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Original poster

House sale

65 replies

user1485851222 · 23/08/2024 09:50

Make me feel better, who else had a property on the market for 12 months or more.... Losing hope..... and yes I have reduced price by over 40k.

OP posts:
Lulubellamozarella · 23/08/2024 10:57

How much interest have you had? How many viewings in that time?

We haven't been on that long, we have been on for 2 months, but in that time have only had 3 viewings! But the market is dead where I live. There are heaps and heaps of totally lovely properties that have been on the market all year. Some since last year. Many have reduced their prices and they are still not selling. I feel for you. Its a difficult time to be a seller.

standardmum · 23/08/2024 11:01

We had ours on since July 2023 although we took it off the market for a couple of months earlier this year due to ill health.
In this time we reduced price three times and looking back, we should have bitten the bullet and cut it more and sooner.
However, fate took a turn and a property we had only dreamt of became available so it's been for the best in our case.
In our area houses are either flying out or they are sticking for months- often "doer upper" or modern estate houses. Mid price range houses aren't selling well either.

Papricat · 23/08/2024 11:38

Best time to sell is Spring. If it didn't sell back then you need to adjust price (anything less than 10% won't move the dial).

rainingsnoring · 23/08/2024 12:18

Are you getting any viewings at all or just very occasional? What percentage off the asking price is the 40k you mention? A 20% reduction will tend to generate more interest than a 5% one, although it depends on how realistic the initial asking price was. There has been a huge problem, in the last 18-24 months, with over valuing of properties, often by very large amounts. Many estate agents and sellers don't seem to have realised that the market has changed quite dramatically. This has resulted in so many properties just sitting on the market for months or even years, with slow reductions. If they do eventually sell, they tend to sell for a lot less than if they had been marketed at a fair price initially.
If you really need/ want to sell, try a significant reduction (10% or so) in the second week of September, which is historically a period when lots of potential buyers are looking.

GasPanic · 23/08/2024 12:28

You may have reduced it by 40k but if it was overpriced to begin with then it still won't sell unless you are lucky.

What does your EA say ? They should be doing a job/making recommendations and giving you honest feedback. They want it to sell as much as you do, because it is the only way they get their commission.

And if something is cheap enough, someone out there will probably buy it. So it is nearly always the price.

MrsMoastyToasty · 23/08/2024 12:50

Would you be prepared to give us a link to the listing?
We may be able to give some feedback on it.

Original poster
user1485851222 · 23/08/2024 13:51

user1485851222 · 23/08/2024 09:50

Make me feel better, who else had a property on the market for 12 months or more.... Losing hope..... and yes I have reduced price by over 40k.

Lulubellamozarella averaging 1.7 viewings a month, alot of the viewers haven't sold their properties, so they aren't in a position to offer, good luck with your sale.

OP posts:
Original poster
user1485851222 · 23/08/2024 13:53

standardmum · 23/08/2024 11:01

We had ours on since July 2023 although we took it off the market for a couple of months earlier this year due to ill health.
In this time we reduced price three times and looking back, we should have bitten the bullet and cut it more and sooner.
However, fate took a turn and a property we had only dreamt of became available so it's been for the best in our case.
In our area houses are either flying out or they are sticking for months- often "doer upper" or modern estate houses. Mid price range houses aren't selling well either.

Been reduced by 16%, since it 1st went on the market. Lots of competion in my area, detached, semi's, bungalows, all in same price range

OP posts:
Original poster
user1485851222 · 23/08/2024 13:54

Papricat · 23/08/2024 11:38

Best time to sell is Spring. If it didn't sell back then you need to adjust price (anything less than 10% won't move the dial).

Reduced 16% from valuation

OP posts:
Original poster
user1485851222 · 23/08/2024 13:57

rainingsnoring · 23/08/2024 12:18

Are you getting any viewings at all or just very occasional? What percentage off the asking price is the 40k you mention? A 20% reduction will tend to generate more interest than a 5% one, although it depends on how realistic the initial asking price was. There has been a huge problem, in the last 18-24 months, with over valuing of properties, often by very large amounts. Many estate agents and sellers don't seem to have realised that the market has changed quite dramatically. This has resulted in so many properties just sitting on the market for months or even years, with slow reductions. If they do eventually sell, they tend to sell for a lot less than if they had been marketed at a fair price initially.
If you really need/ want to sell, try a significant reduction (10% or so) in the second week of September, which is historically a period when lots of potential buyers are looking.

16% reduction on valuation. Lots of properties by me have been on 8-24 months. Hard not to lose faith. Feedback to EA, is it's a nice/lovely house, we did accept an offer, then they lost their buyer, so we lost them

OP posts:
Original poster
user1485851222 · 23/08/2024 14:00

GasPanic · 23/08/2024 12:28

You may have reduced it by 40k but if it was overpriced to begin with then it still won't sell unless you are lucky.

What does your EA say ? They should be doing a job/making recommendations and giving you honest feedback. They want it to sell as much as you do, because it is the only way they get their commission.

And if something is cheap enough, someone out there will probably buy it. So it is nearly always the price.

I agree always the price, but we've reduced it by 16%, which means we are now selling for what it originally cost, so we are prepared to lose what we put into it, to improve it. EA says it will sell, (eventually), but we are going to change EA at the end of the month. And see if new EA has a fresh approach. We can't afford to reduce it any more.

OP posts:
Original poster
user1485851222 · 23/08/2024 14:01

MrsMoastyToasty · 23/08/2024 12:50

Would you be prepared to give us a link to the listing?
We may be able to give some feedback on it.

