Why is my house not selling?!

[ThePandoricaOpens]

We've had our house on the market since September and have only had one offer - 40k under asking price! We're thinking we may have to drop the price in the new year, but houses are so expensive around here that we may not be able to afford what we want if we do. We're looking to 'upgrade' to a 4 bed with a bigger garden and will have to add a further 160-200k to our sale price! Feedback so far has been - garden is too small and bedrooms are too small (wich is why we want to move). We want a new build (?!) We feel like people are just wasting our time! https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/152025230?utm_campaign=property-details&utm_content=buying&utm_medium=sharing&utm_source=copytoclipboard#/&channel=RES_BUY

The first photo of the outside is very off-putting to me. Needs dropping so less road and path, and put some pots and plants against the wall. If it looks more welcoming then older people like me looking to downsize might not click straight past it. Include a photo of shower. Remove coats from the photo.

Your home is lovely, I really like all the colours. Only the fake grass would put me off, feels like that would be a right pain to shift but it would have to go.

The plan of action sounds good, maybe not such a substantial decrease at first though? See what the changes do for you. I definitely agree that the front could easily be made far more appealing with minimal effort.

The listing says there's potential to extend, but you've said there isn't. Which is it? People might be viewing and realising that there isn't actually potential to extend, and that's a deal breaker for them?

Agree, I think the house is significantly over-priced.
Also (and accept there's nothing you can do about this) it's very small for a detached house and I think you are always going to find that there's a lot of people who simply won't want to buy somewhere that small, and would prefer to compromise on detached/garage/location

These posts are always hilarious. Someone asking why their massively overpriced house isn’t selling. People respond with things like new soft furnishings, tidy up a bit, take new photos etc - as if any of that is going to make someone pay £50k over the odds.

It must be the price. It's a really small house in terms of floor area to the others you linked: only 2 spaces downstairs, small bedrooms upstairs. It looks to me like a starter/small family home. You can always tidy up a house/garden but you can't make the plot bigger and you have no space to extend.
No. 7 in your road (identical size) sold last year for only £307,000. If you've had an offer at £360k you should accept it quick.

Your decor is lovely but it does look a bit crowded in terms of furniture, could you put some in storage? And lose some gadgets from the kitchen/ move fridge to a side wall (behind stairs). Try to give an impression of being small but so cleverly fitted out that it doesn't feel it.

There's no curb appeal and hence the first picture doesn't grab you.

Also, I couldn't figure out which room was which due to the random order. Could the agent put them more logically together so you have 3 photos of back room, 3 photos of front room etc.

Having seen on the floor plan it's only 72 square metres I think maybe the photos are making it look bigger than it is (though also very full!). It's very small for a 3 bed - we lived in a 2 bed that was 85 square metres. Perhaps when people flee to view they are expecting to be bigger.

But realistically, it's the price. What else can people get around there for that price? (More than 72 square metres probably!)

Get the garage added to the floorplan.

It's not a standout property, there's no wow from the layout or finish, and there are a few things that can be a turn-off that have already been pointed out - plastic grass, corner bath. It needs to be fairly middle of the road in terms of asking price.

You have had viewings, so the listing is doing its job. You have to ask yourself whether the listing is giving any false impressions, because if you get viewings and their negative comments relate to things obvious in the listing then they are polite timewasters, but if you get 4-5 people saying the same thing or if it's something that wasn't clear from the listing then you need to ask yourself why those people still made the effort to come to a viewing.

What?? That’s a renovation project! You’d need to spend about 100k.

It is not what other houses are on the market for but what they sell for. Agents all price off each other to get the business which can give greater expectations to sellers. A house is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.

I think it’s nice but I always had in mind that that area of the country was meant to be cheap. I think it’s on for too much money - I’d be looking to pay about 350k for that as it’s not a spacious house. Good luck with selling but you might find that you do end up with around 360k for it.

Put the fridge freezer in storage. Then buy separate under counter freezer and fridge. Create a breakfast bar where the opening between the kitchen and dining room are and put them underneath.
Put some pot plants under the front windows.

Thank you everyone for your advice. What I think I will do is: • Lower the price after christmas to 385k

If you're going to lower the price, make a reduction that's going to make a material difference. £15k isn't enough. You need to be going down to £375k at a minimum.

There is nothing actually wrong with it. But it's quite expensive for a very basic 3 bedroomed house with only one bathroom. And there doesn't seem to be any scope to extend. Compare your price to houses selling nearby.

Can you get rid of the screen at the foot of the main bed? That will make the room feel small and cramped.

As mentioned before, have you asked the agent their opinion ?

After all they are getting paid a few thousand to sell the house and presumably priced it for you in the first place ?

I think you just need better pics.

May be over priced?
Give it a couple more months... things go quiet over xmas usually

Yes, this! They should be advising you about price points and how to make the Rightmove algorithm work for you.
If you go back onto the market with an 'Offers over £375k' or 'Guide price' then you will hopefully catch people in the £350-£400k.

To be honest I don't think the estate agent photos are great either - they very pedestrian. I'm sure there must be some better angles.

Yes agree move the fridge!

I think having been on the market for nearly 4 months is enough time to judge that the price is probably on the optimistic side.

I'd move the pots to the front to add some colour, shift the coats for viewings, maybe also put the toaster in a cupboard if you can, show off more of the surface space, take the bed curtain down.
The garden looks nice and private. Can you spray the fences with treatment for the green algae stuff? i know it's a nightmare, my fences have it too :-(

Agreed. That other house is a total wreck