No viewings - please tell me what I need to change in house!

[Whywontitsell]

Desperately trying to sell a house that we've never lived in and is nowhere near where we're currently living. We move around with DH's job and have accommodation provided with that, so we bought the house 6 years ago to keep us on the ladder.

We've already dropped the price from £500k to £490k to now £475k, but there's just zero interest. It's definitely not looking its best having had (good) tenants in for the past few years - some dodgy curtains left up and some hanging off the track! So the pics definitely aren't selling it well.

We live about a 3 hour drive away but I have a week off soon. If I go through there to do some work - what would I be best to focus on? The showhome pics make it look so nice - I presume you can't add a link to these on the Rightmove ad? An empty house is just so unappealing...

I would really appreciate any advice...

House:
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/143709212#/?channel=RES_BUY

I'm guessing it must be price because it wouldn't last a day on the market round here, where the only houses for sale are empty as their owners have died!

Get the agent to label the pictures so people know which room they're looking at. Without furniture, it's difficult to tell what's what.
I had to guess which was the lounge by comparing the position of the door to the plan. It shouldn't be that difficult.

The pics were taken by the agent. They're awful, but the house is so bland inside, I'm not sure whether it would be worth paying for professional pics unless combining with staging.

I think the house is 8 years old. I've had it for nearly 6.

Op the house looks fine, the market is still very depressed. Yes you could spend some money but I wouldn’t, you’ll probably not get it back. Price looks okay for where you are. Leave it for a few more weeks then perhaps change EAs

I've bought and sold several houses over the years and generally speaking if people aren't even coming in the door then it's on for too much.
It could be the moat beautifully presented house ever, but if it's significantly overpriced no one is going to walk in the door let alone make an offer.
Whatever the agent says, you need to see how much comparable homes have sold for (not been listed for) over the past couple of years. That's not just property type/size but proximity to amenities (station, schools, shops etc.). Also expect to get less than you would have done 18 months ago, courtesy of the high interest rates and difficulty getting a mortgage. You need to choose between getting a quick sale at a lower price or having it sit on the market for months (even years) on end to get the price you want.
There's no point ploughing money into staging it or cleaning the carpets or getting new pics (all of which are perfectly good ideas) if it's not competitively priced.

I'm a bit surprised at some of these comments and wonder whether I'm somehow clicking through to the wrong property.

It's a fine house OP, nothing in the photographs that would put me off. It's obviously been used as a rental and needs a little TLC but that's not a big deal. The fact it's not in a chain is brilliant, the rooms seem nice and big, and generally everything seems in good nick.

The market is slow at the moment however, and I think you may be overpriced for a thee-bed property. You can always hold on for the market to recover, but if you want a quick sale then slash the price.

I don't see anything that would put me off other than the price. Its a nice home in good condition. But the price is a long way off. Number 19 which was a bigger 4 bed 2 bathroom only made 408k at the end of 2020. Prices in that area are falling now and have been for a while.
I think yours isn't worth much over 420k. How much did you buy it for ? My guess is 380k was about right in 2016/2017 ?

I think it looks absolutely fine. I'd be tempted to do nothing apart from, maybe, lowering the price a little. It looks much more spacious than any of the other houses linked to.

There is nothing 'wrong' with it.

Nothing wrong with taking more photos though and I'd take down the curtain.

It doesn't look like a do'er upper. It just needs decorating and a new bathroom in the future.

I do take your point, but the Redrow development has higher specs than those on that estate. There was a vast difference in prices when built.

I know this development and it is lovely.

However, there are so many new homes being built within a couple of miles right now - with all thd usual incentives and all brand new.

I would say yours is the nicest development in the area however so if you sort the house out, make it sparkle, review the price you might get somewhere.

I'd probably keep renting it for now if you can though and wait tor the market to pick up in the future. 2/3 years ago this house would have sold instantly.

no interest whatsoever? zero? zilch?

The front of house looks great.

But need much better photos of the inside and the garden. eg close up photo of kitchen

Measurements on floor plan - that’s always what I look at when deciding how big a house is.

I think it’s mainly an issue with the photos and you don’t need to make any drastic changes to the house.

Ideally start from scratch with better agent. Or get your agent to redo the photos.

