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Original poster

No viewing on our house in two weeks!

135 replies

Nataliemcm9 · 01/09/2023 18:14

I know the current market isn’t great, but we have had our house up for sale coming up to two weeks and not one single view. I’m starting to think maybe it’s up for too much? But we don’t want to reduce it yet. Is anyone else have the same issue with selling their home at the moment?

OP posts:
tilestoclean · 01/09/2023 18:22

Mine has been on since April and we had one viewing. Dropped the price and got one more. Now changing agent and dropping again. It's depressing.

Scotsgirl001 · 01/09/2023 18:24

Where about are you and what kind of property are you selling? It’s seems very variable across the country and the type of property. I’m in Scotland and property, especially smaller well presented and maintained houses are still selling quickly. I know as I’ve ben outbid and nothing much is coming on the market, lots of large houses, BTL flats and houses that have obviously belonged to old people and need a lot of work.

paddingtonbear1 · 01/09/2023 18:24

We've dropped our price by 10% since coming onto the market. Had a few viewings since our intial sale fell through in June. Ours is a larger property, no-one wants those anymore in our area.
If you've had no viewings at all it could be the price. What does the EA say?

paddingtonbear1 · 01/09/2023 18:25

We're about to change agent as well.

Original poster
Nataliemcm9 · 01/09/2023 18:38

tilestoclean · 01/09/2023 18:22

Mine has been on since April and we had one viewing. Dropped the price and got one more. Now changing agent and dropping again. It's depressing.

It really is so depressing, I know we are very early days, but feel like if we haven’t had even one view yet the listing will just go stagnant.

OP posts:
Original poster
Nataliemcm9 · 01/09/2023 18:39

paddingtonbear1 · 01/09/2023 18:24

We've dropped our price by 10% since coming onto the market. Had a few viewings since our intial sale fell through in June. Ours is a larger property, no-one wants those anymore in our area.
If you've had no viewings at all it could be the price. What does the EA say?

Sorry to hear that, we are trying to upsize, ours is a 3 bed semi in greater Manchester, but we just feel like people arnt willing to pay the price with the current interest rates.

OP posts:
Original poster
Nataliemcm9 · 01/09/2023 18:40

Scotsgirl001 · 01/09/2023 18:24

Where about are you and what kind of property are you selling? It’s seems very variable across the country and the type of property. I’m in Scotland and property, especially smaller well presented and maintained houses are still selling quickly. I know as I’ve ben outbid and nothing much is coming on the market, lots of large houses, BTL flats and houses that have obviously belonged to old people and need a lot of work.

It’s a 3 bed semi in Greater Manchester. To be honest there are a few houses up around us which have been up for quite a while.

OP posts:
PoshHorseyBird · 01/09/2023 18:48

My sister and I are selling our mums house (left to us in her will) and we've had a few viewings since July but now nothing. The estate agent has just cheerfully told us it's now going into a quiet time of year as no one wants to buy a house before Christmas. Great!

MrsMoastyToasty · 01/09/2023 18:50

Would you be happy to provide a clicky link? Maybe there's something in the photos or blurb that's putting people off.

Yajebbend · 01/09/2023 18:51

If you link we can help

Twiglets1 · 01/09/2023 19:01

Nataliemcm9 · 01/09/2023 18:14

I know the current market isn’t great, but we have had our house up for sale coming up to two weeks and not one single view. I’m starting to think maybe it’s up for too much? But we don’t want to reduce it yet. Is anyone else have the same issue with selling their home at the moment?

People normally get the most interest on their properties in the first few weeks when the listing is fresh.

I'm sorry to say it but no viewings at all in 2 weeks does suggest the price is too high. I would leave it for another couple of weeks but unless things have picked up considerably in that time, you probably need to reduce the price quite a bit, about 5% as a guide but listen to what your EA advises you to reduce it by.

Twiglets1 · 01/09/2023 19:03

PoshHorseyBird · 01/09/2023 18:48

My sister and I are selling our mums house (left to us in her will) and we've had a few viewings since July but now nothing. The estate agent has just cheerfully told us it's now going into a quiet time of year as no one wants to buy a house before Christmas. Great!

Your EA sounds rubbish to be so negative. September is normally a fairly good month to sell. If they have lost their appetite for the Sale I would consider switching to another agent with more enthusiasm for your property.

Sarah1217 · 01/09/2023 19:04

We are looking for a 3 bed in Greater Manchester. We have a large deposit, are looking at a price range well within our affordability (are basing our budget on a single salary so we have a cushion for future rate rises/maternity leave) and are ready to move. What we are finding is that sellers are not being realistic that the market has changed.

Figures were published today that house prices have dropped 5% since last year. Since those figures are at least six months behind, in reality it's probably more than that. Buyers are well aware of this. There is also a lot of choice and a real risk of negative equity. Buyers are looking for houses they aren't going to outgrow in a few years in case they are forced to stay put for awhile and, now that the covid frenzy is over, they have the opportunity to really scrutinise properties and get the most value for their money.

I would look at what houses actually sold for in your area in summer 2022 (the peak) and take 5-10% off that as a starting point. If you still don't have any interest I wouldn't wait too long to reduce because it sends the signal you aren't realistic or open to negotiation. There are a number of properties we like and would probably make an offer on if they came down just 10%, but because they've been on for months without any reductions we don't think it's even worth a viewing because the seller is unlikely to negotiate with us.

