House price far too high

[BunglingEstateAgents]

Our house went on the market 4 weeks ago at £575k. The estate agent said he felt it was worth trying for £575 but would definitely not go for a penny less than £550k and that we'd know within a couple of weeks if it was too high. Our house is a 4 bed detached and a bit unique looking. The parking is also at the rear of the property so no front driveway but space at the back and always space on the road. This is very clear from pictures and the advert.

It got a few requests to view within the first week but only one viewing actually happened with the others cancelling beforehand. We reduced to £549,950 after the 2 weeks and it has had only 1 viewing since. We have another planned for this weekend but I'm not hopeful.

I rang the estate agents as I don't feel like we've been getting much input from them as to what's happening (essentially nothing is!) and yet other houses are selling around us. I spoke to a different person in the office today than the owner who valued our house and he used the words 'massively overpriced' and said he felt we were more likely to get offers for 515 to 525.

We have literally only gone with the prices they gave us as they're the experts in selling houses. My question is how on earth did he come to these prices in the first place?? Obviously if you're not getting interest I know it comes down to price but again we have not set the price ourselves! The feedback from the two viewings that have gone ahead are lovely house but concerned about parking. No one has mentioned price but I know feedback isn't always honest.

It's likely that next week we will have to reduce again. It just feels like they plucked the initial figures out of the air based on nothing! There are two other 4 bed detached currently on with the same EA local to me and they're on for 550k as well but getting offers for 520ish. They're more traditional looking and have their driveways at the front. I'm just really disappointed that the initial valuation was so wrong. Any advice welcome... should we just stick it out a few more weeks or what would you advise we drop to?

Did you only get the one valuation?
We’ve had such wildly differing valuations on our past 2 houses that we instantly knew the higher ones were bonkers so we didn’t agree to those.
Reducing prices so much always puts you in a poor position so it’s best to price reasonably in the first place. How long are you tied to this agent for? It would be worth getting a couple more to value.

You should get at least 3 valuations. Some agents price high because they want you to go with them, then try to get you to reduce when it doesn't sell because it's too expensive.

If the other houses only have offers at 520, that's probably your answer. I don't think having a driveway at the back is a selling point, I would rather have mine at the front.

Do you need to sell now? Coming upto an election and all the uncertainty isn’t a great time.
You could change agents or come off for a bit.

Houses can be difficult to value, especially in uncertain times.

Sometimes the only way to find out is to test the market.

Agents do have a tendency to value on the high side to win the instruction. After all, even if the price is high you have some chance of selling. If you do not get the instruction you have zero chance.

It is generally better for agents to price high, then "manage down" the expectations of the vendor than not get the instruction at all.

This is one reason why you should always get appraisals from different agents.

Unfortunately the agents often over price and make wild promises about what you'll definitely get as they're trying to secure your business. It's even possible the original viewings that were cancelled didn't even exist. They're a shady bunch.

If an estate agent says it's worth trying a price they usually mean it's wildly optimistic but you never know.

Mostly people get three round and pick the middle one.

We also did a lot of work on our kerb appeal etc - decluttered, paid someone to come round and sort the garden, bought nice plants for the front, etc etc.

I know I'm biased but the house is in a really nice state, new bathrooms, plainly decorated, nice wood burning stove. Front looks tidy and has plants. I think it's the driveway which we knew would be an issue. The agent is an acquaintance and is the number 1 seller in our area so we went straight to him. I think he went back to the office though and his team said you've overpriced that and none of them agreed with him. He's been honest about that since but it's bothered me that he said we wouldn't get a penny less than 550. I don't think he should have said that.

The cancelled viewings do seem to have existed as they're all in my app with names against.

how come you don't have a drive at the front, only round the back? does this mean you only have a small back garden? is there anyway this could be changed as this would probably put me off. I know this is nothing to do with the EAs valuation but might be something to think about as to why you aren't selling at that price.

I’d get some other agents round to value it. You should do this as part of your due diligence, even if opting for a known agent.

Regaridng not getting a penny less than £550… well, they can be wrong! It’s expensive to borrow money at the moment and I wouldn’t be totally surprised if people were hanging on until post-election to see if there is a rate cut.

Not enough space at the front, too close to the road. Just a small front garden and wide paths. Back garden is very good size. We're aware the rear parking is off putting but the houses were built that way and if people don't want that then won't bother viewing.

It wouldn't put me off if the back garden was a good size.

It is a shame that he has overpriced it because it will now look to prospective purchasers who look at what is on the market that you were either greedy sellers or are now desperate sellers. The agent has really dropped the ball on this one.

I would ask him how he intends to market the property (perhaps as a featured property in local press or social media) to make up for his error and to stimulate renewed interest.

We bought a house like yours, with the drive, garage and parking at the back. It certainly didn't put us off as it meant we have a lovely large front garden without looking out on parked cars. Also the back is cleverly designed as the stone garage wall comprises part of the large back garden, giving it a lovely character and making it very private.

I agree with PP this is a classic estate agent trick. They price high to get your business and then get you to reduce until it sells.

I hope someone comes along who feels this way!! Unfortunately it still seems that it's 'massively overpriced' as we aren't even getting enquiries or cheeky offers. I could have accepted in the first place if he'd initially said it's worth 525k but now as PP have said it looks like we've just been delusional. I do think the election could be a factor but I doubt it's playing a huge part as we are very much still viewing properties.

We've got some lovely houses in our area just sitting on the market. If you're desperate to sell, you'll need to drop the price, perhaps by quite a bit.

If you can afford to, I'd hold out until the market picks up.

If you PM me a link to the ad I will tell you how many price drops they have had to do across your band in general. I weed prolific overpricers out this way.

@BunglingEstateAgents I think you may have jumped the gun a bit - price is always important but I would expect a lot of people are just holding fire due to the election. I would not do anything drastic for another couple of weeks, probably until after the election.

See if you get more interest and you never know the offers may come in - if not then think about reducing the price. **

We have had several disagreements over price with estate agents over the years. In Leeds and Newcastle we insisted on a higher selling price than the agent suggested and in both cases sold within days at close to the higher price.
I'm sure agents get in wrong the other way too. If you've done your research, especially on actual prices then trust your judgement.

Stick at 550 for now, especially if other houses are marketed at the same price. The agent can let people know you are open to offers.

Thanks for the advice. I'll give it some more time at this price.

I would drop to 515k and be prepared to take an offer if, as you say, similar property with frontal parking are getting offers at 520.

I wouldn’t expect many viewings at that price range (unless you’re down south) anyway. I think we had 4 viewings over 5 months for last house we sold- you only need the one person to want it 🤷‍♀️

Just realised it’s an old post! How did you get on?!

Typical EA trick “worth trying for 575k” translates into you haven’t got much chance and will waste time/the window when the listing is new on Rightmove but that’s your problem, we just want the listing.

Realise this is a zombie thread but also curious about how you got on in the end @BunglingEstateAgents & is the property sold now?