Anyone else had viewings today?

[Chanel05]

I had 4 viewings today.

First time buyer, couple that have sold to a first time buyer, a first time buyer and a couple that aren't yet back on the market but they had sold and their sale had fallen through.

Anyone else had viewings today? How did they go?

Congrats @BG2015! Hopefully you get the house for the price you want, surely after six months they're keen to just get rid of it!

@Inlimboin50s have you seen a house you like and want to buy?
you can ask the seller for the same discount you want to reduce by to speed things along.

Same with you @StopTheGreyness. You can reach out to the person that offered to up their offer to whatever % your next sale will reduce by

Congratulations on your offer.
I would email them back saying that you will keep your offer on the table for now and continue to look at other properties.
It's very unlikely that a tiny reduction like this is going to suddenly generate lots of interest. She is lucky to have an offer now after 6 months on the market.

@Rookie23 thanks. I reached out to the owner of the house I want to buy yesterday. The problem is that they bought their house at the height of the Covid boom and now want to sell it in very different times. They've already put it on the market for £10K less than they bought it for so another £20K reduction is a lot. The estate agent hinted yesterday they'd reduce by £10k but I can't scrape together another £10k to meet them in the middle at the moment.

Interestingly, their estate agent has just phoned me again (another agent, possibly the boss) and sounded me out again. They said outright this time that an offer for £10k less would be accepted and implied they thought the seller had bought at too high a price when they purchased it and were being a bit unrealistic - so they are obviously very keen for them to sell and don't think the house will sell at the current price. I can only wait and see if there's any movement on either side, our potential buyer doesn't appear to have any more money so we shall see.

First time seller. My 2 bed flat went on the market two weeks ago. I had someone wanting to view last week but I had to say no as I had Covid or something like it and was in bed! Someone else is coming to view next week. I've had some other interest but apparently they live miles away so the EA is trying to coordinate it.. (?). Not really sure how it works and get the impression the EA talks out of their arse, but they've managed to sell a number of flats in my block.

I've only seen one property I'd potentially make an offer on. I'm buying shared ownership so there's not a lot to choose from unfortunately. I'm really, really hoping more properties come up in the next month or so otherwise I'm going to end up in a position of being desperate since I have to be out of here this year.

I am feeling very stressed with it all.

Still no viewings. The market here is so slow (nothing akin to ours has come on the market at all in the past week) that I've promised my husband I'll give up talking to him about moving house for lent 😂

My thoughts were they weren't confident they will get the price they said if they said it's this or nothing. Anyhow I emailed and said I wasn't willing to agree to their terms so he's said he's willing to negotiate to be able to sell my house. Their way it is win win for them as they get the high rate whether they sell at the valuation or not. No reply yet but he could be out valuing.

And the agent is the one who has valued my house...I haven't said I want it on at X price. He's actually come in higher than I was expecting as has one other agent. Two others were similar to each other and more what I expected. A house four doors down has just sold for ££££££ and if wonder if that's influenced him.

My might not want my advice but if you do, I would suggest that you invite several more agents to view it and suggest a marketing price and strategy. You need one that is confident and really knows what they are doing. There is an awful lot of over valuing going on at present and then the houses don't shift and are slowly reduced. Even Rightmove has published data that shows that over pricing initially leads to a lower eventual sale price.

The more posts I read on here the more I think we should have a sell your house topic. Everything gets more complicated and full of hassle when some agents get involved.

And for those that need it. I absolutely want to sell my house. I am a serious seller. I have to move. I need to buy. Who wouldn't be pleased that their house is valued more than expected? But I am realistic. I don't fully believe that we would get as much as he said, having said that it's a cracking house, houses here rarely come on, good plot, tonnes of space, good size rooms, huge garden, quiet area. But I need to move ASAP more than I need an extra few thousand pounds. The benefit of a higher valuation just means I can take an offer from someone in a good position. Then try and find a house 100's of miles away..

@rainingsnoring I have had four valuations. Do you mean more agents come or have them all come at once?

Unfortunately for me, the agent I wanted to use went and got promoted so has moved away.

I mean that you should 'interview' agents until you find one that you have full confidence in. It doesn't sound as if that is the case so far. I totally understand all sellers being pleased at higher valuations (I've been there too) but they are not proving realistic at present, hence the huge number of reductions around and so many properties not selling and being taken off the market eventually.