PrimrosesandPears · 01/09/2023 19:06

Yeah I agree with Twiglets Sept is a good time to sell, it’s still just about possible to get in for Christmas and everyone’s back from summer hols and ready to think about moving more seriously. Appreciate this market is not typical but Sept is not in itself a bad month for sales.

housedramas · 01/09/2023 19:07

It took me 4.5 months to sell my house! I only had FIVE viewings in all that time too, I felt so disillusioned. I had none at all in the first month whilst houses locally were selling like hot cakes! I dropped the price by 2.5k and it triggered my viewings increasing - they (four) all took place in the last two weeks until I received an offer 7.5k under my revised asking price, I got them up a further 5k and sold. It was super stressful, but was down to a few aspects - one of them being area. Can you afford to drop a couple of K to create more interest? I would personally bear with though. I put mine on 01/12/23 - definitely the worst time of year!

Original poster
Nataliemcm9 · 01/09/2023 19:08

Sarah1217 · 01/09/2023 19:04

We are looking for a 3 bed in Greater Manchester. We have a large deposit, are looking at a price range well within our affordability (are basing our budget on a single salary so we have a cushion for future rate rises/maternity leave) and are ready to move. What we are finding is that sellers are not being realistic that the market has changed.

Figures were published today that house prices have dropped 5% since last year. Since those figures are at least six months behind, in reality it's probably more than that. Buyers are well aware of this. There is also a lot of choice and a real risk of negative equity. Buyers are looking for houses they aren't going to outgrow in a few years in case they are forced to stay put for awhile and, now that the covid frenzy is over, they have the opportunity to really scrutinise properties and get the most value for their money.

I would look at what houses actually sold for in your area in summer 2022 (the peak) and take 5-10% off that as a starting point. If you still don't have any interest I wouldn't wait too long to reduce because it sends the signal you aren't realistic or open to negotiation. There are a number of properties we like and would probably make an offer on if they came down just 10%, but because they've been on for months without any reductions we don't think it's even worth a viewing because the seller is unlikely to negotiate with us.

Thank you for your insight. Yes I think we will probably have to end up reducing it. We did sell it in 2018 for £150k, and now it’s on for £250k. Our buyers pulled out back then and I found I was pregnant so we took it off the Market.

I will give my EA a call on Monday!

OP posts:
ReleasetheCrackHen · 01/09/2023 19:11

Twiglets1 · 01/09/2023 19:03

Your EA sounds rubbish to be so negative. September is normally a fairly good month to sell. If they have lost their appetite for the Sale I would consider switching to another agent with more enthusiasm for your property.

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Depends if it is a family home or not? September is the new school year and most families will not want to move DC between schools during the school year so the market drops sooner for larger family homes.

PoshHorseyBird · 01/09/2023 19:11

@Twiglets1 I agree. DH and I bought our property in November 2017 so didn't agree with the 'no one wants to buy before Christmas '. As you say maybe time to switch EA.

Twiglets1 · 01/09/2023 19:20

ReleasetheCrackHen · 01/09/2023 19:11

Depends if it is a family home or not? September is the new school year and most families will not want to move DC between schools during the school year so the market drops sooner for larger family homes.

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Statistically, September is a fairly good month to sell. Not the best (Spring) but there are plenty of worse months. The EA is being lazy if they are implying that they shouldn't be expected to sell a property "close" to Christmas.

Twiglets1 · 01/09/2023 19:24

PoshHorseyBird · 01/09/2023 19:11

@Twiglets1 I agree. DH and I bought our property in November 2017 so didn't agree with the 'no one wants to buy before Christmas '. As you say maybe time to switch EA.

We sold a property in November 21 - had it got to December we would have taken it off the market for a while and relisted in January. But no EA shouldn't be making those sort of noises in September!

Swanslikeme · 01/09/2023 19:25

It is always the price.

Do an honest comparison against properties that are under offer atm

Sarah1217 · 01/09/2023 19:28

@Nataliemcm9 I'm glad I could be helpful. I'm not trying to be all doom and gloom. It's just a reality that buyers will be aware of the market changes and will be comparing the price to the previously sold prices. I'm still seeing some sellers asking for 10% on top of 2022 prices. Even if the house is lovely and in our budget we just aren't willing to risk negative equity.

If it makes you feel better there was a street in the area we are looking where two houses came up for sale (270-280). A third came on for offers over 225. One house dropped to match their price. The third stayed at its original price. It was in better condition than the other two, but was smaller and the layout wasn't as good. The two lower priced houses sold within days. The third is still on the market a month later. So there ARE buyers out there for properties that are priced right.

ReleasetheCrackHen · 01/09/2023 19:43

Twiglets1 · 01/09/2023 19:20

Statistically, September is a fairly good month to sell. Not the best (Spring) but there are plenty of worse months. The EA is being lazy if they are implying that they shouldn't be expected to sell a property "close" to Christmas.

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Statistically yes, September is a good month to sell when looking at the market as a whole but not when you drill down into the statistics and look only at family homes because with most schools over subscribed, it’s not an easy thing to just switch schools the middle of a school year these days.

The EA isn’t being “lazy” if it’s a family home, they actually know their business.

ReeseWitherfork · 01/09/2023 19:48

I was under the impression September and March/April are when sales completed. Have I got that wrong?

Twiglets1 · 01/09/2023 19:52

ReleasetheCrackHen · 01/09/2023 19:43

Statistically yes, September is a good month to sell when looking at the market as a whole but not when you drill down into the statistics and look only at family homes because with most schools over subscribed, it’s not an easy thing to just switch schools the middle of a school year these days.

The EA isn’t being “lazy” if it’s a family home, they actually know their business.

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We will have to agree to disagree