Normally I would, but family and friends don't know we are trying to move & they use Mumsnet.

OP posts:
Reallybadidea · 23/08/2024 14:04

user1485851222 · 23/08/2024 14:01

Normally I would, but family and friends don't know we are trying to move & they use Mumsnet.

Show quote history

Does this mean that you don't have a board out? I'm not an expert, but our agent told us that a board was quite important.

standardmum · 23/08/2024 14:05

We had to sell ours for what we paid a couple of years ago. Hard to accept but as soon as we made the final reduction, we had a flood of new viewings and an offer from a very keen FTB.
It just depends on how the numbers stack up for you. We were desperate to sell and although we're losing money, it's worth it for us.

rainingsnoring · 23/08/2024 14:07

user1485851222 · 23/08/2024 13:57

16% reduction on valuation. Lots of properties by me have been on 8-24 months. Hard not to lose faith. Feedback to EA, is it's a nice/lovely house, we did accept an offer, then they lost their buyer, so we lost them

Show quote history

That's a decent reduction but, of course, it depends how unrealistic the initial price was and how much competition you have.
Maybe change agents and try again in September. If that doesn't work, you might need to reduce further. If you are upsizing, negotiate hard on your forward purchase. If nothing is moving in your area, you may be able to negotiate a really decent reduction, which would make your own reduction less significant.

sugarbyebye · 23/08/2024 14:15

I sold mine ( 2/3 bed terrace) pretty quickly but everything has stalled because I can't find a property to move to, everything seems very expensive or crap!

AgreeableDragon · 23/08/2024 14:21

Have you been with the same agent all this time?
I'd be looking to sack them off and bring in a new one. Get fresh photos and new enthusiasm!
Now is a good time to get it on the market with a new approach.
We've just put a relatives house on, and have had 7 viewings in the first 3 weeks. One is coming back for a second viewing next week.
The market is fine if the price is right.

Original poster
user1485851222 · 23/08/2024 14:47

Reallybadidea · 23/08/2024 14:04

Does this mean that you don't have a board out? I'm not an expert, but our agent told us that a board was quite important.

Show quote history

We have a board, family, friends aren't local to us, 100's of miles away, but are on mumsnet.

OP posts:
Original poster
user1485851222 · 23/08/2024 14:48

standardmum · 23/08/2024 14:05

We had to sell ours for what we paid a couple of years ago. Hard to accept but as soon as we made the final reduction, we had a flood of new viewings and an offer from a very keen FTB.
It just depends on how the numbers stack up for you. We were desperate to sell and although we're losing money, it's worth it for us.

It's on for 5k more than we paid for it originally, we are prepared to lose on the improvements we've made, but can't drop anymore.

OP posts:
Original poster
user1485851222 · 23/08/2024 14:50

rainingsnoring · 23/08/2024 14:07

That's a decent reduction but, of course, it depends how unrealistic the initial price was and how much competition you have.
Maybe change agents and try again in September. If that doesn't work, you might need to reduce further. If you are upsizing, negotiate hard on your forward purchase. If nothing is moving in your area, you may be able to negotiate a really decent reduction, which would make your own reduction less significant.

Show quote history

Changing agents the end of this month. We would be going for similar size property and we would pay about 40-50k on top of what we sell for.

OP posts:
Original poster
user1485851222 · 23/08/2024 14:52

AgreeableDragon · 23/08/2024 14:21

Have you been with the same agent all this time?
I'd be looking to sack them off and bring in a new one. Get fresh photos and new enthusiasm!
Now is a good time to get it on the market with a new approach.
We've just put a relatives house on, and have had 7 viewings in the first 3 weeks. One is coming back for a second viewing next week.
The market is fine if the price is right.

Edited

Yes same agent for 12 months, changing at the end of this month. Market isn't that great by me, some are selling but majority have been on a while even after they have been reduced.

OP posts:
GasPanic · 23/08/2024 14:57

user1485851222 · 23/08/2024 14:00

I agree always the price, but we've reduced it by 16%, which means we are now selling for what it originally cost, so we are prepared to lose what we put into it, to improve it. EA says it will sell, (eventually), but we are going to change EA at the end of the month. And see if new EA has a fresh approach. We can't afford to reduce it any more.

Show quote history

The market/potential buyers don't care about either what you paid for it or what you have to sell it for. They only care about whether it represents good value to them.

There is no rule that says you are automatically entitled to get more for a house that you paid for it.

On the positive side, if the market value of your house has decreased, the market value of the one you want to move to should hopefully have decreased as well.

These are the harsh realities.

housemovepickle · 23/08/2024 15:06

Op is there something glaring that's putting buyers off ? Next to main road, no parking, neighbours that enjoy fly tipping. I would bring your most brutal friend over and see

rainingsnoring · 23/08/2024 15:10

'Changing agents the end of this month. We would be going for similar size property and we would pay about 40-50k on top of what we sell for.'

Changing agents worth a try. Are you moving areas or staying in the same one where properties are not selling? If so, negotiate as much as you can. There may well be lots of other sellers getting fed up of waiting at this point.

Original poster
user1485851222 · 23/08/2024 17:14

GasPanic · 23/08/2024 14:57

The market/potential buyers don't care about either what you paid for it or what you have to sell it for. They only care about whether it represents good value to them.

There is no rule that says you are automatically entitled to get more for a house that you paid for it.

On the positive side, if the market value of your house has decreased, the market value of the one you want to move to should hopefully have decreased as well.

These are the harsh realities.

Show quote history

I agree, I was saying we purchased and then spent 40k on improvements, hence it was valued higher than we purchased it for & we are prepared to lose that investment.

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