No viewings/offers since failed open day - What would you do?

[rosemarycait96]

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/144690626#/?channel=RES_BUY

Here's our listing ^^

A fairly normal house for our village which has a lot of cottages of a similar size or bigger. The ones that are on the market all are priced £385-£450k ish.

We started on £425k with an open day as per recommendation by our EA. 3 viewings. 2 of the parties were extremely interested and gave good feedback saying it was well presented and lovely etc. But no offers.

Thought the price may be the issue, so we reduced to £415k. No offers and not even a single viewing since then.

Other houses in our village seem to sit on the market for weeks too, and our house had been on the market for a month when we bought it in early 2022 when homes were flying off the shelves in days! So I wasn't expecting a miracle. I was, however, expecting at least some viewings.

Anything we can do to help speed things along? I'm getting a little impatient now - we're viewing a lovely house tomorrow that, if we had sold already, I'd be very confident putting an offer in on. I'm thinking we could reduce to 399k to open up a new band of buyers on rightmove, but it would feel so demoralising as we'd barely make any profit then!

The open stairs and all the cold hard floors downstairs would be dealbreakers for me. The upstairs looks lovely and cosy, but (perhaps because I'm sitting here freezing waiting for our heating to come on) the downstairs is making me think of perpetually cold feet and all the ways children could fall and hurt themselves. Photo 7 makes the wall behind the stairs look like bare, still-drying plaster as well, and what are the dark/wet-looking patches on the stone floor in the same photo?

1. You can get a bigger house in the same village for less/similar
2. The stairs
3. Very low ceilings
4. The market is slow just now
5. Selling so soon after buying looks suspicious

But basically, it's priced too high. If you want to move you might have to take a financial hit and/or buy a smaller house/worse area in Bristol than you'd like. Or you try and stick it out where you are until the market improves.

Lovely house. I like all of it, except the plastic grass. I hate it anyway but yours seems to have lumps and bumps and poss a hole in it too. I think this would really put buyers off an otherwise great property. Was there a reason for not having real grass?

Anything will sell at the right price. It might sell at the current price but the right buyer could be 6 or 9 months away. Drop the price £25k and you will bring in new potential buyers. Drop it another £25k and again more potential buyers will be interested.

The comments about positive and negative features from Mumsnet members are of no consequence. This house is what it is.

All you need to decide is how fast you want to sell and drop the price accordingly.

I agree with this, I think your market is quite limited, probably won’t appeal to young families or older/anyone with mobility issues, the steps from the kitchen down to the dining area look really dangerous let alone the open staircase and no downstairs wc. Your market is probably a young or middle aged couple without children or someone wanting to buy it as a holiday let (if you are in a holiday area, I have no idea!). Your cottage is lovely but it looks an awkward and possibly even dangerous house to live in.

You could get banisters put in op. We changed ours from horizontal ones to vertical ones

There are a lot of issues which mean you're looking for quite a niche buyer. I didn't realise how low the ceilings were so that would be the deal breaker for me with the other things I've already mentioned just being black marks against it.

it is a lovely house, it just won't be right for a lot of people.

Just had a look at the kitchen steps. Most people put stair gates across their kitchen when their kids are young, so that would help with that.

To me, its just not cosy and homely enough.
The lounge especially seems bare and flat.

I would change some of the photos. The front room one you can see through to the other room and the external doors are open, ceiling lights are on, which makes me think the rooms must be dark inside and you're trying to hide it. Then the photo taken from the opposite side you can see the front room in the background and it looks really dark even though the lights are on.

I can see clutter under the bed, lack of storage? And artwork hung too high giving the impression the ceilings are very low indeed.

The half painted skirting board?

But if the market was better the house you're looking to buy would cost more too?!
It's pie in the sky to expect profit on a house you bought two years ago at the top of the market when every metric indicates that prices have dropped. Reduce to your purchase price and cross your fingers. The capital you've paid off over the past 2 years should more than cover the costs of moving if you're looking to buy a property of a similar price or lower.

If you bought in 2022, when homes were "flying off the shelves", why would you expect a profit in a much slower market 2 years later?

I suspect you're being unrealistic on price.

Just to reassure you, we were in this position in about 2009. We'd bought in 2007 at the peak, then sold for less than we'd paid for it in 2009. But we made up that loss (and more) when we sold that one in 2011. So it all worked out in the end, and taking a loss in order to move to where you want to be can be worth it. Especially if you're going to stay there a while.

I am surprised why do you even expect you should get some profit here. 2022- 2024 is very short time frame, mortgage rates are higher now and you are moving in the same direction as others in both cases.
Replacing bathroom is just a general upkeep, not an investment.

I think there are lots of things you were prepared to overlook/compromise on, for your your move to the country, in a fast moving market that buyers who can now be more choosy won't. The garden at the front, the 3rd bedroom that's not really, the open staircase. I'm afraid I doubt it's worth what you paid for it 2 years ago.

Having it as a cottage will eliminate people who filter using different house tick boxes (detached/semi etc) so not everyone might be seeing it

We had side rails put on our open staircase, wasn't difficult or expensive tbh. May be worth it to get a sale?

Is there extra garden at the front? Can't get a sense of scale
Don't like the astro turf...for a south facing garden you need to make more of outdoor room aspect ...terrace for sitting etc.
Very dark pictures. Would it do better in spring with more light, views etc? All that extra floor space in garage and garden room isn't really emphasised...we are just getting "pokey" living vibe....when it clearly has a lot of potential extra living space.

So I think photos in spring from different angles could make a difference, emphasis on dog and child friendly, rustic bliss, storage, views, less on bijoux aspect.

I would just put spindles on staircase. I personally like steps in a house it's an expression of character. DD told me she loves steps and changes of level...as long as you arent old or a toddler, most people don't mind!

Lovely house but it sounds like the location is the issue and the garden being at the front, both would put me off.

I have nothing helpful to say but I do love your various outhouses!

There is no downside toilet. I wouldn't look at one without. The kitchen and bathroom are lovely but the rest is a bit old fashioned for me.

It's not everyones cup of tea, but then again it doesn't need to be. For the right person it'll be fine, just how it was for you.

The real problem looking at what else is up for sale is the price.

The market doesn't care what you paid, or how much you need to move on, so pricing according to this is unlikely to be a good strategy.

Dropping to £400k puts it in the a new Rightmove band, but it strikes me as funny how everyone sees themselves as savvy and other buyers as dumb animals who can't imagine a room without furniture in or unable to search in higher price bands.... chances are in this market buyers will be already searching the above band or two because there is every chance of property dropping, especially if overpriced.

Ultimately though this problem is unlikely to be just you, so if your house is reduced chances are the one you want to buy will be as well.

A lot of children are seriously injured on stairs. Lack of banister is really asking for trouble. I know you are with him at all times, but toddlers toddle out of sight sometimes and as they get older they are very very quick at getting to places they want to get to, so could easily fall off those stairs.

The EA gives everyone the impression that their house really stands out. They want to make you feel special so that you give them the chance to sell it. They also give you a price that they think will make you sign up and then once they have you they will start to suggest a more realistic price.

Someone will love it, you just have to keep in mind who exactly that person is. I would say not a large family not a gardener, not a young couple with new baby. But perhaps a 40 year old with two secondary aged kids who hasn't much time for renovations or gardening.