When to change EA?

[Thislittlepiggywenttotheestateagents]

I have had my house on the market (3 bed detached in SW) since July 2023. We have had quite a few viewings with only 1 offer within that time. I have reduced the house by £25k (down to £300k) but this has neither increased the viewings / offers. I do speak with my EA semi-regularly (I call them) who never have any constructive feedback from the viewings, so it is impossible to tell what it is that people do not like. They always say that the viewing went well and they will chase up the potential buyer for feedback, but we don't ever hear anything back (I will often chase as there is pressure for us to sell).

Lots of houses near me have sold very quickly (within weeks) - these are cheaper houses (small terraces / no parking / no driveway).

Would it be best to change EA? I was recommended Nest EA so have contacted them. My house is always clean and well presented (I have children and a dog but it is always 100% pristine). It is a 10 year old new build and I am the original owner.

Thank you

I've had 3 agents in that time, still not sold so I suspect something is wrong with the house and I can't see it; but you definitely need a new agent - after so long on the market this agent isn't going to be very bothered with your house. Come off the market for a couple of weeks and in the meantime see 3 new agents and get their opinions.

Thank you - I have a new agent coming tomorrow. This new agent has sold 4 properties in my road in the past month. Hopefully they are able to help me sell. It's a lovely home, but sadly no views (just normal new-build estate views of other houses!).

Oh yes that's what you need then, if they've sold others nearby. There's a thread on the go called "Anyone had viewings today" in this topic, few of us on there having trouble selling and not sure why (and most reduced price several times)

That's great, thanks you @GoingDownLikeBHS - I'll have a look at that one :) it's just very frustrating as my house (in my eyes) is lovely and it's very upsetting that people don't seem to see that. I had one viewer complain that she didn't like my dining table, which would obviously be coming with me when I move!

Did you not accept the one offer you did have or did they pull out? Are you still getting regular viewings now or not?
Your current estate agent sounds pretty useless so definitely a good idea to change to one who actually achieves sales (I would meet with several to discuss).
Overall, a huge number of sellers are marketing their houses at prices which are far too high for the current market. Some of them are even adding 10 or 20% to mid-end 2022 prices, which was market peak on average. They then reduce the price very slowly by 2/3/5% and are apparently surprised that they still don't receive offers as the market also slowly falls further.
If you really want to sell, do some detailed research on your local market, look at who is buying and what is selling, speak to estate agents and do your best to choose a competent and honest one and pick a realistic price to market your home at.

We have a ten year old house that four agents have described as immaculate and have said they would buy if they could afford. The price is what they all recommended. There’s been no interest at all, so we’ve given up.

We want to downsize, but no point in trying, if we’re going to end up spending any equity on moving costs.

Let me guess your current EA begins with K

That's a shame. Again, the market won't support whatever price you want and the agents have all over valued. I think some people are definitely staying put because they think they won't see enough financial benefit from moving. I guess that is area dependent.

"Lots of houses near me have sold very quickly (within weeks) - these are cheaper houses (small terraces / no parking / no driveway)"

Smaller and cheaper is why these houses are selling quickly.

It's a tough one at the moment in the housing market. We have a bigger house than a neighbour and theirs is on for £27k more than we have sold ours for. There is someone on the next street at £50k more than we sold ours for. An identical house opposite us actually sold for £28k more than we did. They are all new builds under 10 years so all in very good condition.

If your EA is not getting viewing feedback to improve ditch them. They could also be to blame by having people in to make it look as though they are doing their job. Some of our feedback was they didn't want a 4 bedroom house, they wanted a separate dining room, they didn't like the drive at the back of the house.

@rainingsnoring the offer was retracted as another house the buyers' wanted came up for sale again. We have been doing viewing the entire time since July, even over Christmas! I always take the dog out, mop the floor, beds made etc so it looks like a show home.

Most likely the listing has gone stale, its been the best part of a year.

Changing the price is more likely to be more effective than changing EA.

@usertaken I cannot really afford to go any lower on the price - we have come down £25k and other houses near me are similarly priced (approx. £280k) that are selling but are not detached, do not have a big driveway etc like I have. The EA I am with at the moment keep saying to reduce the price (we went with the lower end of their valuation anyway).

Disappointing about the previous offer being withdrawn.
You may find that a new estate agent and a fresh listing attracts more viewers. Equally, it may be that the price is still too high for your local market currently and that you may not be able to sell at this price. It then becomes a personal decision about whether to with from the market.

I know the answer is to reduce the price, but it was priced competitive.y to begin with. If we reduce it, it won’t be worth moving because even though we want a smaller house, the moving costs would leave us with nothing spare. The whole point of downsizing is to have reduced outgoings and a bit of a buffer against rising costs. We’ve reduced outgoings as much as possible, so I don’t know what else can be done.

The second hand new builds I'm seeing marked as sold STC are either remarkably cheap, or have something that puts them above and beyond the others, such as far more up to date kitchens and bathrooms, an extension, or a beautifully done garden.

