No viewings

[Ellena646]

Hi, we have been on the market for four weeks and not had one viewing. The agent just keeps repeating "It's August, very quiet" on a loop, although we are now in September. Just wondering if anyone else is experiencing the same thing. Not sure if it's the agent, the market, the price... Never been on the market and had zero viewings in the first month before...

Likely the price although recently (24th Aug ) I sent an enquiry via Rightmove to view a property and still haven't heard anything from the Estate Agent that's selling it...

My house sold within 2 weeks of listing this September in the south east. I also didn’t drop my price. I think it’s very random atm and if someone goes under offer and likes your house it will sell regardless of price. The one I am now purchasing had another offer also.

I think buyers are fussier than normal at the moment as mortgage rates are perceived by many people to be high though they aren't actually that high, historically speaking.

So they are hoping to find perfection which doesn't really exist and are less willing to compromise. I do agree that some of them seem unrealistic. But sellers equally need to be realistic and honest with themselves if their properties are not in great condition or if they are on very busy roads etc, not in catchment for good schools etc, they will likely struggle to sell in this market.

I wish more buyers thought like you! Sadly I will be caught by the increased stamp duty when I finally can buy as I’m struggling so much to sell. I’m at the point I’m practically giving away my house so what I thought I could afford as an onward purchase has decreased. Stamp duty will be the added kick in the teeth! It’s a terrible idea to move at this stage for me financially but sadly I have to for family reasons

Is there no way you could take it off the market and relist in spring? It is a better time to sell and if you can’t sell now and have to keep dropping the price you may still not sell until spring unless you give it away. I agree with Twiglets1 that the ones selling fast are the ones in good condition with no stigmas. I do feel for those who have to sell as the market has stalled but from what I have seen online the ones dropping their prices are still sitting on the market months later. So a complete standstill and no point reducing in vain. There is still time to avoid the stamp duty increase as it is over 6 months away and sales can complete much sooner than this. Otherwise you may not only have the increased stamp duty to contend with but also an increase in house prices as it does appear they will start to creep back up by then. 😫 It is a difficult one,I agree. I really hope you find a buyer asap and can find an onward purchase before spring. All the best x

That's really frustrating @Ellena646. I'm sorry to hear that.
Which area are you in roughly? Have you had any useful feedback at all?
How long are you tied into a contract with this agent? Perhaps a change of agent might help. It might be worth checking their sale results to see who is actually moving properties in your area. I totally understand why you don't want to post a link; feedback can be pretty brutal.

@Jellybean4774 that sounds soul destroying. It's surprising that you have had to drop the price to what you paid for it 5 years ago too. Is your part of London particularly struggling perhaps? Have you used more than one estate agent? Has anyone given you honest feedback?
I totally agree that many buyers are very cautious because of the economic climate, regardless of falling interest rates and SDLT holidays. You may find that you get more interest during the Spring as there is usually a small bounce at the start of the year. I don't think we are likely to see house price rises but time will tell, as always.

Ellena646 This must be very frustrating after dropping your price.😣
Are you near good schools? You may find the 20% VAT on private schools may have a knock on effect next year and will create an increase in house prices near good state and grammar schools if parents decide to move their children. This could push house prices higher in certain catchment areas. Also, parents who decide to keep their children in private school may look to unlock equity from their homes to pay the higher fees so may downsize or relocate to a more affordable area. I would hang in there if you can and not drop the price further as it’s more difficult or even madness to increase the price once you have reduced it, unless you re-list in the new year of course. Wishing you all the best with your sale 😊

Thank you, yes that’s my plan. I’m going to keep it on for another month or two then take it off and relist in March. I don’t plan to drop the price any further. I would have thought that reducing it to less than I paid for it would likely serve to put people off rather than entice them to buy! It will look like an even poorer investment if I do that! I think sadly I must have overpaid originally but I offered under asking back then so it’s a bit baffling. It’s a property that’s also never struggled before and previous owners sold it with no issues. Fingers crossed for some luck soon! X

Utterly soul destroying! Doesn’t help that I love the house too and am only having to move for family reasons. If I could I’d stay put for another 5 years at least. It is quite slow in this area generally but things are selling here and there. I think a lot of buyers in this area are looking at everything on the market in their price bracket and then not committing to anything (at least if my estate agent can be believed!) I’ve gone through multiple agents now! I think this last one is the best one and has put a lot more effort into photos but only 1 viewing in two weeks and 2 cancelled viewings in that time too so I’m not holding out a lot of hope. The feedback is all about things I can’t change, like the location, so just hoping someone comes along soon who’s willing to compromise on the location and recognise they’re getting a bigger house for a much cheaper price than comparable properties that are better located. I’ll be taking it off again in a couple of months and relisting in the Spring as you say. Fingers crossed!

