Opinions please (Helpful if you know the South Wales area)

[LemonSquashie55]

NC as posting a link.

We've been trying to sell our house since January. Happily lived here for 9 years, now have 2 small kids and desperately needs more space. In a nice area of South Wales. Had loads of viewings off the bat in January, 4 within the first week. Overall we had about 14 all with positive feedback but no offers, not even low ones. People seemed to be keeping their options open early in the year in this buyers market. The market does seem pretty slow around here at the moment but some things are selling. We removed it from the market end of March as it was stressful with all the viewings around working full time and 2 small kids and we hadn't found a place we wanted to move yet and we were just feeling uncertain about the whole market. We've now relisted it with a different agent and dropped price by 5k as a house we like with the same agent has come up and apparently 325 price points catches a lot more traffic on Rightmove. Had one viewing yesterday (positive theyre also viewing other properties) and have one Tuesday. Just wanted some opinions on the property? Particularly valued from anyone who knows the Cardiff, South Wales Area.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/161887448#/?channel=RES_BUY

I'm South Wales. I'd say the price is still pretty steep, things have slowed a lot and while it's nicely presented the third bedroom is small and you don't really have a garden. Around me prices are lower than this time last year and yours is still more expensive than the three bed that sold in 2024. I think it's the classic price to size issue.

In terms of listing, I would say furnish the conservatory so it looks like it has more of a purpose. I would move the dining table in there and make your living room seem more spacious too. Also your garden - if it’s a family area, it doesn’t look very family friendly. Even popping a little bistro table and chairs, outdoor rug and a few more plants might break up the paving a bit.

It looks clean and tidy and inoffensively decorated. Would the dining table fit in the conservatory?

It's a nice house.

It may be that the price is too high. I am in Cardiff (North, leafy suburb) and a few houses near me have been on the market for a while, so I think things are slow generally.

Hmmmm I am going to have to agree with PP in that I think the price is too high for what you are getting. There are other properties that are 3 bed semi or 3 bed end terraced that are better value for money and have a bigger 3rd bedroom and a better and more usable garden space. As its 3 bed it will draw families but with a small bedroom 3 and a very small paved garden, it isn't really 'family friendly'

You say you have 2 kids and need more space so lots of families viewing may also feel the same way.

Also the garage not being connected to the house would put me off a bit too and the parking on the roadside and out front just screams lack of parking facilities in the street.

I am also in Wales and property is definitely not shifting very quickly at all. The ones that are going, are suitably priced and many have had to come down considerably to get interest. Lots are still on after a year.

Other than that its a nicely presented house and seems like a nice property so I can only think its the small 3rd bedroom and the garden that might be putting off buyers.

The property buying/selling process is pretty crap in Wales right now.

I wish you the best of luck x

Thank you everyone! I think you're probably right and it is price to size. We moved here as FTB so thought it was more aimed at that market with a low maintenance garden and small bedroom (fits a single bed in comfortably). It's also a 7 minute walk from the train station into central cardiff. However I think maybe it needs to go lower to really attract first time buyers. Our struggle is that 4 beds in the area are such a price jump we can't afford to go much lower.
I was probably a bit too vigorous in the house staging as we actually use the conservatory as an additional play space for the kids and I moved the toybox. We did originally want to put the dining table in there but it's quite cold during the winter, it's a lovely summer reading space though so I may put a coffee table we used to have back in there!

Hi OP, I'm two miles down the road from you 😊 Not sure whether my thoughts reflect anything potential buyers might be thinking but will share as you've asked!

Radyr is a very desirable area as I'm sure you know. We wanted to move there but were absolutely shocked at how highly property is priced there. (Our context is that we sold our new build property that's very similar to yours in Llanishen that was 120sqm (so 30% bigger than your home) and it was listed for nearly £100k less than your asking price). So although I'd expect a home in Radyr to be higher than the same property elsewhere there are a few things that would still put me off at this price point-
-Proximity to the railway line

• Small living areas
• Conservatory (personally I'm not a fan)
• Lack of garden
• Not sure how much this would factor... But we were also a bit put off by the huge development being built just outside Radyr as it's going to lose some of the village feel.

