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?

I was looking for the DeVol kitchen.

I cant find anything for that exact price, grad 2 listed, downstairs cellar and downstairs bathroom

On rightmove anyway

It sounds like you’re getting viewings and offers because it’s a quirky, characterful home… then soon after offering, the buyers are thinking more deeply about the practicalities of a downstairs bathroom/no parking/mid terrace etc, and realising that for a similar price, they can buy somewhere slightly less characterful but much more practical. Head over heart. Hence the vague excuses for pulling out.

You need to be prepared to wait for the right person or be priced slightly cheaper than similar houses with upstairs bathrooms etc to get the offers to stick.

Not mentioned in the listing

It does.

It's very easy to find. The ad says all those things.

Culver road upstairs bathroom and not even furnished, not that one

Bedford road not newly renovated and looks like it's empty previously tenanted upstairs bathroom not that one

Boundary road I thought maybe but again upstairs bathroom so can't be a bit cluttered and bathroom needs renovating

Sopwell lane is probably the nicest at this price but again upstairs bathroom so not OPs

Which only leaves lower dagnall street art £595k downstairs bathroom , small garden, looks fairly recently done, albeit the kitchen colour isn't to my taste. Also less character inside than some of the others and less kerb appeal IMO

Sounds lovely but it's not on Rightmove which is where most people look for property.

The decor is the opposite of busy. It's very plain and really quite tasteful.

Ignore the posters saying it’s because it’s too expensive for a FTB - they don’t understand that the Home Counties/London commuter market is a completely different ball game.

It is on rightmove!

The Grade II listing is only in the brochure, not the actual RM listing

Just give us the link ffs

It's mentioned in the first couple of sentences.

This is surely the issue.

plus that when you’ve been on for a while, SSTC then relisted, people tend to think there’s something wrong even if there isn’t.

A link would be helpful.

Great location and nice house. Maybe you’ve just been unlucky? Not a lot of confidence in the market at present https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/150103898#/?channel=RES_BUY

Is it the one with the small yard?

No it isn't, you're looking at a different house!

Can you? That surprises me.

i would be put off by a cellar I think, even though that’s probably irrational. Not much you can do about that though! Don’t the estate agents ask viewers for feedback?

It's tiny for that money!

If it’s Lower Dagnall Street, the fake grass might put people off. But I still think the same thing I thought about the other house- you are targeting a limited pool of buyers (divorcees, child free couples) so it’ll take longer to sell. Doesn’t mean you are doing anything wrong.

Lots of people don't give any feedback or proper feedback these days.

I wouldn't want the loo literally opening onto the kitchen.

I live in london but even i find that small, not the square footage but all the tiny rooms

Hmm. That kitchen is nice but doesn’t look like DeVOL. Maybe I’m wrong.