House Just Not Selling

[Naz2019]

Hi All. We listed our house for sale beginning of December with an agent from another town as we were interested in a property they were selling. We have a steady stream if viewing and a few offers but no serious buyers, they would disappear after the offer being accepted. Unfortunately we lost the house we like so decided to change agents to a local one. We have been with the new agent for 3 weeks and had an open day with 10 viewings, 5 of which did not turn up. The open day resulted in 2 offers. We accepted one offer and rejected the other. The following day the buyers who were accepted pulled out saying they had another offer accepted at a different propery. When the agent went back to the ither buyer who iffered she saod she is not sure any more. Since then we have a few more viewings who all say they like the house but just end up disappearing. Our house is very competitively prices and well presented. 3 bedrooms, utility room, downstairs toilet and main bathroom upstairs and. a driveway for 3-4 cars. There is also a bus stop a stone throws away that gets you to gatwick airport in 15 mins. The agents are also surprised that it has still not sold. Any suggestions or similar experiences where you have end up selling successful? We have seen another house we like and don’t want to lose out on this one too…

It will be the price. When I sold my house I had few viewings and no offers until I dropped the price significantly which meant a loss.

My horrible ex neighbours sold their house eventually after nearly a year near to asking. So it depends if you've got the time to wait.

@Naz2019 Obviously could be bad luck but is there anything you could do to make it more attractive? Buyers are funding something they prefer. So why is yours not the preferred choice?

Be critical. Is it tidy? Decent storage? Good attractive decoration ? Nothing broken? Modern kitchen and bathroom? If not, is it priced to reflect this? You don’t mention a garage. So what about storage outside? Garage could be the issue. Is the garden decently laid out and usable? Is drive in good condition? Is the house attractive on a “drive by”? What’s the road like and school possibilities? You cannot change all negatives but you can help improve some (and most houses have something!). Hope it sells though as you have had decent interest.

That doesn’t sound that long to me and the weather is not exactly making people excited about house viewing. They might be waiting to see what comes on in spring.

here is the house listing for reference

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/157005650

Pics are very gloomy. Can new ones be taken on a sunny day? Might be a while! The garden looks very bleak. Any chance bricks could be removed and some plants added?

Offers in excess of is always off putting.

@TizerorFizz thank you for the reply. I agree, critical thinking always helps find a solution. The house does have fitted wardrobes in every room. The garden is not massive and needs some work but the price reflects that. Similar properties tbe area are listed for above 400k. I have added the listing on this thread. 🙂

Has it flooded outside OP? It looks very damp in the garden and on the outside of the house.

I can see only one other listed at 400k on Rightmove. I doubt very much if they will get anywhere near it.

@Overthebow unfortunately the pictures were taken on a very rainy day.

People through the door and multiple offers made and then pulled is unusual

Is there anything - busy school run , planning permission next door , flood risk area - something that people might find out when starting to delve deeper that puts them off? If you can find out what that is , you may be able to reassure or check that the price reflects that issue

It’s not the rain, it’s the moss and damp staining on the outside walls of the house and in the garden. I wouldn’t buy a house that looked damp like that.

That’s it isn’t it - front wall looks wet and garden sodden. Def get new pics in a week or so. Maybe add a tree in a pot out the front or fences to show which is yours?

garden needs something nice in it to distract eg some garden furniture - can you borrow for the new pics?

flowers in the kitchen?

dress the beds a bit more cheerfully?

most places need decluttering but this looks like it needs one or two things adding

It's the lack of kerb appeal. I can't tell from the 2 photos of the front, which part is your house. Can you remove the hedge, put some nice pot plants out, generally tidy it up?

To be brutal: back garden looks a mess, and front has little kerb appeal. The fences are green and need to be cleaned. What is photo 12 meant to show, apart from the fact that the room is way to small for a bed? I think it’s too ‘decluttered’ and needs some decorative items to make it look more homely, seems a little sterile. No lampshades in a couple of the rooms doesn’t help.
On a positive note all of the these things can be easily addressed.

It looks so grotty - damp, green and mouldy. Can you pressure wash the walls and sort the garden ?

Nicer versions of your house sold for less recently (and the market has dropped a bit in the last couple of years) so you’re clearly asking for too much…

carpet in the kitchen 🤢

Garden looks pretty bad and is probably off putting to some buyers.

I would wait for some dryer weather and try to improve it a bit out there. Make it look like somewhere people would want to spend time outside.

Overall though, you're getting viewings and even offers so there isn't much wrong. Just have to wait for the right buyers who aren't flaky.

You've decluttered to the point it looks like nobody lives there.
The damp wall around the meter cupboard on the front will put people off. What's going on there, I'd look into getting that sorted.
I would suggest getting a gardening company in as a one off to cut the front boundary bush, pressure wash the concrete, clean the gone green walls and the fences so you can give them a fresh coat of preservative. Maybe top up the gravel on the front?

The inside looks fine (even if like nobody lives there) but the outside is really letting it down.

Oh and consider cutting off some of the lower overhanging shoots/mini branches on that tree which will be partly why the front is like it is.

Do you still live there? It looks empty & soulless, and a bit damp...

Agree about the lack of kerb appeal. It all really needs brightening up, especially the garden area.

You've over done it will the decluttering so it looks a bit souless

It's two issues both raised by others: first you need to do a 'house doctor' - tidy and dress the house and gardens, as suggested by PPs and move the single bed from the double bedroom (buyers don't like unusual arrangements); secondly address the price. You say it is competitively priced - I would disagree, if you search on various websites you can see that the highest price for the road was £340,000 in 2023. So you are trying to break the ceiling price with a house that is not outstanding, in a difficult market.
Drop the price and it will sell.

You have a very nice house and it's been looked after. It's certainly a blank canvas, which is a bonus, no-one has to paint over acres of grey, or replace a depressing grey kitchen.
If you're getting people through the door, and offers, that's good news. I think it's a bit over priced looking at the area, but you will know better than me.
Perhaps you've just been a bit unlucky?

I can only speak personally, but if there is no kerb appeal to start with I bypass straight away. Not only is the front drab and depressing, the interior is dated and drab. Perhaps you could get the house staged and redo the pictures. If not, I'd remove the grey furnishings and just make it look clean and ready to move into. It will sell, but you that will only happen at the right price. Good luck.