How long has your house been on the market? How long did it take to sell?

ChangyNameyAgainy · 2023-08-03T22:59:42+00:00

Hi Our house is about to go on the market and I’m so stressed already. We are relocating and in an ideal world need to be in the new town by June next year. I have read threads on here lately that are making me think that might be unlikely to happen in that time frame. So, if you are on the market currently, how long have you been on the market? or if you have moved recently how long did the process from going on the market to being in your new home take? Thanks!

Wolfpa · 04/08/2023 06:45

I moved into my new house on Friday, we were really lucky as the whole process took 9 weeks.

The chain was short and most of the buyers had the school summer holidays in mine and so were regularly contacting solicitors to keep things moving.

Our house was also very reasonably priced and we kept our expectations and budget realistic instead of letting ourselves get carried away when the decision in principle came much higher than we first expected.

whirlyhead · 04/08/2023 06:48

Put house on market end of March, sold it a week later for full asking. Exchanged back in June. Moving to new house at the end of next month - the long wait is down to me as I’m moving overseas. If you think moving house is hard, try moving abroad. Double the misery!

Pugsley33 · 04/08/2023 06:59

On the market, sold at significant percentage over asking within a week. Was in new home 8 weeks later. All happened late spring. Very do-able!

Hollyhead · 04/08/2023 07:02

Depending on your area be realistic on asking price - you don’t want to be chasing the market down - ie list for £1m now when you would sell quickly at £900k, but then have to reduce to £850k because you sat on the market too long at £1m IYSWIM.

Good luck!

Karmatime · 04/08/2023 07:40

I offered after the first day of viewings. The property was on at a guide price range of £25k and we got it for the bottom figure. The sellers would not accept less. This was in April, we exchanged 8 weeks later.
I have noticed that many of the properties we viewed 4 months ago are still on the market but these are ones that despite being cheaper need a lot of work or just have difficult layouts or not such a good location.

Original poster

ChangyNameyAgainy · 04/08/2023 08:51

Wolfpa · 04/08/2023 06:45

I moved into my new house on Friday, we were really lucky as the whole process took 9 weeks.

The chain was short and most of the buyers had the school summer holidays in mine and so were regularly contacting solicitors to keep things moving.

Our house was also very reasonably priced and we kept our expectations and budget realistic instead of letting ourselves get carried away when the decision in principle came much higher than we first expected.

That was quick. This makes me feel better.
We are priced realistically and are focusing our search on chain-free houses to try and minimise the stress, but anything can happen. I’m glad you had a smooth move.

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Original poster

ChangyNameyAgainy · 04/08/2023 08:55

All of these replies are reassuring. I wish we had been ready in the spring to sell, the market seems so turbulent now. Thanks for replying.

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Rainysummerdaysarenotokay · 04/08/2023 08:58

We put ours on in march and had two full asking price the next day, sold to a first time buyer - we relocated however moved into rented to quicker the process up.
Took about 11-12 weeks in total, exchanged day before completion.

It was a lot easier finding rented to relocate rather than our forever home, we’ve now got 12 months to explore the area and find our forever house (hopefully chain free 😂😂)

Original poster

ChangyNameyAgainy · 04/08/2023 09:01

Rainysummerdaysarenotokay · 04/08/2023 08:58

We put ours on in march and had two full asking price the next day, sold to a first time buyer - we relocated however moved into rented to quicker the process up.
Took about 11-12 weeks in total, exchanged day before completion.

It was a lot easier finding rented to relocate rather than our forever home, we’ve now got 12 months to explore the area and find our forever house (hopefully chain free 😂😂)

We would have taken this route, but we have a dog to complicate matters!

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Sarah1217 · 04/08/2023 09:52

I think the key is to be brutally honest with yourself about how your house compares to others for sale in the area and price accordingly. In the last few years people have been desperate to buy anything so have been willing to overlook a lot of flaws. That's not the case anymore.

I'm looking to buy in a small area. There are 200 houses on the market, many of them for many months. Things that may have seemed trivial last year (slightly worse kitchen, layout, smaller garden, even just being on the worse end of the street), need to be reflected in the price because buyers will be comparing yours with all of the others on the market and looking for the best value for money. It's not enough to say "well, they're both 3 bed semis on the same road in a similar condition so they should achieve the same price". Now that there aren't any bidding wars buyers have the time to consider the details, and it's those details (and the price!) that will determine which properties sell.

