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 👍

I'm amazed that houses can be built so close to the sea and I guess that would put a lot of people off. Yes I'm sure all the necessary risk assessments were done and it obviously passed planning etc but I'd feel uneasy if there was a big storm. Other than that, it looks a nice house for the money.

The living room door looks like if opened fully it will hit and damage the TV, the TV has trailing wires across the front of the radiator.
The cat tree needs not to be in photos, potential buyers don't need to see you have pets.
The basket of laundry should not be in the living room, it should have been folded and put away.

It must be the photos, but the colour of the carpet looks different to the colour of the car pet in the living room ?

Do you really need the random pink mat on the landing ?

can you put up some form of window covering in the office / bedroom 3, even a simple blind would add a bit of colour.

the black toilet mat in the ensuite is an odd pop of colour
whereas a blind in the ensuite would have added a different kind of pop of colour

the little pink dressing table looks odd in the bedroom, looks child size

2 mirrors on the floor in the other bedroom, are you planning on hanging them one day ?

yet again no window covering in the bathroom
which led me to realise there is no shower curtain / door

which makes me ask is the shower attachment only hand held at bath level, can it not reach up and be fixed to the wall incase anyone actually wanted to use it
as a shower in the bath ?

oh dear the table in the kitchen really ought to have been tidy !

and put a fruit bowl / vase or something on it, even if you were to set / dress the table for dinner for 2 people

and as for the ironing board - well !
at the very least put a hook on the inside of the cupboard door beside it and hang it up inside

and a lamp shade please
bare light bulbs look really bad

the actual kitchen needs some form of kitchen light fitting, not just that bulb fitting
what is it with the random lamp in the kitchen - is the kitchen very dark ?

and as for the ' drinks ' cupboard in the kitchen or whatever it is that is kept in it
either empty it
or get a door on it

no one needs to see the kitchen roll thrown in there

cat litter tray out !!!
put it in the garden for photos
and of course remove the cat bowl and mat for photos / viewings

is there no space in the house for the ladder that is on it's side in the garden

if you move the green bin to beside the black bin, will the gate then not open ?

offers over £140,000
and you might get back what you paid

You need a bit more kerb appeal to break up the grey at the front. A planter with a small tree or colorful flowers.

Can you put a note in the listing or with the seller that you love the location but are moving for family reasons.

Agree with the others, hide anything that doesn’t have a home, so the piles of washing/ironing board etc.

Definitely lose the cat stuff, literally just move them out of shot for the photos.

I find the living room layout confusing, I don’t understand what the ‘standard’ layout is but it looks a bit unusable and awkward with the tv on the stand thing.

Get rid of the runner on the landing and the ottoman thing in the bedroom. It all feels a bit ‘much.’ Less is more when your house is smaller.

In Contrast to other posters I think it’s a good size, small family home.

I’d also make sure the estate agent is telling people you’re moving because of your mum so they know it’s not a house problem. Selling so soon would raise red flags definitely

I believe you here but as a buyer you could say anything you want to me and I would think you lie and house has major new built issues so wouldn’t be interested…sorry
btw house is beautiful

Thank you for all your feedback. It's been much appreciated 👍

It's a tiny house (by room dimensions) with no storage.
You can make it look much better by making it look loved and easy to live in - tidy up and inject a little bit of love, a big vase of fresh flowers on the table for example & the cat litter box outside.

You also have to reduce the price, you should expect to get less than you paid for a new build for the first few years, unless the market is booming (which it isn't).

The pictures are terrible. OK it's a small house but they make it look pokey and in spite of the walk in cupboards on the floor plan, it looks like there's no storage space.

Being next to that large garage doesn't help, and no way is that development "beautiful".

i don’t think the photos are very good as there are stretched, I think it’s nice but bland and doesn’t look like it’s been a loved and happy home. It does take a while to settle. I would take off the market for now.

1. Ask estate agents for new, not idiotic peeping through a doorway pics. The pics should flow naturally through the house.
2. If you have to throw things into the back of the car to clear things away, do it - the kitchen diner is wrecked by the table piled high with stuff, the ironing board and the cat litter box - in the kitchen! That will put people off. Also, don’t have a load of washing on! A couple of plants or vases of flowers will add a nice touch. Pop something out side the front - a pot, a bush, anything to make it look a little warmer.
3. Drop your price.

