Another why is my house not selling post

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I have a mid terraced house on the market in the most desirable street in St Albans. Priced at £600k which exactly fits (sold) comps and reflectsw we I spent renovating it + average valuation gain in the area since i bought it.

Must have had 30 viewings. Two offers on the first open house day at £5k below asking. Both fell through. Another FTB then offered and pulled out.

It’s all freshly decorated and staged. It’s a cottage like most in this area - disadvantages of these structures are downstairs bathroom and no hallway - but with the addition of a fully tanked basement with spare room/reception and home office. The moisture levels are the same on each floor so no damp in the basement. The doors and windows are beautifully re-done. The kitchen is De Vol.

It’s been on for three months. What do I do?

I think it’s my target market (FTBs, divorcees) not being able to get their mortgages as they all keep coming and people are offering and then pulling out.

But these are the things that maybe make it hard to sell?

Lack of parking spaces for residents (city centre issue).

Extra 300 ft of basement space not worth much?

People freak out about basements even when fully tanked?

Can’t do the loft as it’s Grade II listed.

Price??? Not sure about this one as the fallen-through offers were v close to asking.

Viewer feedback is mainly that they think basement will flood (not in flood zone) and the stairs need repainting (yes but srsly??)

Help?

Predictions are for two more interest rate cuts this year I think. Do you know why the prospective buyers pulled out?

Sounds like you got a first rush of interest, good offers, then we’re either unlucky to have them fall through or the buyers got cold feet after reflecting on the price. Is the flood risk real? They eoukd put me off.

Are you still getting viewings now?

Also, just because you’ve spent a lot on the house doesn’t mean you’ll get that back.

St Albans is a lovely place

However I would never even look at somewhere with no parking or which was listed

But tht doesnt explain why people saw the property (quite a lot of them) and didnt follow through. The ones that followed through with the lower offer and then fell through, why?
Why did the FTB fall through?

You're just goig to have to lower the price to make it more attractive.

Downstairs bathroom wouldnt necessarily put me off, its not desirable but is it livable? You can only determine that by visiting, viewing and getting a feel for the place.

I think it’s lovely but it’s only 2 bed and parking would be a night mare there, it’s also very small even with the cellar I’m afraid. So it’s price op.

I think the potential pool of buyers for your house is fairly limited, so it is going to be slow to sell.

Even on a nice street in St albans there can't be many first time buyers wanting to spend 600,000 on a small two bedroom listed house with no parking.

No parking will be a deal breaker for most people
if you’re near the centre then emphasise it is ideal
for commuters or car free for example -
it’s a lot of money for a two bed and I think that limits your pool of buyers (ie FTB etc)

I couldn't find it!

The difference in house prices across the country is phenomenal, £600k for a 2 bed cottage with no parking in St Albans, here in a reasonable town in Durham we are struggling to get £320k for an, admittedly extended, 6 bed detached with good size garden and parking for 4 cars and that kind of price isn’t unusual here

I think 600k is far too expensive for a two-bed for first-time buyers. And it might be awkward for a family if there’s no parking. Can you park on the street?

£600k for FTB????? Blimey

I think I found your listing and it's lovely (although the decor is a bit too "busy") but I'm not sure how many people would actually be using basement on a daily basis. I think people might prefer a proper third bedroom. I'd love a basement but only for storage/pantry type of thing.

Other than that, as PP said, the fact that it's listed might be an issue. And parking.

Good luck OP 🤞🏻

600k is expensive for ftb but it's probably too small for families upgrading. Your market is divorcees and retirees it's pot luck. You could try lowering the price.

We need to see the link so we can give a proper response!

It's all relative though. The OP's house is in an expensive, desirable area and she's received offers she's been happy to accept, it's just that the buyers haven't been able to proceed. So it's not over-priced.

It's quite easy to find given the info provided. The issue isn't the listing or the price though, it's the ability for prospective buyers to proceed. The listing doesn't say it's Grade II listed as far as I can see, that may put people off when they realise.

it's just that the buyers haven't been able to proceed. So it's not over-priced.

If the buyers aren't able to proceed because they can't get a mortgage then it's very likely to be overpriced. It's just that the buyers haven't cottoned on to that fact whilst the bank have.

There are others similar in your area that have bigger gardens and or upstairs bathrooms for the same price

Is it the place where the basement is labelled wine cellar? I’d change that for a start- wine cellar sounds cold and just for storage whereas the pictures show a nice room which happens to have some wine in it.

It looks lovely and (coming from London) I’d be fine with the space and lack of parking. I think you’re necessarily targeting quite a limited pool of buyers though and so selling will take longer.

We and the OP don't know that's why though. Commonplace to get an offer in principle before even looking at houses to buy.

No - that one has an upstairs bathroom

I cant find it, is it the double fronted one?, the bathroom is upstairs in that listing

If it's this one then I don't lie the kitchen tiles , the navy feature wall in the living area needs to painted a pale colour and the garden and there aren't many photos, only 11.

www.primelocation.com/for-sale/details/68448310/?search_identifier=cdfac5f0d95553cc198c667b4fe35075

I think it's the one on at £595k
The others at £600k have upstairs bathrooms, they all have cellars so that's not unique to your property OP and others also have bigger gardens.
I'd go for the wine cellar one over yours

Are you sure it’s correctly priced? St Albans is commuter territory and you can get a large 2 bed garden flat in a lovely area of London like Crouch End for less.

It's not this has an upstairs bathroom