Hopefully you will find a buyer by the end of October in time for the stamp duty increase, but if you don’t get out in time, not sure if you are near a good school, I do think that the 20% VAT on private schools will have a knock on effect next year and will increase house prices near good state and grammar schools if parents decide to move their children. But even if you aren’t near one, parents having to pay the extra may downsize to release equity to pay for the increase, so this may help the market get back to normal for sellers anyway, not so good for buyers unfortunately 😏

@Jellybean4774 it sounds as if you have already tried all the obvious things. Hopefully your new agent will be able to give some better advice than the previous ones. Perhaps listing early next yr/ Spring might be a bit better. You tend to get a little bounce then and more people looking in general but, as I have said, I am bearish on the housing market because of the general economy. Good luck!

UPDATE: that one only viewing has lead to an offer BUT it is quite low. As I've already posted, I had decided to reduce the price by 10% to a guide price of £500,000 - £550,000 (with the agent saying I should expect somewhere in the middle) but these buyers are sticking at £495,000. I have always found guide prices confusing but the agent said it offers flexibility and makes buyers feel confident. Confident is one thing but at that end of the guide price, I'm taking a 15% hit on the original asking price, and all of the properties I like won't pay it forward; they are all demanding full asking price. It feels bonkers...

That’s great you got an offer, but very frustrating to be under the asking price. Can the agent get them to up it a little? If not I’d be tempted to accept it in this current climate… I know that’s not great to hear but I think any offer at the moment if it’s vaguely near the asking price is a reasonable outcome. If they change your listing to under offer too it might motivate some other viewers to have a look and offer a little higher.

Its the price

As you were about to reduce the price anyway, I would take this offer very seriously as long as it is from someone in a position to proceed.

If the sums can be made to work, I suggest asking the EA to pass on the message that 500k is the lowest offer you could accept and hope they would agree to that.

@Ellena646 you may well find that the owners of the properties you are looking at are way more receptive to offers coming from someone who has sold their own property.

Congratulations @Ellena646. Good news that the price reduction has led to an offer, even if it was not as high as you were hoping for. The rather aspirational sellers may need to accept reductions too if they really want to sell and have been on the market a long time without much interest.

Ellena646 Congratulations!! That’s great that you have an offer. 👏 The market is finally starting to gradually get back to normal.

If I were offering on a property with a guide price of £500.000-£550.000 I would probably offer in the region of £495000 as my first offer as a I would ignore the guide price as a lot if buyers do.

You must realise that any new buyers looking at your property may not even realise you have already reduced and will be offering based on your current listed price.

Normally first offers are a starting point, I would say something along the lines of: This offer is lower than you were looking for and can they increase their offer?

This is not the first post of a house going under offer this week. It’s very promising news as this will stimulate the market and is a sign the market is improving. 👍😊

Yes this also. It’s not the aspirational sellers fault, estate agents normally overprice to get the listing so chances are the op’s house was never worth what they said it was worth. 🤷‍♀️ .

You're in a strong position to make a lower offer on a property you like. Congratulations and good luck.

'estate agents normally overprice to get the listing so chances are the op’s house was never worth what they said it was worth.'

Exactly.
This applies to a lot of properties on the market at present, hence huge numbers of reductions when offers are not forthcoming. It also means that there is a good chance that @Ellena646 will be able to negotiate on her onward purchase.

Not necessarily so. Not all buyers fall for the estate agents tactics of overpricing to begin with just so they can secure the listing. Most overpriced properties stand out like a sore thumb as all you have to do is compare other properties in your area.

As long as the market starts moving that’s all that matters! And by the looks of things, it is! 👏😊

Hmm. Judging by the number of reductions on Rightmove at present, many sellers are falling for estate agents tactics of over pricing or are being over optimistic themselves. The OP said that nothing is moving in her area, as just one example of this.
Of course, it's great news that the price reduction has led to an offer. As I've already said, now that she has an offer, hopefully she can also negotiate a good deal on her onward purchase. I agree that realistic pricing will lead to more sales.

Well done on getting the offer!

Talking to an EA friend in a different area of the country to you, they're seeing the same problem and are attributing it to people not moving and sticking with what they've got "halfway up the property ladder" (as they put it) creating a bit of a logjam.

The inherent problem in the UK housing market is that it's fundamentally premised on Normal being the average buyer moving up to a bigger house or to a new area 4-6 times over a lifetime. With smaller families, more people not having families, more people able to work from home, etc. people aren't feeling the need to move as often or as frequently. Below a critical level of churn the market stagnates. And it stays stuck until someone gets desperate enough to drop the floor price.