I live in Salisbury on a new build estate about a 5 min drive from here. There are 3 & 4 bed houses on sale for less, sometimes a lot less than you’re selling this for. Also detached. Wilton is a lovely area, I’ve lived there myself but people can buy a bigger house or house with more bedrooms just down the road for significantly less than what yours is on sale for.
You’ve had some great tips though from people so fingers crossed someone puts an offer in soon!

As others have said the photos are dreadful. It looks at the moment, very grey with dirty carpets.
In the bathroom, for example- change to a colourful towel and matching bath mat and put a green plant on the window sill. An easy cheap fix that will lift the room no end. I would also change all the curtains to something more colourful to move away from the grey blah of the place. A charity shop is your friend here, where you can find something very cheap,
I would also retake the photos focussing on features in the room rather than the vast expense of dirty carpet, eg the kitchen.
The house from the outside looks great but the photos are a disaster.
Good luck

That’s a great house with rubbish pictures! In my village (SE) it would be £750k in that state and be snapped up. Not very helpful I know.

I would say, don’t drop the price further. The increase in mortgage rates has slowed the market. If you start to consider a drop maybe try spending some money on new carpets and curtains to make some photos look better?

With all due respect, the market has spoken. It does not matter what was higher spec when this was built. People don't care about this.

I’d think about what really sold it to you, and then think about if those key selling points are clear in your current listing.

You’ve mentioned:

More spacious than the average 3 bed - not clear as the room sizes aren’t on the plan, the whole house footage isn’t mentioned (specifying with and without garage) and there is no indication of how furniture will fit in the rooms (the old plan had beds/sofas on the floor plan)

Better build quality than other developments - you were comparing new builds, ish, and buyers now may be comparing existing houses. People may have absolutely no idea about relative estate build qualities. If this is key then make a big deal over it.

Sounds like this place felt like a “luxury option” to you. Larger rooms, great build quality etc. Buyers now see an older ex-new build, without the new shiny feel, and it’s looking v ex rental and unloved, even if it still looks nice. They’ll feel “unloved” rather than “high quality top choice”.

Think about what it’ll take to get buyers to see the place the way you did.

Is this not the same estate?? bigger house same money? PLus there are at least 2 massive new developments round the corner which i know about. No idea what the prices of those will be but if people want a new house they will go for the brand new with NHBC not an 8 year old house for the same or more money

https://myddeltonmajor.co.uk/property/oakley-road-wilton-salisbury-2/?d_map=0

For me it's the garden. It's so sad and barren.

The house I have imagination for - but why didn't you plant some trees and some screening to develop a more mature garden for when the time to sell came?

Hindsight is a great thing I suppose!

There's no feeling of love or character in the house or outside so it's just a box and a strip of green. Not sure how you change that.

I'd pop in some small trees around the back garden fence and make it feel more mature and more like a home. It needs softening in some way so people could imagine relaxing in the outside space.

So the decor is a bit neutral - so I’d say that it needs staging - the living/dining/kitchen area and one of the bedrooms. I am perplexed why potential buyers don’t seem able to look at a blank canvas and do this in their heads, but all the evidence (and those TV programmes!) seem to suggest that you need to sell them the concept of the house as a home.

Really, I am surprised your estate agent hasn’t advised you - I would almost consider consulting another agent as to their view and what they’d do to get feet through the door.

Not read the whole thread. In terms of the house itself the decor is all a bit uninspiring and needs some new carpets, a lick of paint etc. but nothing disastrous.

The most off-putting thing in the photos for me is the efflorescence on the brickwork, especially at the back, which could possibly suggest a damp issue.

Other than that, the problems could be with the price or the location....

Yes it's the same street with an extra bathroom and an extra bedroom. It is marked as sold - but as yet its not clear how much of a reduction they took. The op is kite flying with thier price imo. That's the only reason there isn't any interest. Its a nice home but not going to make that kind of money I'm afraid.

I know the area and personally I would say price. It's a nice house but I think you went too high for a 3 bed. I also know the agent and I don't think they are the best tbh.

I'm sorry OP but I agree with others that it is the price.
Is people can buy a brand new, 4 bedroom house for the some money, plus several other cheaper options, why would they be interested in a rather tired looking 3 bedroom at the same price?
A 5% reduction in price is insignificant. Generally, a house doesn't sell because it is over priced (barring glaring problems). If it has no viewings at all, it is likely to be very over priced. Most people are happy to do a bit of tic themselves if the price and other things are right.