Help! House on market, little progress, feedback needed!

[IcyCoralMaker]

So, my house by the sea has been on market for 4 weeks, had 3 viewings, no offers.
The house was built December 2024 and I'm selling to move into a detached house, closer to my family.
House has been reduced by £5k to bring it down to the search point on Rightmove and to attract first time buyers.
I think the photos are good and agent says they'll continue to push it but when asked how they were doing that, they didn't answer my question.
Any suggestions on what I can do to attract more views?
Thanks 👍

The wide angle pictures make the house look small. There is a clear lack of storage - where in the hallway do you put/store coats and shoes? Also, bare bulbs in the kitchen.

I also agree that moving your Mum isn’t going to help if she has dementia.

Other than the 'new' aspect, it looks a bit souless,bland sterile
no window dresings? something bright at the windows might make it 'pop' a bit

A bright blind in the kitchen ( Red? Navy even) ith a few red/blue bits

I don't understand why someone builds house with open staircase🤦

As other said, you need to lower the price.

Having gone back and looked at the photos it looks a bit soulless, I know some people like a blank canvas but that's taking it to extreme imo.
I think the whole house needs a bit of colour .
You don't need to redecorate just add a bit of colour with rugs , throws , ornaments ( dont go overboard and clutter everywhere) so that it looks lived in .

I agree with pp about the stuff on the kitchen table and ironing board, also is the cupboard next to the oven is it missing it's door or is the door open it's hard to tell in the photo.

The TV by the window looks out of place , I can't figure out why, it just doesn't look right.

The 3rd bed room is laughable, is should be advertised as a very small office space.

What's the flood / erosion risk like in that area ?

This is the price the agent said it should be marketed at and it would do well

There's no problem then, if you believe them. But if you believe the reality that there's in fact little progress, then consider dropping the price to below what you paid for a new build, because there's zero reason why it would have gone up in the few months since you moved in, rather than dropped because it's no longer brand new.

Beyond that, it looks nice enough for a small house that's not bedded in yet. As others have said, move the ironing board and cat paraphernalia, and that first photo of the front of the house looks stretched (the neighbour's car is distorted) and could do with some pot plants or something outside so it's not a vast tract of tarmac and bricks. From the later overhead shot, it looks less bleakly hemmed in and quite a nice spot by the sea so you'll probably get a buyer if priced right. You want to move fast and have barely lived there so forget about profit and be pragmatic.

Why are there so many pictures of the pile of stuff on the table, and the ironing board?

You could have shoved all that in some bags and have a clear table. It's a reminder that there's not a lot of storage.

The thing is OP, people buy a new home, because they want a new home, ie being the first to live there and pay a premium for it, I think you will need to reduce the price if you want to secure a sale. What feedback are the Estate Agents getting, they should be sharing this with you. Good luck.

The market is not good at the moment, nothing is happening fast. You need to get better photos where there isn’t piles of shit everywhere, that kitchen table is a disgrace. It makes it look like there’s no storage.
You can’t expect to get top price while putting in zero effort.

Why on earth do you think its gone UP in value?

I lived in Hartlepool, no one I know that still lives there could afford that and for the price its not to be rude but very underwhelming.

Yes its in the better end (around where I lived the first time) but its also away from everything (50 minute walk to town and most people I know who live there don't drive).

I just don't see how it could be worth £150k.

The floor plan says there’s a downstairs cupboard from the pictures it looks like there’s no storage; ironing board out, piles of washing everywhere, wet washing in the machine, unsightly bottles of what looks like cleaning products stored in a cupboard with no door. The fact you haven’t even tidied these away for photos would make me think you haven’t looked after the house very well and that there isn’t much storage. Some people may also be put off by the cat tree and litter box, again would question whether fixtures and fittings have been damaged by an indoor cat scratching and shedding hair etc. The house also looks drab and boring, everything grey or white.

