Should we reduce by over 15% (75k)?!

[BunnyWilliams]

House was listed in September last year at 475k. This was after 3 identical valuations by local agents. We are in a VERY slow moving market with a lot of houses in our bracket sitting for at least 6 months before selling, if not a year.

We dropped to 450k after a few weeks of no interest. It didnt seem to do anything. Then we finally accepted an offer of 448k in January and then lost our buyers 7 weeks ago. Relisted with our vendors' agent 5 weeks ago at 440k.

We've had 4 viewing requests since then, 2 actual viewings (a potential 3rd next week) but no offers or usable feedback. We've only had 6 viewings total in all the time we've been for sale.

I asked our agent what his professional opinion was on what we should do about next steps/price. It's worth mentioning at this point that our vendors' are still waiting for us (apparently they are "very relaxed" about it). Our agent has today said that he thinks we should consider dropping to offers over 400k. DH and I are a bit taken aback to be honest. A 75k/15% reduction on our original listing price seems huge when we've previously had a much higher offer and have had several comments from people on what good value the house is.

The bottom line is that we absolutely cannot accept below 413k. We need 95k for the deposit on the new house and with stamp duty etc., this is our absolute rock-bottom figure and would leave us with £0 to take to the new house. We were originally planning on retaining 50k to relocate the kitchen to the dining room and create a utility and downstairs wc. The house is 'livable' without these things but it would make life a lot more difficult due to the house layout and having a young family.

I know it's hard for anyone to comment because you don't know this house or this market but I'm just at a complete loss as to what we do. We won't do anything to the price before the next potential viewing, of course.

Help!!!

You're rushing too much. A lag is normal due to Easter. Just take it off the market for a while and bring it back with another agent

I'm sorry to hear you've had no response to your most recent reduction and feel your pain and frustration @BunnyWilliams 😥
However, I agree that it would be wrong to act hastily by removing it from the market when Spring has only just got started (hopefully 🤞) bringing with it loads of new buyers!

I remember your lovely home (and the ridiculous survey experience which resonated with me, being similar to what happened with our last-but-one sale when the young twat of a surveyor insisted the house was falling down - it wasn't and a structural engineer report proved as much 😡) and I'm sure a buyer who loves and understands characterful properties will turn up soon! It's undeniably soul destroying, but don't lose heart.

We were in a similar position with our last house (also a very quirky period property - a 400 year old detached mill) in rural West Wales. After 15 years moving about the UK we were looking to move back to the south coast of England and - having spent six years and loads of £££ fully restoring the property, hoped for an easy ride with a decent profit enabling us to buy in the more expensive SE.

The EAs we had out to value suggested a price somewhere between 475-500k which we felt was rather delusional, especially as we wanted a quick sale. Instead we put it on at oiro 450k in late Autumn 2023, but as we'd had 0 viewings by January 2024, we were on the verge of reducing when two requests to view came through (we hadn't mentioned a potential reduction to our EA, btw).

When initially marketing we insisted to our EA we only wanted proceedable buyers, but we discovered after these viewings that neither were even on the market 🙄

An offer actually came through from the first viewing...for £320k - £130k under asking! Obviously we rejected this.

By early March we'd had no more interest so we dropped our price to oiro 425k. This prompted what our EA optimistically termed a 'flurry' of interest (actually two viewings, one no show and someone that was interested but not sufficiently to arrange a viewing!)

A second viewing followed what our EA referred to as the most positive viewing she'd ever done in 15 years, but ultimately the older, widowed lady purchased something less rural.

The second set of buyers (cash in the bank) did make an offer - for 400k which was our bottom line and still gave us a profit as we'd purchased cheaply as a repossession.

Long story short, they did buy - after loads of shenanigans involving a 'bidding war' that wasn't (bloody EA!) and 50+ pre-contract enquiries during which I almost lost the will to live - but we had to reduce by a further 10k after some last minute septic tank issues. And this was despite their survey being surprisingly ok and their assurances they'd not seek any reduction, post survey or otherwise 😪 Fortunately our vendor (probate sale) agreed to drop by the same amount.

The sale (at 390k) went through in four months and we got to buy our Georgian cottage by the sea, so although at many times it looked as though the wheels were coming off, eventually all ended well.

