House not selling - feedback?

[allipi]

Please can I have some feedback on what can be done to improve this listing? It’s been on since February, one offer and a handful of viewings. Limited feedback. Not my house so feel free to be critical and I’ll pass it on tactfully! 🤣

Personally I think some of the rooms look too cluttered and the photos need to be redone. It has been reduced by 5k but the listing doesn’t state this.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/149081762

So we have

Green bedroom en-suite

Green /pink bed

All pink

Rabbits

So all 4 bedrooms are doubles as floor plan makes look 5 which is 4 look very Small

We sold a 2 year old new build - had to reduce a lot. Reasons for this were that people who like new builds actually want a new one, sometimes because if you buy from the builder you can get all sorts of 'help to buy' deals to make it cheaper in the short term, and also people like brand new stuff generally. Also of course, buying from the builder means there is less of a chain. We lived in an area where there was a lot of choice of new builds, so we had to undercut the prices to get any sort of chance. Fortunately our little estate was closer to the village centre than the other estates, so we did sell it in the end. At a loss.

Nobody is going to buy a nearly-new build for o/o £280k when they can buy the exact same house brand new for slightly less, just round the corner surely?

It's right after it on Rightmove as well so people will see it instantly

It's not exactly the same at all. It's smaller.

@ARichtGoodDram that one is a different house type and doesn’t have the additional dining room/office room downstairs. The new builds of the same style (Balerno) are £299,995. Still totally appreciate the sentiment and if I were buying a new build, I’d rather buy a brand new one and have it to my personal specification rather than a 2 year old one! I think where they’re coming from is that they’ve had to pay for the carpeting, flooring, garden etc to be done which is an extra cost on top of the build price. But I’ll definitely feed this back as they need to drop the price if they want to sell! If not, take it off the market and try again next year!

Kitchen looks really dark, are there any windows?!

I agree with PPs. Nothing inherently wrong with the house as such. Only 2 year old house and is therefore modern. The furnishings etc inside the house are old fashioned and are too big for the house - but wouldn't put me off looking/ possibly buying.

The price is the main issue I would say. Not huge garden space for a family with kids etc. for the money. Found a similar one, sold subject to contract for under £255,000. Always happens on new build estates. By the time the builders are finished, the most recently built houses are well over priced, so it takes time for house price increases to catch up with what was paid. We bought a new build house in 2004. Early in the building project. People who bought later than us paid more than £23k more for exactly the same house, near the end of the building project. Then some people move to sell again quite quickly so lots more competition when trying to sell. I would wait now until the spring and try again

Oversize furniture makes already small rooms appear comically undersized.

There are 1,001 white harling schemies in the area and more being built. It doesn't stand out amongst them on either features, location, or price.

All the extras you pay for with a brand new house aren't worth anything to the second owner - you pay a premium to choose the carpet.

Separate kitchen, living and dining room is a less popular layout than open plan. And it's obvious from the furniture placement that the layout is not working for your parents - the supposed dining room is being used as an office, and the oversize dining table and chairs is squeezed into the kitchen.

The floorplan has several careless errors - missing door, incorrect labels.
Photos aren't labelled.

Move the dining table to the dining room.
Try and minimise the overbearingness of the furniture.

I agree with PP, it's probably the price as the house looks fine.

