Only 1 viewing?

[Violetandpurple]

Hi we went live on the market last Thursday, we havr 1 viewing booked for Friday. I am only allowing proceedable buyers currently due to being unwell.

we are in a very sought after location, detached with a huge garden (biggest in our area)

new kitchen & bathroom, very neutral and modern throughout, you could just move in! Neutral but still homely.

we have priced 40k less than the other detached for sale. We have actually priced low for a quick sale as we have seen a property we like.

why aren’t people wanting to view?
we really dont want to lose the property we have seen.
the pictures are fine, the price is good.
is the market really that slow currently?

I think because of how slow the market has been in terms of things coming on, there are lots of people (I am one) who have held off listing/ selling their own houses. I don’t want the pressure of having sold my house but not having found anywhere to buy. In a faster market where new things were coming on every day or even every week we would have just listed and felt confident the right thing would come along sooner or later. I’ve seen other people on here say similar things.

so I suspect there are fewer proceedable people around because of this effect.

It's chicken and egg isn't it? People don't necessarily want to list their own houses until they have seen somewhere to buy but if your own house isn't on the market you can't be considered a serious buyer.

We’re proceedable OP. Where abouts are you and how much is your house on for?
Could you post a link?

Not that I’m desperate or anything 😄

@Twiglets1 Yeah totally, and it bit us in the arse when we saw somewhere we really wanted last autumn and missed out because we didn’t sell quick enough. However if we had kept the house on the market and sold before Christmas we would have a buyer losing patience with us (or already having pulled out) and we really haven’t seen anything that would work for us so I would be really stressed out! We were/ still are planning to start marketing again when more things were coming in on the mythical ‘spring rush’ but still not seeing it and now wondering if it is actually going to materialise at all….

we have since got some bridging loan finance in place though (and cash in the bank) so at least we could now offer if we really needed to before selling our place but we really don’t want to do that if we can possibly avoid it.

Dont forget it is also the easter holidays - viewings may pick up from next week once the kids have gone back.

Thanks everyone-
we are West Midlands, children back at school now.
Spoke to EA again today, he says the price is perfect and he’s positive further into the Spring the views will come in.

Not much being added or sold in our area at the moment.

Hi OP, we are also in the west midlands. Ours went live 2 weeks ago but we've requested Saturday viewings only so had our first ones this weekend just gone. Had 5 viewings, only one of the five is currently on the market. One of those not on the market has made an offer and is getting theirs listed by early next week. I too felt frustrated but I do understand people not wanting to put their house on the market until they find one they like. And there is not much being added currently. I would definitely say the market is slow, especially where I am.

I had an offer accepted a coupe of weeks ago but have been keeping an eye and there are very few new properties coming on to the market. People aren't moving unless they have to because of interest rates.

Also it sounds like your property is more than the average price, if its £400k + they can take longer to sell.

Thank you. Nothing being added just everything being reduced!
it is frustrating but unfortunately nothing we van do.
Ea ensured us it’s priced well.

Property is under £300k
priced very well for our area.

You are right that you usually see the most viewings in the first couple of weeks if you have priced correctly. You say that everything is being reduced in your area so presumably sellers and agents are being unrealistic with their pricing in general. I think there was a small flurry of interest in some places in Jan/ Feb but it seems to have died down now as far as I can see. I guess it depends how much you want to be in a position to bid on the house you really like as to whether you reduce now to secure a buyer or wait and take the chance.

We have a viewing tomorrow and he seems keen so we will see how that goes then consider reducing if needs be.

Good luck @Violetandpurple

Thank you! It went really well! They seem really keen, said the advert really doesnt show the house very well and they will definitely be in touch with the estate agents.

All very positive.

Hope it comes to something 🤞

Do they have a point about the advert? Might be worth changing if so...

Not heard anything yet, no feedback etc.

Yes i think they could be right..

