House is getting no interest - what is going on?

[MrsB94]

Hi everyone!

Our house has been on the market since the start of February, with this estate agent we got 4 viewings and 1 offer in the first week and were SSTC.

Sadly, the sale fell through after 7 weeks and our house went back on the market with the same agent for another 3 weeks until our agreement ended. In those 3 weeks we had no interest at all despite a price reduction from £255k to £250k.

We decided to put it on with an independent agent who seemed to have houses sold within days of hitting the market. It’s been on for a week now and yet still, no interest. We have 1 viewing booked for Saturday but I believe the EA was showing them around another house, mentioned ours and he decided to view based on the EA recommendation.

What are we doing wrong? Other houses in our area are selling quickly and I feel like our house is reasonably priced and well presented. The house 2 doors up from us has been on the market since January with no interest, they reduced from £290k to £275k and still no interest (ours is better than theirs I think).

For info, we bought the house for £185k in 2018. We bought to get on the ladder and we have never liked the house or area, so we want a quick sale which is why we priced it low. 3 EA’s valued it between £260k-£275k.

https://www.christianlewisproperty.co.uk/property-details/33037568/-/evesham/west-street

Any advice is really appreciated!

I don't know the area, but I think the size is usually pretty standard for a house in that price range. It's a typical starter home. Certainly in my area, you'd be looking at coughing up a lot more money for 3 large bedrooms (and that's in the north).

I think that people looking for a house in this price range will expect the rooms to be small, and will likely be choosing between this, a flat, or a house with two slightly larger bedrooms.

I agree with those saying that the garden and the front of the house could be improved with plants etc though

I really liked the downstairs and wondered why you were getting so little interest. And then the upstairs - I honestly assumed the pic of the room with the bed in it was one of the smaller rooms and I was scrolling through looking for the main bedroom! If I were looking in your area, that would have ruled out your house straight away, I’m afraid.

Housing market is shit atm. About to get worse too as nobody will be buying, waiting until the autumn so they don't have to pay stamp duty. I've been looking for a house for a year: If I were looking for a 3 bed, this would annoy me. It's a 2 bed with an office/bed. An important difference when people want decent, equal-sized bedrooms for their children for example.

I actually think it's very nicely done and I actually think the garden is nice. However what would put me off is the fact that both main bedrooms are pretty small and hence would need box room for wardrobes- so it would for me only be a 2 bedder. I don't see why it wouldn't sell to FTB though with no kids- it's very tidy and not that pricey

It’s the garden and the room with all the clothes hanging up for me.

regarding curb appeal do you need the satellite dish? does the home not have fiberoptic?
the roof discoloration is a problem.
and yes some greenery would help. i'd pull up the astroturf, and the first ring of bricks, lay sod. the big tree is well placed and maybe a nice raised garden bed etc.
it has potential but the roof gutters really put me off.

I'm sorry for what I'm about to say OP as it's your home and the downstairs is very lovely but overall it's a 'boring' house. There's nothing to draw you in about the photos, no curb appeal, the garden is very 'meh' and not properly a 3 bed. Plus only 1 bathroom and no room to extend and add another.

I'm the market for a 3-bed and the lack of 2nd bathroom and the lack of options to add one would mean I wouldn't view it.

That's without knowing anything about the area etc.

agree with the other posters! Just clean the roof tiles they look aged with the moss on it. Every thing else is immaculate to be honest lovely house. Alternatively ask the estate agents to take a picture of the house without the roof tiles.

I thinking showing beds in the bedrooms would help people see the rooms are big enough to use as bedrooms. Also could you get a better photo of the room with the double bed in it?

• the street looks pretty run down and the house itself doesn’t have any curb appeal - I hate the idea of the car being parked directly outside the window
• upstairs look small
• I would be planning in paying for a new kitchen
• I would be planning in ripping out the garden
• I do however like your living room colour!

I think it’ll be a significant price decrease I am afraid! Someone will buy it at the right price.

The master bedroom is quite small so I guess that might put some people off. Other than that it looks like a decent enough house. Kitchen and bathroom aren’t brand new but most people would be happy to live with them for a few years

yes the bedrooms could be better staged and yes I hate the garden (sorry) but the big one for me would be the roof...all that greening on one side and around the vent pipe.

What do you mean @AffableApple not having to pay stamp duty in autumn?

I also think the issue is that buyers are looking at it BECAUSE they need a 3 bed house. A couple with two children, perhaps? Then they see the pics. One useable bedroom, a tiny office and a dressing room.

I bet that is the problem.

By the way, I think the house and the garden are lovely!

It's nice but it looks like the window views and blue skies are photoshopped. The green plastic in the back garden would annoy me, I'd want that removed before moving in.

I really dislike ‘offers over’ - that would put me off viewing as I always think it smacks of a greedy vendor (though it doesn’t sound like you are one). If you’re saying you’d actually accept £235K then it isn’t even true. In reality you can’t make anyone only give you ‘offers over’ a number and someone can offer below that figure….but would a first time buyer (who your house would like appeal to) know that? They might assume offers over £250K means the house will go for £260-270K and not even view. If their budget is £240-£250K.

if I were you I’d relaunch the ad with guide price £240K or £245K and hope to get close to your guide price.

For me, it's the bedrooms. Awful. In my opinion, a bedroom designed for two people should never have the bed against the wall on one side!! Both sides should be accessible. The only acceptable time for a bed to be pushed up against a wall is if it's for a single person/child. So that immediately turns me off. I also couldn't live without my king size bed, so for me the master room is too small anyways.