So, keep positive and don't give up. Easter will hopefully bring forth some new enquiries and as your vendors don't seem in any particular rush, you still stand a fighting chance of getting your dream house...good luck!

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Op there is a semi 5 beds , huge conservatory and big garden that sold autumn 2024 near you for 470K
Simply your property was massively overpriced at 475K
Although you describe it as a Georgian farmhouse it's a terrace with virtually no outside space.
On the previous pictures I remember your neighbours sort of wrap around the back and there is another property extremely close behind you plus a busy road at the front ?

As others have said this type of property is tricky to sell as the size vs garden and situation don't match.

Sorry you did ask 😬

I'd wait til the holidays are over before worrying about no interest.

You might need to consider taking it off the market for a while. Seeing it's been on for ages could put people off too. It would mean losing your new house but a break might be the best move

My friends last house had no real interest in it. They had a couple of viewers in just basically doing their nosey and one CF offer.

They took it off the market. Waited about 8 months. Got a new EA out, got new photos done & it sold in a couple of weeks. They had loads of viewers and ended up going to a closing date.

Might just be the wrong time for your house

That is really unnecessarily harsh. From what I remember of the house it is beautiful and full of character and charm. Definitely not just “a terrace” though the points were already made on the previous thread about the main road and not much outside space. It’s a niche property as I said but still an attractive one. Unusual properties are always harder to value than bog standard ones but that’s no reason to kick @BunnyWilliams when she’s down just because her original EA valuation turned out to be too high.

@FeatherDawn I also remember it now. I was confused as it’s been described as in the countryside and farmhouse.

I've found what I think is your house and the floor plan shows that it is very spacious and details in the picture suggests everything is of excellent quality/high spec.

But, what lets it down is the photographs and the photographs can't show how spacious it is because the main living room has an overpowering and dare I say dark cosy colour scheme.

Paint it a soft cream or white. Put a big rich rug on that dark slate floor to brighten it. Lighten beams? Change the orange sofas for a lighter colour or get the photos done to lighten the effect. You won't be getting people through the door because the angles of the photo make the room look cramped and ceilings too low. I'm sure it isn't in RL

The courtyard pictures are confusing and there is no ground plan for the outside space. Why has the estate agent not drawn them up? I can't see the connection between the two courtyard areas. The photos don't emphasise potential space or child friendly play zone outside. Storage area could be a playhouse for example.

Similarly the parking outside isn't drawn on a plan nor what I presume is a porch. A window at front downstairs is MISSED off the ground plan.

Also, I would dress the playroom as a family dining room (keep it white) and suggest the kitchen has room for a downstairs loo somewhere. There is room it's just the layout that suggests otherwise.

The parking isn't such a big problem as you think it is or the front aspect, emphasise the garden path and gate at front not just parking...people walk out the door on foot too.

It's a very spacious house but the pictures make it look less so, despite your attention to detail and very clean fresh interiors throughout and the welcoming living room ..it doesn't translate to photo spaciousness downstairs.

Looking on street view I am getting a sense of the lovely views and the road doesn't seem bad at all but not from the estate agents pictures which somehow reduce everything down.

It's the price.
It's always the price 🤷‍♀️
Taking a hit isn't pleasant (I've done it) but if you want to sell its your only option.
I'm not convinced a link of paint will do it!

It's priced SO well now (and that isn't just me saying that, that's everyone I've spoken to including valuers, agents, strangers who are resident in the village, strangers who commented on my FB community post, and friends and family who all said that even BEFORE we'd reduced).

Who is priced well for though? Who is the target market? I think people forget that when selling houses.

I've noticed in my wider area that terraced houses are selling relatively quickly for 650-700k whereas the semi detached options at 750k plus are sitting on the market. I thought it was odd because you get a lot more house & garden for in some cases just 50k more. But an EA told me that young families can just about stretch to the terrace but not the more expensive house.

That's frustrating. However, as others have said it is early days and many people are away at present because of the school holidays and the Easter weekend. I think the pricing is very difficult to determine for your lovely house. Now that you have reduced by the smaller amount, I would be inclined to give it at least 2-4 weeks before reassessing. I would keep it on until at least September and be prepared to seriously considering any reasonable offer.