If I were to be really picky :
Pic 1 - remove the chair bottom right, angle it so slightly more window, otherwise the kitchen looks lovely
Pic 2 -Borrow some bigger plants maybe, otherwise it looks clean and functional
Pic 3 - remove one of the armchairs. Remove some of the smaller pictures in the corner
Virtual tour - put at the end
Pic 4 - it looks like your main view from the sitting room is of the garden shed, I'd do a front on view of the fireplace, again without the other armchair
Pic 5 - this picture is not necessary, it adds nothing.
Pic 6 - remove table from kitchen and remove the microwave from counter top
Pic 7 - same
Pic 8 - is this the dining room ? Agree with PP it should be presented as one. Currently looks like a squashed in 2nd living room / office
Pic 9 - bad, adds nothing, maybe a better photo of the sink. but not the bare wall and carpet in bathroom not good
Pics 10 & 11 - good
Pic 12 - remove clutter, bottles, the bathroom is nice, although is that another carpet ?
Pic 13 - looks a bit squashed by the window with the chest of drawer and the Tv. I'd remove the TV
Pic 14 - adds nothing.
Pic 15 - not a fan of the style but the bedroom looks a good size
Pic 16 - ok
Pic 17 - no shower ???
Pics of the garden : Would it be possible to add some vegetation to hide the houses behind ? Big plants in a pot or plant a small tree.
Overall a bit claustrophobic with the gazebo, maybe not against the house, too much in shade. Maybe just tables and chairs in sunlight as the house is in Scotland not Majorca.

Furniture is making the rooms like smaller than they may actually be

Is that a Buddha statue in the garden? It needs to go onto a surface. It’s considered disrespectful to put them on the ground.

280k for a 4 bed detatched isn't bad, even for Kirkcaldy. That being said, house prices in Scotland, anywhere near central belt are ridiculous, so that's not saying much. It is Fife after all, so comparing it to Edinburgh & the Lothians is not much use I suppose.

It's the sitting rooms for me. Dark, dingy, not much light. Add in the really dated furniture, and its just a no. Shame as rest of house is nice and looks like plenty of light.

Carpet in the bathroom!!! In a 2 year old house!! (and it already looks stained) What were they thinking??
Get it out!
Then the next to view will buy! 😂

If they’re looking to downsize due to preference rather than need then I think they’re a bit silly to do so when it’s worth £20k less than they paid.

I’d live there for another 3-4 years until everything settles in the area. Otherwise they’re just throwing money away.

In the meantime I’d:

• Plant a few screening trees/plants in the garden (as being that overlooked is a scary thought) and do some planting to make it a welcoming space.
• downsize/remove the shed (the garage surely has enough storage space)
• Move the main dining room to the front of the house and if necessary have a little bistro set up in the kitchen
• Cheap and cheerful Lino in the bathroom (it looks like carpet currently)
• Add kerb appeal with pot plants etc.

It’s a neutral space so I wouldn’t worry about it being plain and a bit dated. People will/should look past that.

It’s not carpet in the bathrooms but it looks like it in the photos! 🤣

I’m moving house myself next weekend, but once I’m sorted I’m going to get myself over to theirs and take on some of these suggestions! Thank you all.

dark furniture not helping the lounge looks a bit like an old folks home the kitchen isnt too bad bathroom too much clutter bedrooms look a bit messy and oddly laid out garden needs parasol down

Not relevant to this thread particularly (sorry, OP!) but I'm interested in why people a new build and almost immediately extend it. Is it a lot cheaper than just buying the next house size up?

Why are they moving so quickly, cant they stay and just wait for the price to be a bit more reasonable for them?

It always puts me off when the first photo on the listing isn't of the front of the house, but maybe that's just me 🤷🏼‍♀️ the garden looking so shadowy in that picture might put me off, too

@soupfiend yes, I think that’s probably going to be the most reasonable plan if it doesn’t sell. They had planned to be in the house for 5 years when they bought it, then their plan was to move closer to me and their grandchild and downsize. They could stay there for longer, there isn’t necessarily a need to move so quickly so they may just do that!

Family home but it doesn’t say what catchment primary and secondary schools are? That’s standard in all Scottish particulars.

New builds are known for having a 'new build premium' ie pricier than similar locally just because they're new. This means two years ago it would have been £260k ish not new.

It's not gone up £80k in two years I'm afraid. If they want to make any money from it at all they will have to stay there longer.

£20k I mean not £80!

They need Kirsty round to show them how to love it rather than list it

Best of luck with your own move.