I would take new photos with the house properly tidy, especially no piles of washing, litterbox out of sight and ironing board put away, and add some bright flowers to some of the more boring white/ grey rooms. That will get more people through the door but also if you have already had viewings but no interest from then you also need to drop the price, at the very least expect to sell it for under what you paid.

Far too many pictures. I think you need 12 at most. One of each room, at the moment you have multiple angles of each room and it is just showing off issues like lack of storage.

People won’t feel like they need to come and see it because you’re showing too much.

I’d question any agent who wants a 5 month contract. I guess you’re stuck now but phone them every week asking for feedback, keep on their case. Get them to mix up pictures and keep phoning out. If you’re enough of a pain in the arse they’ll want it sold just to get you to stop hassling them

Where did your mum move from?
Do you have children, ages?

Moving might not be a bad idea but your mums future care plans are important. She can't live with you in the long term.

I think moving again is not going to solve the issue of your mum not settling. If anything it'll confuse her.

The house looks incredibly sterile, and not remotely like anyone's home.

Your mum might settle better if there were more familiar items from her old home around, and in general if you made it look more homely.

Being brutal. It’s small, no space for a wardrobe in one bedroom and the other doesn’t even look like you can fit in a bed. You need to tidy up, there is a pile of washing in the living room, a random pile of paper in the living room and the dining table is stacked high with stuff and the ironing board is out and this all adds to the sense of there being no storage. You need to remove all the cat stuff for photos and viewings. Need to add some pots to the front, table and chairs to back garden and some pots of plants. But if the price isn’t right for thr size of the property then no one is going to buy it.

You also need to replace the missing kitchen unit door.

I think the main issue is that your photos are awful, the one of the front of the house makes everything look star and unwelcoming. You need to create some curb appeal, and to have a photo taken that makes the house look welcoming. You also need to bring in someone who knows how to photograph a house of the size, to make it look bigger whilst your photograph actually make it look smaller. Clear the clutter on the dining room table, your estate agent was wrong. People don’t want to see a lived in look. The clutter makes the house look like you have no storage.

What’s the pile of junk on the table? I’m surprised you didn’t clear things like that for the photos.

Ok, I know the area and it's too expensive.

The houses on this estate are tiny too.

Your pictures aren't great, the cat stuff needs to go, the piles of washing on the tables and why is the washing machine on?

Knock the price down by about 20k or so if you need a quick sale. You can get much bigger properties only just down the road for the price you are listing. Sorry!

As others said the pictures make it look as though there is no storage, it's like you moved everything to one end of the kitchen to get a clear photo and then forgot to move it all back before taking the dining table picture!

The TV cables also make it look as though there are not enough plug sockets.

Yes it's bland, yes the garden is boring but that's to be expected, you can't yet have a mature garden when it is so new.

The front looks off-putting to me, big expanse of tarmac. Some green at the front would look better.

Ultimately though Hartlepool isn't exactly top of the list of places to move to (I live in the North East too) and I think it is over priced. It needs to be reduced and you'll need to be patient.

This, in a nutshell.

It's always price but that doesn't matter.

If your mum has dementia, she might feel unsettled in the most familiar of places and kindly, it will take months to move somewhere else and deterioration is inevitable. You might spend a fortune uprooting everything, not solve the problem of your mum's discomfort and then require professional support/care homes very quickly. Where will that leave you?

It's so very difficult I know. My dad has dementia and the weight of it is extraordinary.

Not from the area so it seems incredibly cheap for a tidy little new build. I looked at what that money gets you on Rightmove and your asking price seems in line. There is quite a lot of choice though so people will be looking for a bargain.
Agree that you are likely to get offers under 140. Make sure the estate agents make it clear why you’re selling and it’s not related to the house. Best of luck.

I think Ice spotted the main issue with the house. The floorplans show a downstairs WC and upstairs theres no family bathroom, just an en suite off the master bedroom.

Things like this just scream ‘not enough cupboard space’