Help me price my house for sale

[Peonies007]

Hi all,

Decided to sell my house round 3 and need help with pricing.

Background...
Agent 1-
Had house for sale in early 2022. Agent suggested 625k, we had open day, lots of interest. Cash buyer at 630k, FTB at 600k.
All went well, survey was fine etc, then buyer pulled out.
Husband had to have surgery so couldn't relist immediately. Then relisted in summer but market went flat etc. withdrawn it from market.

Agent 2-
Listed in April 2023. Agent suggested listing at 650k 🙄, I thought that was silly, I wanted to list at 600k, but he insisted it will sell so listed at 625k. I have insisted that we need to drop price after a week to 600k.
About 15 viewings later agent started to turn up late for viewings, so quite often met buyers and had a chat. Turns out they brought around completely unsuitable viewers (needed double garage, which we don't have. Same with a tranquil garden). Then neighbour overheard them talking and seemingly they used our place to show to people to compare to what they are buying (some already had offer accey on other houses) so basically all those viewings were rubbish. Had an offer of 550k, which I would have accepted just to move on, but the buyers didn't seem very committed.
Sacked agent 2.

Agent 3 - had him around a few months ago and he suggested listing at 575k.
For comparison a similar house was recently on the market (same area, sqf, house type, garden size etc) for 625k and sold for 615k (know the owner).
BUT my house backs on 30mph road vs the other house that has a quiet garden.

As I have zero trust in EA, what price would you put it on?
We thought about renting it out, but I think I just want to have cash in bank instead and move on with our life.

I love the house, it has a great extension potential but hate the noise (haven't really noticed it till lockdown and since then can't tune it out). Given the hassle of viewings with 3 kids, I just want a fast sale.

Thanks!

It's impossible to tell based on what you've said but going only by your words, I'd say get back agent 1 and relist for £600-£625, expecting to get the lower end.

If you truly want a fast sale and don't need a certain amount for it to sell for, then I'd go at £599k with a view to potentially accept an offer.

Thanks. Don't you think that's quite high given the market? We are in SE and things are slowly starting to sell but lots of reductions still. I thought about listing at 550k?

Listing at 550k might be a shrewd move and give you a selection of over asking bidders.

Offers in the region of 575 if you are prepared to go to 550k, because people seem to love to feel they are getting a bargain.

What do Zoopla, Move Market and the Nationwide house price index suggest it's currently worth? I appreciate that those tools aren't necessarily 'correct' but prospective buyers will look at them so it's as well to know what they're seeing...

Definitely no higher than 600k.

Possibly start at 600k with a strategy of reducing to 575k after 6 weeks if it hasn’t sold.

600k on zoopla

I find Zoopla tends to be the most effusive of the three so it's worth checking the others, too. I do think it's good to factor them in because if you price significantly above what those models are suggesting your house is currently worth, then buyers are likely to think you're being unrealistic (unless you've clearly made really substantial improvements side the property was last sold).

What year did you buy your house?

Zoopla can be misleading if property has been developed or finished but details not updated. I think owners can falsely inflate their house price too.

look at right move sold properties

look at the nation wide house price calculator and use that to give a general idea.

email all three estate agents and explain that you are thinking of putting your house up for sale again and they previously valued it at £ x in year x. Ask what the current market is like and what sort of price would be low, medium, high. Explain you’re not quite ready to push ahead so would like an email valuation initially.

615K - do you have any previous links to the property?

Maybe better sell it yourself on Purple Brick.

OPs got enough problems selling this house without listing on PB and putting it on the market for the same price the better house sold at.

Don't use Purple Bricks!

Go back to agent 1, who seemed to price it correctly originally, and see what they say. Take it from there.

Offers over £540k?

What's the minimum you would accept?

I think it's worth less than 600k. It was worth 600k at top of the market (630k was a fluke).
I will check the other two.
My question really was how much does noisy garden at back reduces the value?
Certainly about 1/3 of all the feedback we had was about the noisy garden.
Thanks

Tbh OP if you were priced at £625 in 2022 I’d expect it to be around £550 mark now.
As pp suggested, selling at £550 with the aim of multiple over asking offers.

It's valued at 612k on nationwide and 606k at the other one.

That is along the lines I'm thinking indeed.

I just wouldn’t buy a house with a noisy garden at the back but I am quite noise sensitive. Some people aren’t so bothered- you weren’t when you bought it, presumably? Did you pay less because of the noisy road?

Your house is very likely to sell for less than the house with the quiet garden imo, but how much less is hard to judge. That’s why I wouldn’t list it any higher than 600k maximum and be open to offers.

Relist with Agent 1. £599 instructing an agent that you are open to realistic offers. Alternatively for really fast sale - £580 or £575 especially if you're really prepared to drop to £550. I agree with other posters, people love feeling they've got a bargain and in this market will generally be making offers anyway.

Personally I wouldn't list at £550 yet, too drastic a cut and people are likely to try offering less.

We are fairly relaxed about it, no mortgage. We don't want to give it away but my kids are autistic so would like a quick sale as they can't cope with too many people viewing and me putting their stuff away. I guess 550k

My husbnad bought the house before we met and we stuck with it. I didn't reqlly notice the noise until pandemic and I became quite noise sensitive. There is a degree of noise everywhere in our area, sometimes it's better, like school holidays/mondays etc.
It's definitely quieter for London buyers used to it 😀

Garden sounds like normal noises to me, unless you’re properly remote. Make sure your not giving negative vibes about it when you have viewings.

Tbh even in London there are quiet streets with quiet gardens and they will sell quicker than houses on busier roads and usually achieve better prices.

I’ve just re read your first post & noticed you want a quick sale. That being the case maybe you should list at 575k instead of the 600k I suggested before. Go with agent 3, they gave you a realistic valuation for a quick sale.

It's definitely noisy! Off a large roundabout, although 30mph. Our garden is at 45 degree angle to the road so can hear the traffic longer (15-20sec for each car). It's weird but that what our garden designer friend told me the reason was.
I don't do viewings

On Rightmove the search options for Max budget are 550k, 600k, 650k. Whatever price you opt for I would keep that in mind. When searching I usually put in the Max and then sort low to high. Might be worth finding out if offers over £550k would put you in the 550k bracket for the best visibility. Normally there's still a bit of time for house sales before the slowdown over school summer hols but with the election, I think it's worth looking at what impact that might have on an already slow market.