The second and third bedrooms really need to be staged as bedrooms. In my opinion, everyone knows they can turn a bedroom in to a home office, but not everyone can visualize it the other way around! So you should do the hard work for them, and present the rooms as bedrooms!

Fake grass doesn't bother me personally. But being overlooked does. I guess as a first time buyer I could maybe suck it up (and never use the garden), but if I had children, then I wouldn't want them being overlooked in the garden. It's not as huge as a problem as the bedroom situation though.

I like the interior design of your house though. Very nice it definitely gives the vibe of first time buyer, working professional couple.

Looking at sold prices it’s price op.

in addition to be honest the pics look stretched, they look bigger than the floor plan shows, that’s never a good idea, as it just leads to disappointment

it’s not pretty outside to be honest, and I found myself thinking is that artificial gras that’s lifting up . The kitchen looks like it’s been painted with quite dated tiles, which makes me think it’s quite old. The clothes in the box room make me think there is a lack of space.

notning uou can do about any of this, and it’s very clean and well presented. It is nicer inside than out.

so I don’t think doing anything like beds or staging willl change anything, it’s simply over priced compared to what properties have sold for in the area. And that will be putting folks off.

I like it OP. Basic but well presented. I actually quite like the look of the exterior too. 🤷‍♀️

I can't imagine why cutting the price by approximately 2% hasn't resulted in a flurry of new enquiries.

The garden? Or lack of. Get a patio area? Seating?
Very low maintenance and the house is lovely, clean bright. Love the doors from kitchen to outside. That’s what I would look for.
Perhaps two large potted trees either side of door? Add some soul!

I don’t know the area, if it were here you’d be looking at £300k ish.

I look at rightmove regularly and house prices seem to be coming down? Just a little.

"but the EA says we're giving it away as it is!"

But if that were true then you'd have a queue of buyers.
Estate Agents will say anything.

Gonna make a list, some of which has already been said, some not. I've always thought one of the key things when selling is to compromise and not expect to live as you normally do. The unfortunate truth is that the vast majority of buyers have very little imagination so you have to be obvious and show them. This is what I'd do to sell:

• Drop price - no viewings means price is too high
• Dress bedrooms as bedrooms and add storage, or make it very obvious where is space for wardrobes etc. you don't actually have to buy wardrobes. Use other furniture, chairs and chest of drawers work. All that matters is a buyer thinks 'oh there's room there for...' you are prompting them to imagine their own furniture in the room using your own stuff
• Change the king size for a normal double. That picture makes the main bedroom look like it's not big enough even for a need you can walk round
• Move table into kitchen, kitchen looks big and empty. Flowers on table, but not huge ones, think simple bunch of tulips not lilies or gladioli
• Paint over, re tile or use stick on tiles for the kitchen tiles, they are dated and draw the eye. White or a pale pastel colour. Also paint the 2 visible end of cabinet runs and the oven extractor hood white to match the cupboard doors. It'll make the whole kitchen look much more modern
• I agree the fridge is a bit huge and blocking the door, consider a slimmer one. I can see there's not really anywhere else for it to go. But it does dominate the corner
• Shelves in the kitchen where you have that pretty picture (put that in another room, it's lovely) you can still put the picture on a shelf perhaps but also add small pots of herbs and glassware. I might be tempted to make that bit the tea/coffee/breakfast station with mugs and teabags etc on the shelves
• Use current dining room as the office and maybe cosy it up with an arm chair and plants if there's room
• Get a load of pots with flowering plants for the garden, front and back. I like the suggestion of garden furniture and fairy lights too. A large garden umbrella over a table will distract nicely from the overlooking houses, given that you haven't time to grown a hedge or trees!
• Make the agent get professional photos taken, or pay for this yourself. It makes a massive difference and it's not expensive. Things that people are identifying as issues, like the roof, could look very different with better photos. It's astonishing the difference it can make. Do this last though once you've decided if you are going to make any changes
• You've done a grand job in making it clean and tidy for viewings but it does feel a little empty as a result. Add plants, lamps, cushions, throws, flowers etc. to cosy it up. That bay window is lovely, how about a little table with plants, or an ottoman and a throw there.
• I also think you should play with the furniture layout in the lounge. I think the larger sofa should be facing the window and at the moment I think you have them the other way round, it's a bit hard to tell from the photos. If the smaller sofa fits in the bay that could be a good place for it. As your lounge is the through room to reach the rest of the downstairs you might be walking round the biggest bit of furniture to the dining room for currently, which will feel annoying to a buyer.
• Consider if that front room should be the office and the current dining room should be the lounge instead

Best of luck. It's a miserable time selling a house when you just want to move on to your next adventure. Try to have a bit of fun staging the current house and just think about the best layout and furniture that's going to appeal to buyers, rather than how you live in the house. It's tricky but it honestly works. You don't have to spend a load of money either, borrow whatever you can, scour actions, use marketplace and eBay, or rent stuff. Anything you want to keep but isn't right in the current house, stick it in storage or a friend's garage.

I think the table should stay; you need a dining area!!!
However looking at more expensive houses the same sort of size with perhaps slightly larger (mostly just greener,) gardens, that kitchen (and layout) is making a difference to the perceived quality of your house. The washing machine set up is very noticeably odd, as if two original units have been moved next to the fridge. It just would look better if you redid kitchen (a stone colour or a light sage) - maybe good quality ikea ??- and add to impression house is ready to move in to not a doer upper. It would complement the way you have decorated the rest of the house. You are appealing to young professionals not necessarily families and the kitchen feels a bit tired and not retro!

Fantastic post. Good luck with it OP.