Have I priced too high?

[EscapeToSuffolk]

Hello there,
My house has only been on the market for around one week but due to a delay with a transfer of ownership I've already been in Suffolk for five weeks and I've only got one week left to view houses before I need to go home.

The house two doors away sold in a few days and was on for 280k, and whilst it has new bathrooms and a different (but not necessarily better) layout downstairs, it's the same house. I was going to put my house on for 265k but then because my neighbour's house was on for 280k I upped the price at the last minute to 270k. I assumed that they wouldn't sell for less than the asking price after just a few days on the market although I may be wrong.

There were two viewings yesterday and some feedback I've had (from one of the viewers) was that she didn't like the view over the back fence (easily resolvable from downstairs at least), the ceilings on the top floor were too sloped and she thought it was only worth 260k. She also said that it was weird that I'd upped the price but she only knows this because her viewing was booked before my house went live on Rightmove.

I need to sell quickly and I'm viewing a beautiful house tomorrow that I don't want to lose. It would be odd to reduce the price at this stage wouldn't it? If I do fall in love with the house I'm viewing tomorrow is there any way I can hold on to it? I can't keep driving up and down because I have chronic fatigue and I never know how well I'm going to be.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/162243332?utm_campaign=property-details&utm_content=buying&utm_medium=sharing&utm_source=copytoclipboard#/&channel=RES_BUY

Please bear in mind that a lot of people really love the view of the river and waterfall so this puts the price up a bit.

Nice house.
If she thinks it is worth 260 and wants it, she can make an offer, surely, which you can then think about in the context of any other offers / viewings lined up, plus anything you see that you might want and how much that is.
Take it one day at a time.

@Chewbecca thanks for your reply...I'm just panicking :)

To be honest I am with that viewer, I also dislike sloped ceilings and your back garden (and the view from it) aren't pretty. So I just wouldn't offer on a house like that and neither will she probably. Someone will come along who will love it but you have to be patient. If that means not making an offer on another house until you've got one for yours, so be it.
But I don't really understand how you have already relocated but are still looking at houses - are you in a short term rental?

I know nothing about Rightmove and how it works but if the trees at the back now have more leaf, can a fresh photo be taken and swapped for the one that’s there already?

I’m not one for sloping ceilings but you seem to have a decent flat ceiling before the slope so it wouldn’t necessarily put me off.

>the ceilings on the top floor were too sloped

One of them is fine, one of them is quite extreme, but I'd say that's obvious from the photos

>and she thought it was only worth 260k

Idk what your house is actually worth but I can tell you I've seen your agency and various iterations of them overprice massively in other branches, I'm writing at least one reply a month telling people this, they're all part of the same group.

>She also said that it was weird that I'd upped the price

Well it is, it's the sort of thing that irritates buyers

>but she only knows this because her viewing was booked before my house went live on Rightmove.

But anyone who has Property Log will also know this. You listed it and increased the price on the very same day, buyers will look and think 'oof, greedy'

You don't even need to have Property Log, in fact, just an inbox. I can tell you what any house in my area was originally listed for going back 18 months so I just need to search to see an original listing price.

Much sympathy re: CFS. Our last viewings were a 5 hour round trip and it was crippling. In the end, we decided to rent until we found the right house - my body couldn't take it anymore.

You appear to be behind a police station which is opposite a hospital. For me, the house or the price would need to be EXACTLY right for those two concessions (not wanting to be near either one of those things).

>The house two doors away sold in a few days and was on for 280k

Yes, but what it was on for is not key. What it SOLD for is crucial. Do you know what it actually sold for?

I came across a house the other day that sold in an area I was monitoring last year. Original asking price 430k, reduced and reduced to 330k. Land registry now shows me it sold for 285k. So there was an over 13% reduction agreed with the purchaser below the final listing asking price.

Looks lovely. Nice view at the front which compensates the back garden.
I don't know the area but it seems like a great price to me.

@McCartneyOnTheHeath I'm staying with a friend.

@TheSandgroper This was my mum's house and when she moved in she removed the bamboo (in pots) that hid the police station. There were more trees but they were cut down unfortunately.

House seems fine to me. Tbh I’d be annoyed if I saw it was £265k and heard it had been upped to £270k.

The housing market is quite slow, I have two friends selling in Bristol which id assume is quite a buoyant market and they’ve both had their properties on since February and although lots of viewings no offers yet. I think k things take time.

We put ours on October had an offer we accepted in January. It just takes time.

That said the house you love may not sell as quickly as you think either.

