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?

Sopwell Lane has an upstairs bathroom

Looking at the other similar priced 2 beds it seems like most have been on the market for a while maybe 600k for a 2 bed which tends to be first time buyer territory is now too much in that area

You have a very good eye! I didn't notice any of that on first glance, but now I see it, you're absolutely right.

The basement looks damp, for sure. It may not be, but if it has that "feel" about it then it's going to put people off, for sure, especially at that kind of price.

The Culver Rd property has a nicer feel for the same money, although I appreciate I don't know the area.
The OP's house looks cramped and if it looks cramped on agent's pictures then it will be worse in real life, I'd certainly remove some bits and pieces. I'm not a fan of a green kitchen, although assume if it is DeVol then it will be paintable. The basement also looks like a basement, I'm always wary of these cottage type basements with little natural light.

We had 3 lots of ftb offer and pull out last year, it was so bloody frustrating. I genuinely think they were viewing without having considered if they could get a mortgage first as that is why all 3 pulled out. I told agent only to view in they had a DIP or cash. We had another property waiting and got a cash buyer who was willing to buy if we were out in 4 weeks so we pushed it though.

These threads are always insane to me - 600k for a two bed with a tiny patch of fake grass and no parking? Around here that would likely get you 5-6 bedrooms with a huge garden, off-road parking for multiple cars and within easy reach of schools, shops and a train station, lol.

Yes, we don't have the amenities of London or the SE but at those prices, I wouldn't want them

Back to the OP - I very much doubt that a FTB could afford to buy a 600k house. That's an insane amount of money, especially when you don't actually get very much for your money.

Mid terrace, grade II listed, no option to extend the loft, basements come with issues regardless of how well they're decked out, and no parking? It's over priced. Totally totally overpriced. 530-550 would be more realistic - as others have said you can get more in North London for the same money and none of the no parking/listed building faff.

You need to post the rightmove link, but listed always put me off when we were looking.

Agreed. My first buy was a 580K two storey 4 bed in leafy North London with a garden and a driveway, but room to build out and up.

600K for a first time buyer with no room to expand or even parking is madness.

I doubt the price is the main issue, people saying it is probably don't understand how expensive St Albans is. You've had about 30 viewings and 3 offers so that suggests the price is about right. Having said that, if you were to reduce the price it would probably stimulate some new viewings, if you are in a hurry to sell.

It's hard to comment too much without knowing why your sales fell through. But your house is obviously extremely desirable to have gained that much interest in a stagnant market. Therefore, if you are in no particular hurry I would leave the price alone and not assume that you are doing anything wrong. You may just have been unlucky.

What I would do is tell your EA that you are open to offers and in particular from people who don't need big mortgages. It may be that your house is attracting some buyers who can't really afford it hence they are getting cold feet in the cold light of day or struggling to get big enough mortgages. However, if it's the right price for your area then it's just a case of waiting for the right buyer to come along.

It's pointless making these kinds of comments if you don't know the area.
There are plenty of young people who live in St Albans who work in London and both earn 6-figures.

What's the point of saying that?
It's the going-rate for St Albans, and it's a key commuter city so lots of young people earn London salaries.

The house isn't on Right Move.

Maybe that's the problem?

If it's Grade 2 listed and in a conservation area that may put people off, but you'd assume buyers would research what that entails before making an offer, but perhaps not. It's difficult to know what to do when you're getting offers close to asking quickly after marketing and remarketing.

We've had a similar issue with MIL's probate house, lots of interest and offers close to asking price, but the buyers would pull out weeks into the purchase. Nothing was flagged up on the surveys and searches as being an issue. I think some people like to keep their options open right up to the point of exchanging contracts and it sounds like you may have just been unlucky.

The only other thing I can think to suggest is to check the estate agent is making sure the buyers are in a position to proceed, but I'd assume they are checking they have a MIP. Of course that's not an absolute guarantee they'll pass the mortgage application.

No one's asking you to want to live in London or the SE.

The threads aren't insane. It's crazy to me that people can't understand that house prices are different in different parts of the country & it's not relevant what you could get for your money somewhere else.

I'm sure there are, but my point is - when they get can get more for their money by buying in London itself, why would they buy a property in St Albans that can't be extended, that has no parking and a tiny square of fake grass as a garden?

My friend has just bought a house in Bromley which is in Greater London zone 5. These are the types of properties in your price bracket & I think yours is overpriced. I suspect most of it is trying to recoup the refurbishment cost rather than actual house value.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?locationIdentifier=REGION%5E225&minBedrooms=3&maxPrice=650000&minPrice=550000&propertyTypes=detached%2Csemi-detached%2Cterraced&mustHave=&dontShow=&furnishTypes=&keywords=

I totally understand that prices are different everywhere, I just don't personally see what's so attractive about London/St Albans that would make people want to spend so much money on so little. I moved from the SE precisely because the house prices were totally out of my budget - even renting was too expensive.

OP asked why her house isn't selling - my opinion (and that of many others on here) is because it's overpriced, even for St Albans.

Maybe they want to live in St Albans & prefer it to London?

There’s a yoga mat covering the floor where the jute mat isn’t, it makes it look like they’re trying to cover something up

These are the kinds of places I was referring to upthread. You can get more for your money in London itself, so why would anyone buy OP's two-bed in the commuter belt instead?

I’ve just found it on rightmove?

You don't even know it is OPs house! No wonder they haven't come back to the thread with all the crazy speculation about this and that.

Many people don't provide links because of privacy reasons so I doubt they would welcome people playing detective with their address.

Maybe, but they probably also don't want to pay 600k for far less property, even if they do prefer the location.