Harsh??
Realistic which you have to be in the house selling game.
I didn't use any type of derogatory language to "kick the Op" and the Op asked for opinions.

It is indeed a lovely house but it is a in terrace of several houses which is tricky when it's a 5 bed as generally with a 5 bed it would either come with a large garden and be semi or detached or be a townhouse-it's quite clearly the penultimate house in a terrace in the distance shot .

As I said regarding pricing , in the autumn a 5 bed semi with a big garden and a huge conservatory sold for 475K in the same village.
So it's price and a tricky house to sell
Good luck after Easter Op -the new price seems rather more realistic

Being a nosy person who loves RightMove, I also found the house I think and had the same thought about the living room. The paint colour doesn’t photograph well and makes the room feel small and claustrophobic. I’d paint it white and get new photos — the other rooms all feel so much brighter and airier than that room, and I think it could make a difference to the interest you’re getting, since people will write houses off after a quick look at the photos.

It was harsh because in that post you had not one positive thing to say about the house only a list of negatives. To be honest, very few properties are perfect. But now you are remembering that the house had positives too making it overall a lovely house.

I remember the thread and I think I've found your house.

I don't want to 'out' you with specifics but what I said in that old thread was: we've been very closely watching that county for a few years now, and it seems to be that places people choose to live rather than have to live (due to there being lots of work) are very, very slow/stagnant. I think you countered it with how vibrant and busy your village is, and that's fair enough. But unless people HAVE to live there for work, and given that demand in housing isn't insane and people don't HAVE to chose the countryside, it IS still those houses in small villages and towns that are festering on the market.

So I only have one thing to add: why haven't you gone with a local agent? It looks like yours is some sort of work from home jobbie (maybe?) with an office based hundreds of miles away?

I've looked at their performance stats on getagent and they are achieiving a good % of asking to sold, really quite healthy, so if they HAVE overpriced it, they just must not be familiar enough with your particular market.

In slow markets I imagine it's best to go with a local agent with local knowledge.

@FeatherDawn - postage stamp sized gardens / just an alleyway / an alleyway with a single garage at the end, possibly leading on to a service alley is absolutely standard in that part of the country. So that shouldn't be putting people off, as they should be expecting it. It's one of the concessions of having a big Victorian/Edwardian house: sod all green space.

Unless you are desparate to move maybe give it a bit longer before reducing again. It’s still very early.

Thank you all for your thoughts. It's hard for me to reply to every comment but in summary:

I described as a farmhouse because that's exactly what it is - it's a historic farmhouse. Yes, it is a terrace. The adjoined buildings were part of the farm and then other cottages further up.

It is in the countryside. We're in a village of 150 houses with a tiny village school but not much else, apart from a lively village 'pub' night once a month at the lovely village hall. We've got fields in every direction.

I appreciate the living room colour isn't for everyone despite the fact that we love it. It was white when we moved in and it was so depressingly dreary because the room is north facing with a smallish window. We are considering painting it but with no childcare from family and three very young children, it's a bit of a logistical nightmare. We'd rather avoid it if we can. I find it hard to imagine that the colour of one room (it's Farrow and Ball Bancha for anyone wondering) is enough to put people off viewing?

There definitely isn't room to fit a downstairs toilet in the kitchen.

I'll try not to be so hasty with wanting something to happen so quickly after the price reduction.

The comment about the agent - he's our vendors' agent which is why we chose him. He lives locally. He's an independent agent but the franchised office is a distance away. People deal with him directly though. He's actually excellent. I can WhatsApp him at any time of the day, 7 days a week and he responds within the hour. He does seem to have a very good success rate with selling. He actually told me the other day that he loves our house so much that he showed it to his partner. It's definitely one of those houses that you fall for once you step inside.

I'm not sure which house in our village you saw @FeatherDawn. I've been tracking the market very closely and there wasn't anything matching that description here. The houses in villages close to us over the Lancashire border go for less than they do here so perhaps it was there?

No @BunnyWilliams it was your village which obviously I won't link to but I wasn't wearing wearing my glasses and it was a 4 bed sold last Autumn 🤦‍♂️

I still think it's price though
Give it a few weeks at 420K and hopefully you will get around 410-415K for your new property when the/Easter hold are over.