This is what Rightmove said. And this is RM, who will always talk up property prices, being in the business:

'Accurate and realistic pricing for their local area is the recipe for success for sellers looking to get moving in 2024, and it’s been proven that over-optimistic pricing makes a move much less likely.'

Funny how if a house is valued more it is over priced or not realistic. It's just too naive to say that. There will always be a call for expensive houses just as there would be for cheaper one. The fact is I live in a really nice area, in an expensive area and have a big house to sell. I'll decide what it is going on at but ultimately I want what I want and might not even put it on as high as he said. A quick sale is more important than an extra bit of money. I'm not well and I need to move. I'm not sure if right move is an agent in it's own right but they aren't one I've had round.

We had an agent try that. Trying to protect their revenue in a slowing market, I’d say.

Just to offer a different opinion @BirthdayRainbow I think 4 valuations is more than enough, it is unlikely getting a 5th or 6th would make the decision of where to pitch the price any easier.

It is nice to get a high valuation I completely agree. But it’s also true to say that EAs do routinely seem to over value properties to win business so you won’t necessarily achieve the price they suggest. So it’s often not the best idea to go with the highest valuation of several EAs, especially in a stagnant or falling market.

Ultimately, no one knows the correct value for their property until it goes on the market. The market will decide. If you pitch it competitively you may be lucky enough to get competing bidders. If you pitch it too high you may not get any offers or possibly even viewings at all.

I didn't say it was never realistic to value on the high side (in 21/22, for example, it often was)) but it is often unrealistic in most markets CURRENTLY, as evidenced by the huge number of reductions and failed sales at the moment.
You have said twice now that you need to sell and want to sell fast, hence the advice and Rightmove quote. Yes, they do have a grasp of housing markets in the UK. At the end of the day, it is up to you. Perhaps your 'expensive area' is still moving well, unlike most others.

I've had four valuations. Two similar. The other two similar to each other but 100-150 more than the lower two. I went with the lower price as liked the agent, trusted him and felt his valuation was realistic. Now that I've had another apparently experienced agent give a higher value it has just given me pause for thought. If he doesn't get back to me to accept my fee offer then I'll be going with the second agent which was one of the lower amounts.

It is difficult as this is only the second time this house has been for sale in 30 years, in its existence actually so they do tend to go quickly. Next door sold within days but that was two years ago. It will be what it is. People tend to move onto this road and stay for decades.

It sounds very difficult in your case to decide which figure to choose @BirthdayRainbow

I would probably just pick a figure that wasn’t the highest & wasn’t the lowest & hope for the best. It’s not an exact science but hopefully you will get interest & find the right price once it goes to market.

Actually I could just pick the middle offer but I was wondering how it works, if the agent would put it on at something they don't think is right. I hate feeling like they call the shots with everything. Looking at another thread on here doesn't give me faith that they'll take good photos or write good description.

I would go with your gut @BirthdayRainbow and would personally pick a lower rather than a higher figure but do plenty of research first. The current market is a very difficult one.

Most EA will put it on at a price the owner wants as long as it isn’t completely unreasonable. We have negotiated with an EA before & said we would like to list the property with them but at the valuation a different EA suggested because we thought that valuation was more realistic. They didn’t have a problem with doing that.

If I don't hear back from the agent by the end of tomorrow I'll go with agent number two. I didn't like her so might ask for someone else from the office or else just try and get past that first meeting. Thanks everyone. If anyone's looking in the SE, give me a message..

Thanks @rainingsnoring
Congratulations @BG2015!
I hope your potential seller backs down and accepts your offer.
@ShiveringMeTimbers it's horribly stressful, isn't it? Someone told me all you need is one buyer and then one property to move onto. Good luck.
@BirthdayRainbow I hope you find an agent you can trust and feel comfortable with.
I viewed the only suitable property for miles around. I love it. I made an offer but no response yet.the estate agent did say I wouldn't hear back till at least today.

My offer was accepted late yesterday afternoon.

We're going to look at it again on Saturday afternoon and take my DS too as he will be moving with us. He's 20.

When we first viewed it a few weeks ago there was a second person waiting to view and she knocked on the door 5 minutes early so we felt very rushed as they were stood waiting.

This time I have a list of things I want to look at. I shan't be rushed.

@Flensburg hope your offer is accepted today.

It's been such a stressful week.