I’m in cardiff (north) recently sold my 3 bed detached for not loads more.
unfortunately you could get more for your money in some of the older developments (Thornhill / Pontprennau )

And the lack of garden would put me off but I know there’s not much you can do about it

@RossGellersCat thank you, it's really good to have someone who knows the area! The property prices are a bit mad here, especially for 4 beds, huge price jump.
I think you're right and it's quite niche in ways that people don't like a conservatory (which was our compromise when we bought) and the low maintenance garden suited us back in our 20s but not so much now. The railway line looks close to the house but surprisingly you barely notice it as it's set quite far back and hidden by high hedges. What kind of price point would you expect it to be listed at? We thought it was quite competitively priced for the area as it's in catchment to good schools and good transport links and we've done work on the house since buying, but I agree with @princesspadam that you probably can get more in other areas for the same price and maybe that's the issue?

So the house does back onto the railway line ? I thought it did when I looked at the map.
How frequent are the trains ?
are they ' local ' trains or fast inter city ones ?

I’ve seen lots of houses with that lay out and I don’t like it: small kitchen and lounge. Where do you eat?

@OlderGlaswegianLivingInDevon Yes it does, but the garage block and parking spaces at the rear of the property separate the back of the house directly from backing onto the railway line. When at the rear of the property by the parking spaces, you can't see the line because of the high bushes and fencing. The trains are local and around every 30 minutes.

@KnickerlessParsons we eat in the living room or at the dining table in the living room

we eat in the living room or at the dining table in the living room

that might be the issue then. Lots of people wouldn’t like having to eat in the living room.

@KnickerlessParsons there's a table in the kitchen too where you can eat, but the dining room one is just bigger

It looks like a nice house, clean and smart. First thought is I would reinstate the playroom conservatory. People want to see where the kids can play.

Having 2 tables in current positions maybe doesn't show it off to its best. They look cramped in both places and I imagine when there are 2 buyers plus the agent walking between table and sofa it might feel a bit closed in. A table with the long side up against a wall says it doesn't really fit. I would try to get the kitchen looking like 4 people can eat there daily without rearranging furniture. Get rid of the dining table, or maybe put it in the conservatory. Put some discreet, not too tall toy storage (eg kallax 2 high) either in there too if there is play space, or where the dining table is now.

I think the biggie is the garden though. Toddlers and paving slabs don't mix. An expensive or physically demanding job to fix. You might need to price lower so people are prepared to take on the work. A lot of young families will want grass. Even a patch would help.

The lack of garden would really put me off, you need to dig up the slabs and lay some grass and make some beds.Love the walls in it though. Even gravel would be better than those concrete slabs.Dont like the blue fence. Black is quite poplar for fences now.

Don’t like the yellow in the kitchen or the grey bathroom tiles. Get rid of the yellow and turquoise clutter on top of the fridge too.

Sort dining space. A round table might look better in the kitchen and maybe make the conservatory a lovely dining space but you’ll need to sort out heating if it gets cold in there. A lovely sideboard instead of the lounge table maybe…

I thought the same. The dining tables in both kitchen and the living room are squashed against the wall. For families that like to entertain - or even use all 4 sides of their table - your house looks like it won’t meet their needs. It’s good that you’ve pared everything back for the photos but now looks more like a holiday let than a home people live in all year round. Perhaps buyers can’t see themselves living there.

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with your house. I think the problem is the competition you have from new developments locally. A colleague was looking to move to your area but she’s ended up buying one of the new houses over in Creigau because they had better deals at the time and both areas are in the same catchment area for schools and both are near the M4 but the guarantee of the new build and the chance to pick your own optional extras swayed her.

Thanks everyone. I think for the viewing on Tuesday we will reinstate the conservatory playroom. We also have a giant playmat in the empty space in the living room in front of the TV and another toy box we moved so makes another great play space for the kids/great for exercise. The room is very versatile so I would imagine people would be able to use their imaginations for making the layout different. Other houses of the same style have had the TV where our dining table is against that wall placed their dining tables where the TV/empty floor space is. I tried to make it more of a blank canvas for the photos so people can use their imaginations a bit more, but maybe that hasn't worked.

@xanthomelana Thank you, I think this is also a factor. It used to be quite a desirable estate as it backs onto the Taff Trail walks and parks and is beautiful in the summer months, however I think competition with all new builds around has definitely affected their saleability.