House not getting much interest

[EmRose123]

So our house has been on for 4 months now. With very little interest, although all the house around this area seems to be in a similar situation.
Although it's starting to get frustrating as we would really like another baby but just do not have the space in this house.
Looking for some advice I'll add the link to our house I do understand some part are a bit cluttered (just struggling to find the time to give it a huge clear out)
I think maybe the kerb appeal is lacking?
Any suggestions (don't be too mean please 😂)

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/164737892#/?channel=RES_BUY

Your property is 517sq.ft, there is a 3 bed property on your road at 980sq.ft on the market for £195,000 since June, that would tell me that property might also be over priced as it isn’t sold.

A bungalow less than a mile from you sold this year for £185,000 at 800sq.ft.

Rather than marketing the property at asking price, I would recommend bringing the price down but with offers over, to help get people through the door.

I’d recommend offers over £180,000 with a view of getting around £190,000 if you are serious about selling, otherwise it might not be the right time for you to sell right now.

If offers over £180,000 is too scary, you could try £190,000 but it’s worth knowing the longer a property is on the market for, the less it would eventually sell for.

The lawn is diabolical. Get rid of the patchy navy painted wall and the free painted wall in the utility room.

Clutter needs to go.

The drive is full of weeds and looks like a dump.

These things can be easily rectified.

I think it's a weird mixture of on-trend and outdated. The bathroom and kitchen look modern but the ceilings date everything and the master bedroom and other details like the curtains seem dated to me in terms of decor - what are the figurines on the windowsill? Sorry, not trying to be rude and petty but I think it's about being clear who you are appealing to. The older market that traditionally goes for bungalows could be put off by some elements of the house, and the fact that the back garden needs so much work, but it's not quite modern enough to encourage first time buyers/young families to make the leap to buy a bungalow.

From the outside, I LOVE. Yes it’s an old person bungalow as others have said, but it’s so cute! I’m not elderly by the way. The inside decor is less to my taste but I might still view if that was the area and price bracket that I was looking at.

But the price is the main thing. If you paid £150k and you’re asking £210k then that’s a 40% increase! It’s not about “well I spent £30k on it” it’s about the percentage increase and the fact that barely anything justifies a 40% increase, especially when house prices have been relatively stagnant over the period. If you are desperate to move then just lower the price and it will sell.

Also, don’t think of it as “making a loss” if you sell for less than £200k. You needed to live somewhere - what would you have spent on rent in that period? So I’m sure you are better off overall for having bought it.

The only thing I’d bother with is sorting the lawn and drive. They look really unloved- obviously hard in the drought but you can do something, especially with the drive (or just don’t show it).

I don’t think decluttering more will make a difference. The issue is the price and while I understand you don’t want to make a loss having put money into the house, that’s not the buyer’s problem.

everything im going to tell you is nothing personal and in no way do i wish to upset you but this is what i would do to get sale
bathroon remove cherub candle and black vase thing on toilet ,put reed sticks in centre of toilet top and rabbit on windowsill
remove all family photos from the walls
get rid or hid all the carrier bags and hang kids coats on hooks to show purpose
hide/declutter all ornaments etc
make section next to shed kids area put the kids table and chairs in that section
declutter the garden get rid of all the things that make it look like a graveyard and get fresh turf and weed the front.
look at it as if it wasnt your house what would put you off
and thats clutter,and it being personalised
people have to imagine living there and you need to stage it as so

You have different square footage on the different listings, 903 vs 817 sq f. Are they also including the outbuilding as that is on the floor plan? If so, this house is tiny. Also it says it has 2 double bedrooms, but the second bedroom is only 7 sq m, that is definitely not a double.

As someone also trying to sell a house in a market that has zero interest, I think that it's not just down to price, or how tidy your rooms are.

The government is damaging confidence in the economy, there is uncertainty and concern. Many people are just postponing house moving until they feel more secure - unless they absolutely have to move.

I understand there is always a demand for bungalows like yours, but I suspect you are suffering from the fallout elsewhere in the market; it's possible that your potential buyers are just finding it impossible to sell their own properties in order to buy yours.

It's always worth taking advice about new photos, and it's always slower in school holidays. Fingers crossed things pick up soon. I would try for your new baby anyway!

@NeverOneBiscuit I do feel a little let down by the EA now I've seen these comments as we suggested stuff like taking things out of rooms, moving the baby gates..although they said it was fine. I know the house looks very well lived in as it definitely is.
But maybe packing stuff up and putting them into he loft will be something I can do once my girls started school

I really like it - looking to downsize to a 2 bedroom as I’m a single empty nester. Unfortunately it’s not in the North.