@KievLoverTwo this agency was actually wanting to price slightly lower than the other that valued it. I did think that 265k was the right price until I saw that next door but one was on for 280k. It may not have sold for that price but it did sell quickly and I thought the price of mine should be similar. Often, people (including my mum and dad) want these houses because of the river and they're prepared to pay a bit more. There was an issue with next door selling last year for just 250K but that was because the sellers had done a lot of work that didn't comply with building regs so the price had to be reduced.

I guess the estate agents should have told me that as I wasn't aware. I tend to only look at rightmove.

It's only a little cottage hospital ...it's actually a lovely building with nice gardens. The police station is just ugly...I rarely hear sirens.

The main problem with the viewer who gave that feedback was that she was expecting to see what was, in her head, a £265K house, so she’s looking at things with that in mind and therefore every flaw once realising it’s more expensive now is going to be a begrudging “this isn’t worth the extra money” feeling.

If you believe the neighbours sold for £280K or something close to it then you’re not overpriced (why not just ask them?) but if you want a quick move then I’d been open to offers close to what you were originally hoping for before you decided you might get more.

ETA: viewers will also see that a neighbouring house sold for £250K last year and, regardless of any behind the scenes background about it, which they don’t know about, are going to have that price firmly lodged in their heads as a potential base price.

I'm not someone who likes to come on and criticise people's house listings but the other house has better photos I think, and the garden looks more usable. (I like shade!). The bathroom without a shower that many people might want to change is a cost that could in itself make up the best part of the price difference. The floorplan is better too (study area v hall for example). I can see a clear differential.

@MalcolmMoo Yes I wish the estate agent had said.

I think the housing market seems slower in the Bury St Edmunds area than Holmfirth so hopefully I'll still get the house. It's a really tiny cottage so I'm thinking it won't be of interest to families.

My own thoughts, I'm not in real estate/home design etc, but bought a few years ago and viewed about 15 properties. I can't help with the price, but if you could give it a little more time, then I would. I also agree, the 1st viewer could have offered if they were that keen!
The pics are better than many properties I've seen. Its fairly modern, clean, neutral etc which helps. Personally, I wouldn't want 3 floors to climb up and down, but some people do.

Pic 1- My first thought was flood risk! I may have missed it, but if the risk is actually low, I'd have that written into the description somewhere
Pic 2- Remove some/all of the family photos
Pic 3- Kitchen benches could have been de-cluttered more
Pic 5- cluttered, busy shelves
Pic 7- the sloped roof isn't great, but you can't help it unless a dormer was put in
Pic 9 and 16 and the exact same
Pic 11- I'm guessing its room 3, which looks very small in this pic
Pic 12- Again, I'd remove personal photos
Pic 14- Is that fake/plastic turf? This pic makes your garden look very small and doesn't look appealing at all
Pic 17- I feel its unnecessary and makes the sloped roof look even worse, and the stairs look incredibly steep

I've generally seen a floor plan with the room sizes on there. Its very annoying to have to flick from the info page to the floor plan and back again to actually work them out. I hope you get it sold soon.

@ComtesseDeSpair I know what you mean...I did think that.

I will ask my neighbour! Not sure why I didn't do that before :)

Also, get the agent to put room measurements on the floor plan: yes, they’re already in the listing, but many people look at the plan first of all and if it isn’t clear, lose interest. The room with the desk and the smaller bedroom are pretty badly angled photos which make the rooms look tiny.

@HarrietBond I do realise that some aspects of the decor aren't that great. It wasn't really my choice. The study areas are the same...neighbours just looks better in the photos.

The twin bed room is really only a single because of the slopping roof. In the double bedrooms the beds are pushed up against the wall - looks very odd? I wouldn’t buy a house with plastic grass but is there access from the garden?

It's a nice house and not overpriced for the area. I don't like the fake grass thing but tbh that's neither here nor there in the scheme of things.

The description says you're in catchment for "enviable schooling" but this matters in this part of the world. So if you're catchment for Holmfirth High then say so overtly; don't leave people having to mess around with the Kirklees Council website and figure it out.

@JDM625 The flood risk is very low....there's a very high wall and a flood plain area.

Thanks for the comments :). Yes it's plastic grass and I know it's hideous!

@Parker231 well no, I wouldn't either :). The whole house including decor is not to my taste but it's fairly neutral. There's a gate into the garden.

That's just my point though - I think your photos aren't as good as the other listing, and the floor plan isn't as good either.

@FeelinTwentySixPointTwo most of the houses on the estate have plastic grass. It is awful but a lot of people find it useful.

Good point...I will email the estate agent.

No I know they're not. The floor plan is exactly the same except for the wall being removed downstairs.