ve been on the market for over a year! Unfortunately we live quite rurally so there’s mainly the one estate agent.

we’ve just taken ours of the market and stopped looking for now. Until people at the top of the chain realise they will have to reduce too the whole thing is shot.

Why should I care that you don't care? I really don't care about your opinions even if they are rude.

Why go for a house that is above budget and expect the buyer to knock it down? Yes, agree that some properties are above price, but maybe they live in a 'hotspot' according to property valuation. Every property is valued according to the area and if prices. Buying a house is complex and no rushed decisions.
There are loads of houses on the market within a budget. Think about moving out of the area. Look elsewhere.

@Potaytoe5 Not sure if it’s been mentioned but you need to consider the price ranges on Rightmove as well when reducing, you want to fall into the next bracket down if possible (that’s why you can see quite dramatic reductions on the more expensive properties, the brackets get further apart).

😂

House prices have to be realistic . House prices have not have not risen as steeply as last year. It will level off while the interest rates are high. It is a difficult time for property market. It usually happens when interest rates go up, the house prices drop or level off. Previous years, house prices soared and everyone was buying...!

🤣🤣🤣

Well obviously it’s up to you as the seller, but if you put your house on the market at 20% over its true market value, you may be waiting a very long time for an asking price offer 🤷‍♀️

If, like OP, you aren’t getting any viewings whatsoever, let alone offers, it’s probably because it’s overpriced. If not getting any viewings doesn’t bother you, fine. You obviously aren’t going to sell it though, if nobody is even viewing it. Maybe you don’t really want to sell, and that is also fine. But if you do, you need to do something to get people through the door to view it.