It looks warm and homely and I would rather have that than grey, beige and “live, love, laugh” type things everywhere.

I agree with PP and think it is very dated and I would want to rip it out. Op may have spent money on the kitchen but the first thing I noticed was the slats used on the wall which I hate and would want to remove. Add to that It
it looks like the ceiling needs work, and I then started to wonder if the panelling has been used to hide something on the walls.
The house needs a significant tidy and the garden needs significant work. The house needs to be targeted at an old single person / old couple, and most people that age probably don’t want to buy a house that needs so much work, both inside and out doing it on

It looks very unloved from the outside, even your grass looks dead sorry but it would
put me off as a buyer.
I would reduce the price.

Agree with others, the outside areas really let it down. It looks run down and uncared for. Clear the garden, remove the child’s seat and toys. Try and seed the garden to get it to grown.the fence at the front looks to be two different colours.
go through the photos and remove the clutter that catches the eye. i do like your kitchen and bathroom though.

Oh fair enough, that does suggest it's very much the price. I hadn't looked at what else had sold recently.

@D734 the kitchen and bathroom have been the points that were liked the most by the people who have viewed it.
Nothing to hide just wanted a country style kitchen. The ceiling have some textured wallpaper on it that I'd taken that off but granted I could do a better job in the paint.

Some of the second EA's (Pye) photos are better imo - ie, the first one of the living room (looking straight towards the wood burner), the bathroom (as it shows the lovely floor) and having an internal pic of the cabin.

But having it with two EAs smacks of desperation a bit, I think.

Overall, it's a sweet little bungalow but agree with so many other posters that it's the price/presentation. That scrappy drive and parched lawn with stuff everywhere isn't doing you any favours! I also agree that your target market for a bungalow of that size is more likely to be the 70+ age bracket.

I don't necessarily agree that you don't see an uplift for replacing kitchens and bathrooms (the 'improvement' that would put me off is the addition of solar panels, but we're all different!), as we've previously increased the value by more than the cost of improvements by changing these and not by adding bedrooms/floorspace.

For example, we bought a rural house in 2018, spent around £60k on adding two wood burners plus new kitchen/bathroom/boiler/electrics etc and we made a £170k profit over and above this when we sold in 2024.

Prices have definitely dropped/stagnated since then though. In your shoes @EmRose123 I'd take it off for now, spend some £££ on the drive/garden, smarten things up a bit for new photos and relist in the spring when things will hopefully have improved!

We are downsizing to a bungalow at the moment, so hopefully I can give you some perspective. The majority of people looking at a bungalow are older people with mobility problems needing to downsize. So the first thing they are looking for is access to the property and then space. As others have said, your house looks very cluttered. You need to emphasise that you do have space and storage. So clear things off kitchen worktops and put them in cupboards. The conservatory looks like a general dumping room rather than a conservatory. And the bedrooms are full and bursting. A massive declutter will work wonders. The garden is a bit of a mess but that wouldn’t put me off. It’s space and storage. And tidy up the cabin. That’s a really big room that could be a lovely summer house but again it’s full and looks really cluttered. And if you can paint the living room a lighter colour, do so. It looks so dark and makes the room seem smaller.

The pictures are terrible
it looks like 2 different houses, 1 part belonging to an 80 year old and the rest not

there is no common theme or style running through it

the agents description of the beautifully finished and refurbished house do not match the hotpotch house in the images

strip it all out
paint in white
remove all the clutter
get better photos

It really isnt
solar panels put buyers off
the bathroom is nice- not on trend but nice although the grey cabinet doesn’t match the rest
the kitchen is a mismash of styles and outdated.it has net curtains and pine wall cupboards

2 set of pictures are much much better

@LibertyLily thank you that's good advice.
I think that a good idea to start again.
I do get people not being fussed about the solar panels but with those and the log burner it is a really cheap house to run.
Hopefully I'll have a bit more time to get stuff sorted when my daughter starts school.

It's not 517 sq ft - it's 817 (or 903, depending which EA you believe!)

Can I just check you haven't got the solar panels leased?

@Kyotoorbust I get some people may not care about the solar panels at face value but these actual make the house so cheap to run as we have invested in the batteries too.
During the summer it also heats the water so we're pretty much off grid in the summer month and actually having money back off the electric company and with an electric car we needed them really. I'm definitely not expecting to get back what we paid on them

@blankittyblank no all paid for along with the batteries too.