Nightmare trying to sell our house

[PinkBubblesxx]

We are trying to get to sell our very well presented new build lived in home and having a complete nightmare with complete utter time wasters 😫 Our home is in a great central but green location in a very family oriented area and is priced fairly (10k under its market value) to encourage interest.

We have been on the market for over 2 months now and had at least 30 viewing's! We have had a handful of offers of chancers offering £40k under the asking price, which we strongly declined. And the other offers we have had, have offered asking price, which we happily accepted. As soon as we have accepted they have either gone quiet and just ignored the estate agent, one offer had to supposedly rush back to Nigeria for a family emergency then not to be heard from again, we've had 2 offers when they have to submit their paperwork and have an affordability check and it turns out they can't afford their offer or even pull out a mortgage! Last week we had an offer from ideal first time buyers and we had our hopes so high that this was the one! They dragged their feet all week to submit their paperwork to the estate agents broker - which we found odd. They then asked for a 3rd viewing which we found highly frustrating but of course entertained it as we want a sale. The day before the 3rd viewing the estate agent had qualified them being able to purchase and had a mortgage in place, so they marked our property as sold over the weekend. This morning they emailed the agent saying they had changed their minds 😫 the agent pressed for a reason behind the sudden u turn and they said the mortgage rate they had now been offered was slightly more than what they thought they would get 😫

So we are back to square one, having to entertain viewings - which are really draining! Especially where we already had at least 30! Me and my partner are at wits end and it's really making us feel so ill and depressed from all the stress of it all as we have found our dream home but feel like it will just get snapped up! We have been messed around with so called serious offers so much that we have lost all hope 😫 Even the estate agency is just as frustrated with the amount of time wasters we have had! We have a prime home in a prime in demand location and £10k under the market value.

Is it just us having bad luck trying to sell our home or is anyone else experiencing the same? As it's honestly becoming unbearable 😫

Just accept one of the other offers and problem solved.

The EA shouldn't be sending anyone to view without having first qualified they are able to afford it, a mortgage in principle or having been qualified by their own FA.Refuse any viewings without this qualification

We aren't prepared to accept an offer £40k under the asking price. That's absurd!

We have requested this prior each arranged viewing but think all estate agents are desperate to get any interest on their books or through the door 😫 due to the lack of buyers on the current market

Absurd is to try to sell a house for a price way over its market value.
The world is as it is, not as you want it to be.

It's always like this. Selling is a pain in the ass. I hate it.

I think you have misunderstood. Our house is advertised for £10k under its market value as per my original post. Plus we are happy to negotiate in and around that figure. So no we aren't trying to sell it over its value!

What is your definition of “market value”?

Because it sounds like the actual market value now is a lot less than you think, based on what you’ve been offered. Market value is not fixed, and it’s possible for it to go down.

The exact same house (but garden was smaller) on our new build estate sold for £440k a few months ago. So of course any estate agent uses local figures to value our house. We are happy to negotiate around £425k so that's already a drop to match the struggling buyers market.

Tell me about it! Plus getting attitude comments on here (not by you) doesn't help either!

The exact same house (but garden was smaller) on our new build estate sold for £440k a few months ago. So of course any estate agent uses local figures to value our house. We are happy to negotiate around £425k so that's already a drop to match the struggling buyers market.

markets change though, there may be a lot more competition now. I don’t think it’s helpful to frame the sale as 10k under the market value & anyone who offers under that is cheeky.

The good news is that if indeed house prices are dropping in your area and you are presumably upsizing and staying in the same area, you should see the effect on those prices too. With the upcoming election and uncertainty about household expenditure like for example, VAT on school fees, it’s not surprising the market has stalled and/or is dropping. Things were different a few months ago when your neighbour sold. It’s very stressful and I feel for you. We sold in 2023, it never feels like a good time and we were dealing with the Truss aftermath and effect on mortgages.

Definitely hold your EA to account! We had no one round until they had their finances checked with EA and we also said that viewers had to have already sold their own property! This does bring down the number of viewings but it made it more manageable! Your EA works for you ... you pay them an extortionate amount of money - make them work for you!

Sales from a few months ago can certainly be used as a reference, but only to a certain extent.
The reality is that a house (or any asset for that matter) is worth whatever the market is prepared to pay for it now.
The fact the it is several offers that are offering that similar price indicates that it is your perception which is misaligned and needs to be readjusted.
And you would better do it fast as they may offer even less in the future is the current uncertainty prolongs.

It is almost always the price

New builds can be very difficult to re sell
What are the agents saying

The market has been shit since Truss tanked the economy, but you are being unrealistic in your ‘market value’ insistence - if you’d had several offers near your asking price then yes, your price point is right. But you haven’t, you’ve had several a lot lower. Remember, something only has the value of what people are prepared to pay. What are properties similar to yours going for currently?

Tell your EA to screen viewings to people sold and with AIP mortgage offers in place, complete waste of time otherwise.

I do feel for you, we’ve moved lots and it’s a pain from start to finish. But you need to adjust your expectations.

What is your estate agent saying about all the 'low' offers you are receiving? And why are they sending viewers who have no finance in place?

Agree with others only allow viewings for those with AIP and if they have a property it is listed

Also, realise that by only allowing viewings for those with AIP it will certainly culminate in less views and less offers, but not necessarily in higher offers.

If nobody is paying you that price then it's not under market value it's over market value. Where did you get this market value figure from?

The house that sold for 440 a few months ago probably had the offer accepted about a year ago, so that price is well out of date. You haven't had 'attitude' you've had people questioning your assumptions. If you want to moan about so many viewings and no offers in the region you expect that's fine but you'll also have people tell you why that is!

Your post is very 'woe is me' OP.

However, I don't agree with the above posters about pricing. You've had lots of viewers and some offers, so are likely priced correctly. You just have to keep going and keep your chin up and you'll get there.

How long has the house been built OP? If the estate is still being developed and people are already selling up that tends to be a red flag (deserved or not) and will impact on what people are prepared to offer.

30 viewings is pretty good. Probably indicates the house is within the correct price range. Also having offers indicates there’s nothing wrong with the house.
However that’s the ready and waiting pool of buyers exhausted, so now you’re left with people who discounted it without viewing, and new buyers coming to the market.
Dropping it to 399 opens up the next pool of buyers.

Your house isn't worth what you want it to be.

I'm sorry it's tough, we reduced by 100k to secure our sale. Bitter pill.