Trying to sell

[jelle23]

We put our house on the market at the end of September and have had no interest. Reduced the price by 5% last week and still not one call/viewing booked.

Stupidly we went to view a property which we now have our hearts set on (empty, no chain) but nothing is moving our side. For reference I'd say 80% of similar properties in our area aren't moving either and have been on for months with the odd one selling.

How is everyone else getting on, is there anything else we can do? I'm just so desperate to get moving and wonder if anyone else is in the same boat.

Sorry to say it but if you had literally no interest in the first month it was on the market, you probably needed to reduce it by more than 5%.

I would say 5% is a sensible reduction for people getting some viewings but no offers. Where there are no viewings even, it is likely you will need to reduce it more aggressively, maybe by 10% of the original asking price.

We can’t really give much practical advice without seeing the house. Are you up for posting a link?

I put mine on two weeks ago and apart from one viewing from someone who hasn't got theirs on the market,I've had nothing. The viewer liked mine and I'm waiting to see if they go on the market.
I also stupidly viewed one too and now feel it's my perfect house( not perfect by any means but for me it would be ideal). They have reduced this already by 10k.

Does reducing work? Say mine was on for 225k ,surely if someone loved it they would just offer to what they thought it was worth to them and what they could afford. Ie an offer of 210.
My large village has nothing new coming on and about 80% have been reduced.

We’ve been on since early October and have had one viewing. The house needs a full renovation which I think is putting people off.

We reduced the price on Monday by £10k (was up for £290k) and still no interest.

Not sure if it’s still overpriced or just that the market is dead.

I am beginning to wonder if buyers are waiting to see if we are going to be in a recession by the end of the year. There's been so much talk if it in the news. I guess anyone who thinks they might be at risk may want to hold out til the new year - apparently just before Xmas is a time a lot of people get let go so employers can avoid paying Xmas bonuses.

Urgh, so depressing typing that onto a screen.

What I do know is the post summer boom didn't happen, if that didn't happen, there are unlikely to be hoardes of folk who just decided to wait til November and get involved in a stressful process over Xmas.

Sorry OP. It could just be bad timing.

Is your agent able to give you stats on the number of people who clicked on the Rightmove ad, and whether that's higher or lower than expected? If it's higher, @Twiglets1 might be right. It could be the price.

Most people's affordability has shrunk by about 30% over the last year due to both the cost of living and mortgage rates.

Thanks everyone. And @Barleymilk I thought the same - even if it's listed at a price if someone is interested they may come in with what they can offer/think it's worth!

I'm not keen on sharing the link at the moment but it's a well presented, 3 year old new build home with a good garden (overlooked unfortunately) and parking. Photos are great, lots of light and we decluttered before but still looks like a home/has a homely feel. It's In a nice area where before this year prices were constantly hiking up (south wales) Seems to be slower for others here too so I'll keep crossing my fingers that it's bad timing and will try not to be too impatient.

We’re also in South Wales, it’s flat isn’t it.

I think better to reduce than to hope/assume people will just offer a bit less.

People do offer lower than asking but your asking price is a guide to what you expect to get so you won't get people making 'silly' offers. If you list for 225 but would accept 195 you would need to bite the bullet and list at 205 rather than expect people to offer you 195 when it's listed much higher IYSWIM

Wrong time of the year, CoL and interest rates. Leave it until the spring.

It is! We live in a commutable distance to Bristol and Cardiff so is a popular place to live, but everything seems slow here at the moment, most houses have been on for months.

Ah, newbuilds. Herein lies the problem. Newbuilds are always priced around 10% more than comparable older homes and it takes years for them to come in line. Have you looked at brand new new build prices in your area? Chances are, developers are selling them for what you have your house priced at.

Unfortunately, that means that the only way you will get yours sold is to price it lower than theirs.

People are looking for good bargains at the moment. Which won't be a new build price plus three years of inflation on top.

I hope I am wrong. But definitely check local new build prices please.

I had my eye on a secondhand new build recently, bought two years ago. The sellers had it priced £500 more than what they paid for it two years ago. It had quite a major flaw, a really bad kitchen, so the vendors converted the garage and used half of it for a second, half kitchen. So they spent a fair bit of money on it.

It sold within a fortnight.

@KievLoverTwo that's helpful thank you! There was one on our estate that sold for 10k more than we've priced at - but that was back in April. Another sold for a decent amount more but that was in 2022 and I know times have changed this year. Unfortunately there is a new build estate fairly nearby and they're about only about 20k more than what we bought for. Such a tricky one!

Most likely because it's a new build. Are you selling it for the same/ similar price you paid for it? 3 years is not a long time to be in a new build.

That's tough, I am so sorry. Affordability has changed massively since then. In May we could get a mortgage at 4.89%. Now I am expecting it to be more like 6.15 :(

Does it still have 7 years of new build warranty to run and is that on the advert?

When I see them without that listed on the ad, I immediately dismiss them.

It does! It isn't listed on the advert though - I will ask it is. Thanks.

Got excited earlier as we had a very last minute viewing since dropping the price. Turned out it was a couple who lived over the road and fancied a look. 🤯

Whatever happed to not being able to book a viewing unless you were able to proceed??? Estate agent is clearly desperate just to get anyone through the door 😤😤

@Naggydog oh that is so disappointing! I know they're letting people who have a house on the market look but that should be the bare minimum. Very cheeky neighbours, feel for you.

When I sold my last home just before the whole COVID market value explosion I had so few viewings over 2 months. I had to drop the price significantly to get it sold. It then sold in days.

I probably sold it too cheap but I couldn't take it any longer.

I think you might have to drop the price.

Probate property priced to sell, not a doer upper, had 2 viewings since August. Nobody can get a mortgage ! Taken it off the market and got an agent to deal with renting it out. The rental market has gone mad, sales have dropped here

Does it have an annual estate charge? If not then make sure the ad shows that, because I advise anybody thinking of new builds to avoid any with an estate charge.

No estate charge at all which is one positive!

We have our first viewing on Friday finally, any tips?! Wish us luck 🫢