One that I had my eye on which was blinking awkward (it only really had half a kitchen, so the owner converted the garage and put another half a kitchen in there as well), sold within 2 weeks. That's almost certainly because the owner bought it for 240k 4 years ago, and priced it at 245k. Because sometimes Rightmove lets you see the last purchase price, people could instantly see it was value for money.

The rest are all just sitting there. Unfortunately, it's not surprising, as people generally pay 10% more for them, so per sq ft, they're less value. It seems to matter in terms of economic woes, even if folks get a better standard of internal accommodation with shinier bathrooms and kitchens, they mostly just want the best price for the space.

It sounds like your agent was also crap though. Good luck tomorrow.

@Bluevelvetsofa Unfortunately, it sounds as if you are stuck there if you won't have anything spare once you have paid SDLT and other fees. SDLT is such a foolish tax as it discourages moving.

I'm looking for houses. If I see one which has been listed that long I'd assume the EA have just forgot to take it off.
I'd change agents to get it to the front again and updated pictures.

I'm afraid that if it has been on since July with only one offer that got withdrawn, the answer is most likely that it is too expensive for the area and the price needs to be reduced again if you are serious about selling.

Would ditch the EA though - lack of feedback is not acceptable on a house that has been on their books for this long. They must have some idea what the problem is so it's annoying they won't give you concrete examples of what viewers are saying.

It's a tricky one. We swapped estate agents because we weren't happy with the first one. We got an improved advert, more advertising in the window, they have a better mailing list etc.

While the new one is clearly better, the lack of viewings has continued so clearly it was something about the market or even the house not the agent. So getting a new agent won't necessarily help.

This isn't directed at OP as I don't know your personal circumstances. More a general question that I'm curious about because I see a lot of "we can't move if we don't sell for X price" posts.

Is it a common assumption that once you save up for your initial deposit, all future moves will be funded by equity? I ask because in the past, when price increases weren't as dramatic, it could take you quite a few years to build up enough equity through paying down your mortgage to fund a future purchase. So it was more realistic to use a combination of salary increases and additional savings to buy a bigger home.

Change agents. Get a more up to date valuation.

You say that smaller, cheaper houses are selling. Are ones around your price selling or are they also staying put or on for a longer time? Is there a "ceiling price" for your area? If so are you close to it? Is your house smaller or have less land than other houses around the same price as yours?

You definitely need some feedback and your current agents are not providing it. Of course current agents might be suggesting your house to viewers as a way to make numbers up. This happened to DH and I 8 years ago in the area we bought. We booked to see a couple of houses with 1 EA and whilst we were at the 2nd house he pipes up, if your not busy after this one there is another house that's just come on and is "good value" with motivated sellers. Said house was 6yr old new build, 5 beds, driveway but postage stamp garden, squashed in and overlooked, it was completely different to anything else we viewed and was top of our budget. We were never asked for feedback on this house despite the EA asking us for FB on the other 2 we viewed.

'Is it a common assumption that once you save up for your initial deposit, all future moves will be funded by equity? I ask because in the past, when price increases weren't as dramatic, it could take you quite a few years to build up enough equity through paying down your mortgage to fund a future purchase. So it was more realistic to use a combination of salary increases and additional savings to buy a bigger home.'

Obviously it varies but I expect that a lot more rely on equity because wages have stagnated on average since the GFC, expect for the past year or two and that is only in some sectors and accompanied by big hikes in prices of essentials so most people don't feel better off. Money has flowed into assets rather than wages. It's a situation that is unsustainable imo and is causing and will cause much worse problems.

"The EA I am with at the moment keep saying to reduce the price "

There's your answer, it's just the price. I expect the agent has lost interest in trying to sell it as you haven't reduced it enough to give them a chance to get a buyer.

All agents want you to reduce the price so that they can get their commission ASAP; it's the most basic rule of sales. We started at £475k, market dropped quickly so we went down to £450k; seemed reasonable. We were then persuaded to try £425k - apparently this total of £50k drop would attract lots of people. We are now the cheapest 3 bed semi in our area, priced the same as most terraced houses. The latest £25k drop has attracted a grand total of 3 viewers. So clearly there is something wrong with the house that we can't see.

Even if we were to bankrupt ourselves and try to sell at £400k, that would simply mean a total loss overall to our agent of around £600 commission, whereas we've lost a potential £50k. As @Twiglets1 says "[the agent] must have some idea what the problem is so it's annoying they won't give you concrete examples of what viewers are saying." I think the agent that comes in and says "actually this this and this are shit and you need to change it" is the one you want! We all need like a Phil Spencer type!! The expectation to just reduce the price over and over to no end is ridiculous.

The cost of borrowing has changed massively. Buyers are still out there and active, but they can't and won't overpay generally speaking, in the current environment.
Some sellers, and to be fair some agents, have not yet recognised the shift.
A significant number of sellers actually can't afford to sell at prices the new market will accept. Its a bit of a mess for some - and not likley to improve much in the short term.