XVGN · 04/08/2023 09:59

There will be a very strong correlation between the length of time to get a proceed-able offer and the difference between the asking price and the home's real value. Homes getting offers within a week are priced correctly. Homes not getting offers after 4 weeks are priced incorrectly. A good EA will know what's what.

honeyandfizz · 04/08/2023 15:30

I sold in April for 3k below asking in 10 days. Found a new place a few weeks later and completed in 9 weeks and that was with a mortgage.

SuddenlyOld · 04/08/2023 15:50

We put our house on the market in June and sold within 2 weeks. 5 weeks later and we are a week away from exchange with our vendor and just waiting for our ftb to catch up. This will be my 5th house transaction in 30 years and it doesn't seem any worse than the other 4 despite the current climate

Pitstop1986 · 04/08/2023 19:39

I put my house on the market 3 months ago. Had a few viewings, but no offers, then nothing. 2 weeks ago I reduced the price by 10,000 and had 3 viewings. 2 offers came in the following day, the highest 10,000 less than asking price from a couple not in a chain which I accepted. Estate agents said completion time at the moment is around 10 weeks, so hoping to complete in late October.

Houses are still selling in my area, although some of the older houses/ ones that need modernisation are being reduced quite significantly to get a sale

XVGN · 04/08/2023 20:41

Pitstop1986 · 04/08/2023 19:39

I put my house on the market 3 months ago. Had a few viewings, but no offers, then nothing. 2 weeks ago I reduced the price by 10,000 and had 3 viewings. 2 offers came in the following day, the highest 10,000 less than asking price from a couple not in a chain which I accepted. Estate agents said completion time at the moment is around 10 weeks, so hoping to complete in late October.

Houses are still selling in my area, although some of the older houses/ ones that need modernisation are being reduced quite significantly to get a sale

Yes. Everything will sell at the correct price. The issue is that many sellers are not aware of what the correct price is - either because they have an EA who inflated the suggested price in order to get the contract, or because of greed to secure more profit than the market will allow.

ReyFinn · 04/08/2023 21:43

Was on the market in March, 3 months to get an offer, 2 reductions, then 8 weeks to completion.

Soontobe60 · 04/08/2023 21:46

I’m currently selling a house. It’s been on the market for 2 weeks, we’ve had 6 offers and 2 more viewings tomorrow. Going to final sealed bids on Monday.

Rainysummerdaysarenotokay · 04/08/2023 22:08

ChangyNameyAgainy · 04/08/2023 09:01

We would have taken this route, but we have a dog to complicate matters!

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We’ve two cats and luckily found a rental that would take them… I did envisage sneaking them in the depths of the night 🤣🤣

Original poster

ChangyNameyAgainy · 05/08/2023 00:43

Soontobe60 · 04/08/2023 21:46

I’m currently selling a house. It’s been on the market for 2 weeks, we’ve had 6 offers and 2 more viewings tomorrow. Going to final sealed bids on Monday.

That’s brilliant! Good luck.

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SpidersAreShitheads · 05/08/2023 04:53

We put our property on the market last month, the end of July.

We need a quick sale and for long and boring reasons, July was the first time we could get to market.

Priced realistically at £180k and accepted an offer of £170k after 1 week. Our EA said at the start we should get somewhere between 170-180k and we were very happy with the offer as we want a fast sale. Our buyer is a FTB with a mortgage all ready to go, a big cash deposit and no chain.

A couple of weeks in and the survey has been done and it’s all progressing nicely, fingers crossed!

As PP have said, I think in this market the price really does matter. Price too high and you’ll end up with less as you chase the market downwards. Price competitively and you’ll get plenty of interest esp as there’s not a lot of choice right now. Good luck!

PermanentTemporary · 05/08/2023 05:49

Dp put his house on in May, 1 offer at 5% below asking received 2 days in, asked them to go higher, which about a week later they did, offering asking price. It was still the only offer.

2 months into a mildly slow but not terrible process, they've said they're going to pull out. We've asked if they want to offer less and that seems to be the issue. We may end up with them going back to the original offer - if we're lucky.

I think most buyers are trying low offers. I would too in this market. I sold my house at asking price in February and was in a bidding war for the house I've bought but that was then.

VeryWeirdBarbie · 05/08/2023 06:35

We sold in June at full asking 2 weeks after going on the market. We were ready to exchange a couple of weeks ago but out buyers' buyers pulled out. They've gone back on the market and we're waiting for them.