Is anyone else getting any flat viewings?

[Catsontoast]

Our 2 bed, 2 bathroom flat, close to train station, and in a nice part of South London went on the market 2 weekends ago. It's (honestly) reasonably priced for the area as we're desperate to move for various reasons. (EA wanted to list it for 15k more). We've had zero interest so far, is this normal? Is anyone else getting no interest in their flat? Or loads of interest? And where in the country are you?

Trying to figure out if people are not buying flats at the moment? FTBs being put off by mortgage rates I guess? 2 or 3 years ago we had estate agents putting letters through our door every week, practically begging for flats in this area to sell. Obviously the market has changed over the past year or so and we're starting to worry.

Nobody wants to buy leaseholds and BTLs are selling resulting in inventory build. Those usually sell at a loss if bought after 2015/16.

If no one is viewing it isn`t priced correctly, no matter what the EA says IMO. Are you using PropertyLog to monitor other sellers?

@CrashyTime Yes - I'm a data journalist and my partner is a data analyst so we have definitely researched at length! We've owned the flat for 7 years, since it was built, and we're very aware that we'll be pretty lucky to sell it for what we paid for it.

We paid £280k in 2017 and we've listed for £300k. Expect to get offers of 250-280. A practically identical flat in our building sold for 330k in Dec 2022. Smaller 2 bed flats in a slightly newer development behind us are currently listed for £400k+!

Interesting, very refreshing to encounter a poster who is realistic and knowledgeable about the market and market data/stats. Good luck!

Maybe get some friends and family to review the listing- are they flattering photos? No interest at all sounds odd.

Doesn`t sound odd to me in this market, why would it be odd?

I am in South London also- I don't know exactly where the OP is- but properties are generally fast moving around London even when the market slows down. It's not in a unrealistic flat buying price range cost wise, so yes I do find it odd no one has even wanted to view.

@Barleysugar86 I think the photos are good. I sent it to my very critical parents and they said the photos make it look like a showroom! DP's sister dresses department store windows for her job, she helped us stage the pics😅The only thing is we are by a main road and wonder if that's off-putting.

I would be concerned, yes, as new listings generate the most interest in the first couple of weeks. What does your agent say? What prices are similar flats actually selling for as opposed to being listed for?
As you know, the value of a lot of London flats hasn't risen for years and the UK market in general has fallen since mid-late 22.
The other flats are probably listed at v unrealistic prices. Unless there is something else about their building that makes them far more desirable/ road, they are very unlikely to sell.
Good luck!

£280k for a brand new 2-bed, 2 bath flat in 2017??
I would be interested in what area of London this might be in, because the only ones that might have been this price don't strike me as nice.

It's the market I am in the same position! Just trying to break even out here! There are some bargains to be had for flat hunters now

Not in London but Leeds. I sold my flat last year. Broke even on price. But it was old and needed work. Sold within a day but I priced low end to sell. The estate agent was surprised as fists were taking ages to sell.

no idea why they chose mine. But cash buyer and no survey. Took the money and left quickly.

I put the paramaters into Rightmove and nothing comes up as a candidate.

TBH if you're expecting offers of £250-280k for a 2017-built 2-bed 2-bath flat in a nice bit of London and there are smaller ones on for £100k more there has to be something missing that isn't being said.

There are superficially cheap flats in my area priced like this but only because they come with absurdly high service charges and/or district heating bills.

I agree with this - the price seems extremely low for London so I expect the flat has lots of compromises location wise.

And properties close to main roads are also harder to sell so that won’t be helping. In a buoyant market it’s much easier to sell properties but in a stagnant market buyers can afford to be picky.

These are my thoughts too…whats the catch? Or else it’s not a good area.

Is it ex-council? They are always harder to sell.

£280k for a new build 2 bed, 2 bath flat in London, sounds very cheap - is the area horrid or do you perhaps have perceived cladding/fire safety issues?

Also if flat prices have stagnated, why would anyone want to buy a 7 year old flat when they can get a new one for a similar price?

It's not ex council, it was purpose built in 2016. Service charge is £1600pa and ground rent is fixed for life at £200pa. Lease has 150 years left. We have an allocated parking space in a shuttered car park, which is like gold dust in this area. 5 min walk from the train station.

I think there are more desirable flats immediately around us - a couple of newer buildings that are only 2-5 years old. And also think it's offputting that we're next to a main road. It's not a really major road, but a single carriage sort of through road, but still. If it's had no interest by the end of March we've decided to reduce it to £250k and lose our money, and go back into rented accommodation. As long as we can pay the mortgage back I don't care at this point.

Why are you so desperate to move? Is it an issue that is putting other buyers off?

I think going into rented is an excellent idea. People are really put off by being stuck in a chain at the moment because much of the market is glacial. But empty properties that are ready to go or at least don't need huge amounts of work are selling fast in my experience. Especially first time buyer type properties. I saw one the other day and the agent was telling how much interest they had in it and blah blah blah and when I saw it, well I found it a bit depressing to be honest. It sold the next day having been on the market for less than a week.

Agree with pp too, that the price seems cheap, not that I'm up to date with current London market but still sounds cheap.

Is it in Croydon?

Too late to edit... Actually I wouldn't go into rented. Properties look so much nicer furnished. I'd just advertise it as no chain and be prepared to go into rental when it sells.

I am definitely curious about why you are so desperate to get out of this flat. As @Ginmonkeyagain says, is that the key to what's putting other people off.

But if you're just in a pretty saturated market with a lot of similar properties at a similar price and for some reason (maybe the road or age of flat) yours is the "worst" of those properties, then it makes sense that no-one would be coming because they've got plenty of choice of "better" things to look at.

Personally it seems odd to me that you'd list at 300 if you are expecting offers at 250-280. Why not just list at 280? You don't need to price on the assumption that all offers are going to be massively under the asking price. If you price realistically in the first place, you'll get more viewers, more interest and more chance of getting the asking price.

I'd be interested to see the listing but generally I think the market is just very slow at the moment. We're in north London and a neighbour has recently put their flat on the market. We were shocked at how low the asking price was, especially compared to prices a couple of years ago.