How long is ‘too long’ on the market with no offers?

[ThePurpleFairy]

Just that really… I don’t want to be a deluded seller (never sold before), but we told our agent that we couldn’t afford much, if any, lower than the asking price when marketing. Now I’m reading all sorts of threads now saying I should expect offers many thousands lower.

House went up right at the end of November (was going to wait for the NY but EA said Rightmove browsing is rife on Boxing Day so to put on before).

So far had 3 viewings, all said interested but in various different positions.

It’s been three weeks now and one of the viewers is keen but indicated they probably want a discount bigger than we can afford. They are under pressure from their buyer and we have no pressure at all.

I know it’s now a buyers market but we need what we need to make our move and we’re happy to stay put for the time being if not.

I’m minded to maybe give it to end of Jan and then pull off the market and see what is happening market wise in the spring/summer, but seasoned house sellers, have we already gone too far? Some people say three weeks is a really long time but we are in the North West and given the time of year I thought I should expect it to be quiet.

Three weeks in the run up to Christmas doesn't seem much. I'd give it to the end of Jan as you suggest and then see.

I'd say you've been on no time at all! Some houses in our area have been on several months. We've just accepted an offer after 2 weeks on the market at 10k below asking,
But prior to going on the market we already had it in my mind the lowest we would accept for a quick sale and we achieved the minimum we wanted. We'd already found a property we liked though so time was of the essence. I'd see where you are in a month, the fact you've had viewings is all positive. Good luck!

Your plan sounds fine. It's a very short time, especially before Xmas when everyone's trying to cram in all the awful work they put off throughout the year to be able to say they got it done!

I was just looking at a perfectly reasonably priced house in the north that has been on since June o_o

There will be a lot of RM traffic on boxing day.

Does your advert state 'fixed price'? I don't see it often, but when I do, I assume that's the amount the vendors need to be able to move.

What are you doing next? It’s a falling market so you might need less than you think as to. Onward purchase will also be cheaper than asking price.

Advert doesn’t state fixed price no, it all went up in a bit of a haze because something rubbish happened in my personal life right as they were listing it. Maybe I should have dropped the price very slightly and gone for an offers over listing to save anybody wasted time

We have been looking at new builds in a different area and they haven’t seemed to drop their price yet 😔 one type of house they have just cut so I was also hoping they might cut the plot we’ve been looking at in the NY which makes life a lot easier for us, otherwise we are down to the wire as we are trying to move to a more expensive area. We don’t ’have’ to make the move though it’s just an ‘if it happens then it happens’ idea.

Next plans wise though there is an empty property in my family at the moment that means even if we found a buyer any pressure would be off us as we have somewhere free to live if we had to be out for an interim period

There is one agent monopolising the ‘second hand’ house market in the area we are looking in and there’s slim pickings on there currently but nearly every single listing is ‘offers over Xx’

Give it time, imo the only viewers you'll get this time of year is tyre kickers, so wait until end of Jan before making any other decisions.

We're in the same situation. We have our eye on a property and need full asking price for ours in order to offer on the house we want. The houses that are priced really low to sell are the only ones selling, but even they take a while. The estate agent updated us last week to say that it's the way it is across the board but they're hoping for a post Christmas flurry of activity. Keeping my fingers crossed for some viewings in January.

3 weeks isn't that long, especially just before Christmas.

But, are you happy with your estate agents? We were on for 4 months with no offers and our contract expired with the estate agents. We listed again with a new estate agent at the same price, and had two offers within a week. Obviously I don't know it's to do with the agent, but it's a big coincidence given the price was the same, so I think maybe the first agent wasn't that responsive to potential viewers.

It’s a tricky time to list because things inevitably slow down so time spent online is going to be different than if you’d listed it in say late September.

My house had a steady 2-3 viewings each weekend after going online and then hotted up all of a sudden with three second viewings on the same day which led to offers and then best and final - going under offer after 3-4 weeks. In your case if none of those viewings lead to a reasonable offer you’re looking at NY before you get a second wind and you won’t be looking as fresh by then. I do think the trouble with listing at this time is that unless you are someone’s dream house at an unbelievable price it’s going to be human nature to see what else comes online in a week or two. Wishing you luck OP, it all feels so random and fraught.

3 viewings in 3 weeks isn’t much but it is a slow time of year so it’s too soon to reduce the price, in my opinion. Especially if all 3 viewings went well & they seemed vaguely interested. There is nothing to stop people making low offers anyway.

I think your plan to leave it on at the currently price until the end of January is a good one. At that point you can decide whether to reduce the price if necessary or take it off the market.

You have to be realistic, interest rates have just been hiked at the fastest pace in around 40 years, are you priced sensibly? Use PropertyLog to see what other sellers are doing.

"We have been looking at new builds in a different area and they haven’t seemed to drop their price yet 😔 one type of house they have just cut so I was also hoping they might cut the plot we’ve been looking at in the NY". I see this mindset a lot on here and wonder if it's a hold over from people having only ever bought in a rising market that think you have to offer asking or above to be in with a chance.

You don't have to wait for them to drop the price. You make an offer that you think is fair. I would think developers would be very open to negotiating right now since they are keen to meet their end of month/year sales figures. If someone was willing/able to pay the asking price these plots would have sold by now, so make an offer and see how it goes.

After two months I'd think of a reduction, but as it's a dead time of year I'd hold off. Also I believe January 1 is the peak day for Rightmove clicks - whether it's just boredom or serious house buyers who knows!

Have you considered talking to the new build developer and talking to them about exchange ?

There may be things they are willing to offer. They rarely want to reduce the price on the house they are selling, but often they will find other ways of making the deal work, for example they may offer more than the market value in exchange for your old house to close the gap. It all depends really how much they need the cash flow and whether the houses they have currently built are shifting at the prices they are marketed at.

3 weeks is close to no time at all at this time of year. Don't panic, especially as you can be more flexible than most people can about moving.

Possible boredom and hangover activity, unlikely to be a "thing" now that rates are held at more normal levels, many people will be clicking on debt counseling websites this year.