Wow it is amazing when people post about the house prices in their area. This house would cost £500,000 where I live

Ah I thought that was something to do with the estate agent. It really should say on the listing if there are charges.

The Google street view image is of the backs of gardens and doesn't seem to correspond with the aerial photos in the main listing..

But I think it is simply that people will be concerned there's a problem with the house as you bought it so recently. Any chance you could rent it out for a while if it doesn't sell?

lol I’d be hopeless too hence no advice from me either but am just wistfully wondering if I should buy it myself and go live a life there instead! 😅

You bought a brand-new house with all-new appliances, carpets etc. You're selling a used house with cat dander and some wear and tear and you don't even seem to have added anything that could be seen as improving value — no nice light fittings or creating a lovely garden, for example. It's not dressed up like the fancy show house that probably persuaded you to buy it: it looks pleasant but small and ordinary.

If you need to move quickly, lower the price by another £5k and ask the EA to mention something about sadly having to leave your lovely home as a result of unexpected family issues. Unless you give a good reason most people will jump to the conclusion that you have dreadful neighbours or there's something badly wrong with the house that you're hiding. If you say family issues most people will conclude that you're divorcing which explains the sale after such a brief time.

It’s a lovely home with neutral decor and a blank canvas garden but the photos that include piles of washing in the lounge, clutter on the kitchen table and the ironing board on display scream to me that there isn’t enough storage. Also I wonder if potential buyers are expecting to see the second bedroom set up for kids - are they perhaps not able to visualise themselves in the house. Tricky one as you can’t change who lives there at the moment!

OK, I have no idea about the area so I have no idea if the price is good, but when I worked for an estate agent she said to me that ultimately not the pictures or anything else mattered, it all comes down to price. Sounds like yours is too expensive for what it is.

Having said that, the photos are awful. They need to be redone with all the piles of clothes and junk out of the way. Remove the cat paraphernalia, put those plant pots in the back garden out the front to soften the entrance, because that grey concrete driveway looks awful and so unwelcoming. You've then got (sorry for being rude) dated decor and masses and masses of white walls. Get some pictures up or something, anything on the walls, get some plants in and some fresh flowers maybe, and hide that microwave away. The kitchen is shocking for a new build. The downstairs bathroom is terrifying, like some kind of clinic for experimental procedures. Warm it up. There's no storage anywhere, particularly in the other bathrooms. Then there's random furniture in what I suppose is the master bedroom - IKEA units, that pink thing. Use soft furnishings and plants to give a bit of colour and life.

When it comes to moving to somewhere your mother will be more comfortable, you really, really need to look at a ground floor bedroom and bathroom. Dementia doesn't only affect the mind, it can have a terrible effect on mobility and physical stability. Stairs could become very dangerous or impossible for your mother very quickly.

I know I've been harsh and I'm sorry about that.

Now that I see your update, I agree with several other posters who suggest that you stay put, regardless of theoretical pricing now vs in 12 months. Moving someone with dementia yet again will inevitably be unsettling for her and her carer(s). Give her some time to settle, try to build up a support network, get in touch with local dementia groups and the Alzheimer's Society.

The agent is wrong. One of the reasons people buy new is because no one else has lived there. You need to hide or get rid of stuff and return it to new build blank canvas. It’s only 5 months old so it wouldn’t take much doing. Personalising it with cushions and throws will do the opposite.
Also cat toilets in the kitchen are gross and definitely won’t help to sell anything.

when we had viewings we put all of the clutter and dog bowls beds etc in the car and took the dogs for a really long walk.

You can’t expect to make a profit on a new build house after 6 months 😆 it’s overpriced at more than what you paid

Wait until this Labour Govt are out, and then re-market when the economy starts improving.

I am being only half tongue-in-cheek.

So bland, and old fashioned for a new build, all that grey and beige.

Ye there are things that you could change in the pictures but the house isn’t not selling because you left the kitchen roll out. It’s the price and the fact that it’s not really a 3 bed.

I am no fan of this Labour government but the state of the economy has little to do with them. We had no growth and a marked deterioration in most parts of the UK over the 14 years of Tory government too. Look at other major countries/blocks with economic troubles at present- Europe, the US, Japan, China. I don't think that the Labour government are responsible there!