Update -
apparently they loved the property but are now away for a week and wont be making any offers until they’re home.. hmm.

dropping the price by 15k today, if that doesnt generate interest then something is definitely wrong!

I fully get the "only proceedable buyers", I did this in my last 2 houses, simply because I have anxiety issues when you're stuck in chains, I usually prefer to get rid of one, rent for a bit, then find a new one.
I sold my 1st house in 3 months & only had a handful of viewings, I sold my 2nd in 10 days
Don't lose hope.
Both of my properties were first time buyer properties & the last one went to a cash buyer.
It will happen, if you are in a good area & the photos are good.
Just make sure there are no major red flags on the property. I looked at a house a few weeks back, the property looked OK, but even before I got to the door I spotted a damp problem on the front wall. It just put me off. Anything like that, sort it if you can or say "it's reflected in the price"
Good luck

Thanks for the update, it's great that they loved the property.

Bit annoying about going away for a week & not making any offers until they're home though … can't rely on people like that as seem to be making excuses already not to proceed.

Hopefully dropping the price will get more potential buyers through the door.

What does £15k represent in terms of a percentage?

I think unless you're reducing at least close to 10% it's not likely to make much difference.

Smells like bullshit really, if you want to make an offer just make it and then go away. It sounds like it was just a polite way of saying no, or testing the waters - if the agent is chasing them after a week it doesn't imply that there are other bidders in the mix.....

I do think people take viewer feedback a bit too seriously in these circumstances and some of it is human nature.

I remember the comments I had were usually good when the agent called for feedback, if the agent emailed for feedback people were more forthright. I guess on the whole people find it harder to offer bad comments to a real person that they may still have a use for (ie to show other properties).

Also remember an agent friend saying they would play Chinese whispers with comments and embellish them a bit, obviously a user nit-picking your house puts them in a bad light (like why didn't they suggest x and y before making the ad), the converse applies as well, you may feel better about an agent who is bringing you good news.

With the price reduction at least move it into a new price band. There was another one on here I think that went from £425 to 410, but I don't think that made any effect.

Thanks all, had another viewing yesterday went really well they spent an hour here.
Said they will be cash buyers as dont require a mortgage to move but do have a house on the market (in a lovely sought after area with lots of interest)
hopeful these are the ones for us. Absolutely loved them.
Athough unsure if they need to sell theirs to offer on ours or have the cash - estate agent thinks they have the cash but ideally would like to have an offer on theirs as puts them in a better position.
They are waiting to see how their viewings go for the rest of the week then will decide how they wish to proceed.

Best of luck @Violetandpurple

I don't mean to be a negative nancy, but do just be a bit cautious about people who call themselves cash buyers but have a property to sell. People sometimes say their purchase is not reliant on their property selling but later on it turns into an issue as they decide they do want to co-ordinate the sale & purchase.

As stated in this article, "the definition of what is a cash buyer is often misunderstood. A cash buyer must have the money available to purchase the property when making an offer and not rely on money from selling another property"

https://hoa.org.uk/advice/guides-for-homeowners/i-am-buying/what-is-a-cash-buyer/

Thank you this is what I’m unsure of.
They told me they would be cash buyers and require no mortgage to move.
They told the estate agents this morning they we’re hoping to be further along in the sale of their own property but it isn’t essential just more ideal.

They are an older retired couple.
So I think they have the cash but ideally if they were sold it would help even more.

Haven't read the thread.

I wonder about only accepting viewings from proceedable? Appreciate you are unwell, but I said to estate agents only available for viewings Tues and Sat, and to clump them together where possible. Which they did. Of course only accepting offers from proceedable, but got 3 offers in the end from people who hadn't been proceedable when they viewed, but having viewed, got offers on theirs within a week and came back with an offer.

For me, the hassle of viewings was getting the house ready each time. Once ready, and I was hunkered down in a cafe, didn't make much difference having to be out for 20 mins or 2 hours - and massively increases chance of it going at asking price. But appreciate you may be in v different situation.