Why do you think this property isn't selling?

[zzuple]

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/156099821#/?channel=RES_BUY

The kitchen is the biggest problems and I’d want to see the bathroom.

My beloved great uncle lived in one of the other buildings in the same quadrangle from when it was built in the ‘60s (?) until his death in 2000. His flat was identical to this one. He had that exact same kitchen though I seem to remember his was olive green. I’m of no help at all, but thank you for sharing this OP - clicking on the photos has given me unexpected happy memories this morning.

It's The Barbican, not some random house 🙄. For the design and location it's not a terrible price actually

Hideous flat and ridiculous price.

Yes, this is a central London location but why anyone would waste that amount of money on it is beyond me.

I am a Londoner and there are so many better options if you have that budget.

It's the lack of internal photos, room dimensions and colour. It's the kind of property l think would benefit from some dressing. It has lots of potential but your estate agent hasn't done their job properly l don't think

I'm assuming you want some sensible suggestions and feedback. Very tiresome when people go on and on about "oooh, so expensive". "Could buy 4 houses near me for that". "More money than sense" and nonsense like that. It's The Barbican and the city of London. If people aren't aware of those places then l am sure they are aware of Google. It's a convenient location if you work in the city and a prestigious address after all

It has no soul . It isn't presented well and the views through the windows are enough to put anyone off

This. I think they think they are being clever and insightful. They just come across as parochial and a bit silly

I think it is listed, in which case you would theoretically need permission to change the bathroom and kitchen as they are an original feature and could be important to the listing. Possibly not an issue until you tried to sell and the planning guys spotted the original kitchen and bathroom from this listing and made you out the back in.
It's a risk.

I agree with Nigel, The Modern House as an estate agent reach the monied niche buyers.
I love it but it's clearly Marmite from the other posters.

Funny I watched an old BBC piece the other day saying how the Barbican was hell to live in. That it was impractical and soulless and receiving so many complaints the BBC did a piece on it interviewing the residents and asking the company why they designed it so badly.

People living there where saying they where paying a luxury premium but ended up aspired to live in the much better near by council flats.

I don’t know, and clearly the MN demographic are not the right people to ask.

People who know and love the Barbican and want to live there know what it looks like, but the photos really do not do it justice. Inside or out. They need an actual photographer.

Also I wonder (but don’t know) whether the current economic instability and remote working trend has cut the market for pied de terre type properties in the City?

I would absolutely love this flat if I had the kind of money to have it as a London base whilst having a ‘house you can get for that price’ somewhere rural / coastal that people always bang on about irrelevantly on these threads.

I would ask the EA about trends, how I bed are faring in the market against 2 bed.

The lease extension process and cost might well be a factor.

81 year lease - a lot of companies won't lend on it. The service charge is eye watering. Also I would buy my 4 bed house up north 3 times for this price wow!

Everything, dated kitchen, the lease, the service charge for a flat looking like that

Agree it needs to be staged. Modernhouse is wonderful, I follow them on instagram. They have some absolutely wonderful London renovations listed and I feel this listing could really suit the minimalist 1960s decor!

I know the Barbican is overpriced but it's a lovely building! (I'm into brutalists!)
But you need to consider the sad and tired kitchen, there's no pictures of the bathroom, so assume it is also dated. That's £50k off your price. ANNNNND you have the short lease. No one will touch that, at that price, while the lease is being extended. You need to take it out of the market and only sell after that's sorted.

I know it's the Barbican but I think the price is crazy for a tiny 1 bedroom flat. I used to spend a lot of time in this area many years ago and found the architecture ugly and oppressive but clearly some people like it.
The obvious things such as the lease have been mentioned. This needs to be extended and then the flat re-marketed.
Who is your target market? Extremely rich people who can afford to spend any amount of money on a tiny flat just because they definitely want to live in this area? Wealthy foreign students? I agree that The Modern House is very good at marketing this sort of property.
Clearly this listing is not working as the flat has already been reduced 3 times and is still not selling. London flats have not been selling well in general so further reductions may be necessary but worth trying the above first.

I'm not sure it's parochial. People vary in terms of where they enjoy living and what they would choose to spend their money on. I think the asking price is crazy for a very small flat but someone will buy it at some point, even if a further price reduction is needed on top of the three that have already happened.

I think it's mostly the pictures. Not enough and not that well done. £££ in this area not for me, but some love this London area

I know someone with a Barbican flat. The style is very marmite, and I believe there are restrictions on what you can do to the flats. Some of the buildings are being stung for major repairs over and above the service charge (which is already high).

Looking at the 'similar properties' in Rightmove shows some examples of better staging.

@BernardButlersBra Agree! I’m always tempted to reply “yes, but then you’d be living in TownX!”

Reminds me of people tutting about millennials being easily able to afford to buy a house if they weren’t spending so much on avocado on toast. It’s probably the same people.

Seems overpriced, at the moment you can easily find two beds in central london for around 800k. That said the Barbican has a die hard fan base, so maybe just a case of waiting for the right buyer.

many of those looking for a pad in the Barbican won't need a mortgage, even at 800k

It’s a lot of money for nothing much

It’s not a tiny flat at all. 773 sq feet is a big old 1 bed especially given the average size of a 3 bed house in the UK is 990 square feet

Short lease length.
Kitchen tired.
Bathrooms/toilet not shown but assumed similar state to the kitchen.
I see one in same building sold for 715k in Feb.

I think it is overpriced as is, but maybe if you sorted the lease out and refitted you might recover more than the cost of that process.